Most businesses provide a service and receive payment immediately. Unfortunately, this isn’t the same for medical and dental care. In many cases, dentists don’t receive full payments until weeks or months after the patient’s treatment. This becomes a serious problem when the practice’s bottom line begins to suffer. Not only does this affect your salary, but your ability to invest in training, equipment, and systems that make running a dental practice easier.

So, how can you stop this domino effect? In this blog, we offer five ways to improve your dental collections.

1. Have a clear payment policy

An established payment policy is one of the best ways to increase your dental collections. This way, your team members and patients know exactly what to do when it comes to payments. Be sure to address this during team meetings and to post the policy in a spot where both your staff and patients can see it.

If you don’t have an established financial policy, now’s the time to create one! Here are some points you should address:

• Insurance
• Additional charges or fees for services
• How to provide accurate estimates for patients
• Upfront payments
• Discounts for upfront and same-day payments
• Same-day payments
• Third-party or in-house financing

2. Create scripts for your front desk assistants

Asking for payment can be awkward and may be difficult for some of your team members. In fact, it could be a major cause of a decline in dental collections. Many times, dental team members create their own payment policy based on what they feel in the moment or what they think is fair. This is what not having a clear payment policy produces.

To relieve your team members of that responsibility, create a script for them to go by. By now, they should know your financial policy, but a script will help them relay it to the patients in a productive way.

3. Offer third party financing

As dental professionals, we’re passionate about helping all people achieve optimal oral health, but unfortunately, not all patients can afford it. When it’s not possible for patients to pay for treatment upfront, third party financing is a great option.

Companies like CareCredit offer financing for most dental preventive, restorative, and cosmetic procedures. This allows patients to receive the care they need at an affordable price while you receive the full payment.

4. Offer rewards for same-day payments

We never grow out of liking incentives for doing something. Let your patients know that if they pay upfront, there is a fee adjustment or discount. You’ll be much more likely to receive payments before the procedure starts! This makes the outpatient procedure much simpler for everyone.

5. Use electronic billing

Electronic billing has become increasingly popular with all types of businesses because it is quick and simple. Patients can pay anywhere, anytime with just the click of a button. Trust us, you won’t be the only bill they are paying online.

This process also relieves your team members of the responsibility of making phone calls and taking payments over the phone.

Our Virtual Administrators and Trainers Are Here to Help

Overhauling your payment policy and figuring out how to set up electric billing may seem overwhelming. That’s why we’re here! Our team at Dental Practice Enhancement provides dentists with the help and tools they need to improve their dental collections.

Call us today at (833) 373-3678 ext. 1 for more information.