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Knowing your case acceptance percentages is important to know how well you executed the patient experience with the patients that have appointments in your practice.
By Stephanie Edgmon
It is common to have complacency in any business, and the age-old statement of ‘that is how we have always done it” continues to keep us there. Having a strategy to enhance your current processes and uncover more effective and efficient ways in your dental practices can bring out organic revenue growth and increase patient case acceptance along the way.
But, given that, how do we create this strategy and implement it into our routine? Whether you are aware changes are required or not, the reality is the dental market is evolving. Staying ahead of the curve can allow for consistent successes with proper implementation. Execution is the key to any successful result, as without it, you simply have an idea. It can be explained as having the radio turned on in the car, but the car’s engine will not start – so here are some ways you can jump start organic growth into your practices and getting that engine turning.
Step 1: Review and modify your UCR fee schedule
This is one of the quickest and more profound ways to enhance your top line. Simply put, your fee schedule needs to be competitive within your market without underpricing your services. Why? Insurances provide you contracts based on what they will pay you as well as a UCR fee schedule that you submit to them. This allows for fairness in pricing and reimbursements on what you have mutually agreed upon. In addition, inflation within the market accounts for fee increases on occasion so you may stay competitive in the community you serve.
Step 2: Bill your UCR fees to the insurance companies
There are ways within your practice management software that can submit your UCR rates to insurances when sending them the claims, and it will post your contracted rates on the patient ledger within your system. Why is this important? It allows for the insurances to be notified of your UCR Fees when you submit new claims and it could yield higher reimbursements based on your UCR Schedule. This simple claim format modification can yield greater returns for the work your providers have accomplished.
Step 3: Ask for Referrals & Reviews
Don’t assume your patients will automatically refer or write a review for your practices. Asking is the biggest key to success in this area. Whether you have an internal referral program or not, simply having your team members and providers asking patients for ‘more patients just like them’ because ‘we love what we do and want to serve as many people as possible’ will open the door to more people talking about you outside of your practices as well as on social media. In turn, simply asking, creates more profitable and consistent schedules for organic growth.
Step 4: Track case acceptance
We all like to believe that 100 percent of our patients accept our providers treatment recommendations, yet we still have treatment plans to follow up on every day. Knowing your case acceptance percentages is important to know how well you executed the patient experience with the patients that have appointments in your practice. Some practice management software’s can accomplish this for you, and it is important to know how they track this performance indicator. If you do not have the luxury of your software doing this for you, there is a quick way to talk about it with your teams each day. Keep track of how many treatment plans you delivered in the day, and note if they started same day or scheduled to return to complete something on the treatment plan. This would be considered case acceptance – in that your patient opted to have the treatment completed either today or scheduled for a future date. If you presented 10 treatment plans and 7 accepted – you would have a case acceptance of 70% for the day. Set a percentage goal for each day and discuss as a team why the number is where it is, and how it can be enhanced.
Step 5: Communicate with your patients
Emailing is a wonderful way to keep in touch with your current patients, as well as remind them about your practice so they can talk with their friends, colleagues, and acquaintances about your practice. There are many things you can communicate like whitening specials and implant specials – as well as informational items on periodontal disease or oral cancer to name a few. There is software that can assist you in these emails and they allow for it to be incredibly easy to use.
Your current patients are the ones that trust your team members. They are where organic growth begins – the low hanging fruit. You need to focus on picking that fruit before relying solely on new patients into the practice. How can you accomplish this? Create best practices and timelines on implementation and follow up for the five steps. Allow your team to assist in creating the processes so you can involve and align them to the overall strategy of your business. The alignment in your team on providing full focus on those standing in front of you will allow for new patients to hear more about you and want to schedule appointments. Implementing these five simple steps can give you the jump start you are seeking, as well as keep that engine turning full speed ahead.
