by The DSO Roadshow
Q1 is a busy time of the year for travel if you follow the group practice / DSO roadshow of meetings. Heidi Arndt of Enhanced Hygiene held her first ever Dental Group Evolution meeting in Austin, Texas in mid-January. It was well attended by emerging dental groups and DSOs that took advantage of the various breakout sessions for startup and mid-market dental group practices.
In early February, the American Academy of Dental Group Practice held their annual conference. This year the theme was Building Better Groups…Together. Some of the stand out speakers included Katherine Eitel Belt, David Waltzer, Tom Clark, Roy Shelburne and one of our very own contributors, Dr. Katherine Schrubbe of Dental Associates. Henry Schein also conducted a pre-meeting event for several group practices and DSOs prior to the AADGP conference.
Late in February, on the Wednesday prior to the Chicago Mid-Winter meeting, McGuire Woods held their 14th annual Healthcare and Life Sciences Private Equity and Finance conference at the Four Seasons. While not strictly a dental event, the private equity conference did have a dental sector breakout session that included a panel made up of Rich Beckman of Great Expressions, several executives from private equity firms invested in DSOs, and Michael Kryza of The Guardian Life Insurance Company. Guardian Life currently owns two geographically different DSOs and is looking to grow its presence. The highlight of the conference was the keynote speaker, Ben Stein, who moderated a discussion around the Affordable Care Act and the Trump administration’s repeal and replace strategy.
The biggest DSO event of the year will have already occurred by the time you read this issue. The ADSO is holding their annual summit in Orlando, Fla., at the Walt Disney World Swan. Last year, the ADSO had their largest meeting ever, with close to 800 attendees, and this year’s event should be even bigger. ADSO summit attendees will take over the entire hotel so networking opportunities will surely abound. I was also asked to participate in a panel discussion called “Promoting the DSO Story.” I will have the opportunity to discuss our mission here at Efficiency in Group Practice and how we assist DSOs in getting their message out to industry partners, dental students, practices owners and dental career seekers.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend any of these meetings, it is worthwhile to set some time aside to network with peers in the DSOs space. There is plenty of collaboration that occurs at these events, and the networking opportunities are extremely valuable.
As you read the pages of this issue of Efficiency in Group Practice, please take note of our feature story on the ever-increasing importance of your hygiene team. Speaking of teams, we get some feedback from Kool Smiles and their commitment to building and maintain well-functioning dental teams for the sake of creating the best patient experience. Check out these articles and a whole lot more in this March/April issue.
Bill Neumann
