3 Ways to Increase Revenue Now Without Working Harder

What if you were able to increase revenue without working longer hours or spending more money? The good news is that this is all possible and you can start today! Spending over 25 years in the dental industry in multiple roles, I have seen what can happen when these three easily implemented action steps are taken. If three feels like too much, start with one and use that momentum to add the next step.

Patient Recalls

Contacting patients about prescribed treatment is so obvious and yet it seldom is made a priority when so many things can feel urgent in a dental practice. It is a bit ironic that we sometimes don’t recall what an impact doing recalls can have on a practice’s bottom line!

If you don’t currently have a treatment coordinator to make these reachouts to patients, then start somewhere and have administrative and clinical staff call a minimum of one patient a day. 

In times when a patient doesn’t show up for their scheduled appointment, have the clinical team member scheduled to see them, whether it be the assistant, hygienist, or someone else, use the now available time to call more patients.

Just making recalls part of the daily to-dos will engage your staff in the success of the practice and patients will feel ever more cared about by you and your team.

Dental Cases

Don’t most, if not all, practices have a drawer filled with crowns, veneers, partials, and other dental cases that are ready to be delivered to patients? If you don’t already have a system for managing these, I encourage you to start today! 

Appoint one person to go through the drawer to make a list, whether this be digital, through dental practice software, or even old school pen and paper, of the cases. For the cases that are getting close to not fitting anymore due to length from the prep date, make sure this is noted too, as it can be an encouragement for someone to understand the urgency of scheduling their appointment.

Once the list is ready, then it’s time to start calling the patients to get them scheduled. Sometimes we all need a little encouragement and calling the patients is another way for them to know that you care. 

The last time I saw this action step taken in a practice, the practice was able to collect over $10k within 2 weeks as a result of scheduling these seats. Remember, this was work that had already been done and expenses covered, so this was quite a quick boost to income!

Reducing AR

There is money in your practice that is rightfully yours. You and your team have already done the work to earn it and often, in our full schedules, we let this part of the business slide. 

Many practices have growing ARs over 90 days and don’t have a system in place to keep the numbers down. Now this step takes more time, but the outcomes can be huge.

If it appears your team doesn’t have the time currently to follow up on all the claims, then the first action step to take is to have them follow up on one patient’s account. It is always a boost when choosing a patient that has several claims outstanding, as this can usually be an easily solvable issue and it takes care of multiple claims at one time. Oh, and once the claims are resolved and payments posted, immediately send the patient their statement.

Do you think you would like to multiply your team’s effectiveness and accelerate results? Schedule a free consultation to discuss how eAssist billing may be the ultimate way you can make more money without working harder.

About the Author

Jody Finn is the COO and co-founder of FCR Health Solutions and is also a member of the eAssist Dental Solutions team. She is on a mission to support the well-being of dentists, their practices, and the patients they serve. With over 20 years of dental management and various administrative roles, Jody has had the opportunity to provide educational courses for doctors and their staff.