Top 5 Strategies to Maximize Dental Insurance Collections

After many years as a practicing dentist, the thought of insurance collections comes to the forefront of my mind when talking about revenue cycle management. It’s the single most important part of your profit pipeline, and without a robust, managed system in place, your practice can potentially lose thousands in just a year or two, and even more over the lifetime of your career. A majority of us didn’t go to dental school to learn business, we went to learn about how to treat patients, make lifelong friendships, and provide essential, professional care. Here are the top 5 strategies I’ve used to maintain my practice’s bottom line as well as foster continued growth and excellence.

1. Make pre-appointment readiness your cohesive goal

If you haven’t heard of pre-appointment readiness, chances are there are some areas you may be able to improve in right away. When we think of a patient booking an appointment, we have to think of more than just putting some names and numbers into a calendar. We must also ensure that the patient is covered, not only for the general appointment, but for whatever treatments and clinical processes are necessary. Insurance verification is an incredibly simple way to streamline one of the most hectic parts of pre-appointment readiness, all the while without jeopardizing the time and energy of your employees.

2. Automate your dental billing processes

Your insurance collections can’t go anywhere without your dental billing claims sent cleanly and consistently. This includes three primary task areas:

• Collect all clinical information at the time of appointment, not after
• Utilize industry-leading resources at dentalcoding.com to leverage CDT code changes
• Take the burden off of your front office staff by outsourcing primary dental billing tasks

The eAssist platform was built by dentists for dentists, which means we have the dedication and mission as your office does: patients first. Profit can only come when your practice is seen as consistent professional, and accurate in dental claim submissions. We help your staff, not replace them, so that your office is best able to foster incredible relationships with your patients.

3. Follow up on dental billing claims and patient scheduling

Your dental billing claim submission process is only as good as its follow up. The same goes for patient scheduling. Each one requires a committed hand to seeing things through to the end, whether that’s a 180 on a denied claim to a patient sitting in the chair after months of absence. Let’s delve into some practical tips for following up on critical parts of your revenue cycle management process:

• If your claims are being denied or rejected, take a closer look at if you are using clinical documentation and CDT codes properly
• Be sure to note provider-specific requirements in your PMS or individual patient file
• Patients should be booking their next appointment at their current one if possible
• Keep a “VIP” list of patients who never cancel or who are willing to fill empty appointment slots and utilize them to keep your schedule full

Of course, no one likes sitting on the phone all day, and that’s where the eAssist Dental Billing and Full Schedule platform comes in. You can net two birds with one stone in claim submission and patient scheduling, wrapped up in a concise package that streamlines your revenue cycle and commits itself to continued growth.

4. Educate patients about treatment options and continuing care

Dentistry is built on a continual, consistent need and desire for learning new things. Whether it’s the latest digital imaging technology, 3D printing, and even digital dental billing not too long ago, the innovations we see are for the better benefit of practices and patients. Without a dedicated desire to inform patients about what we can do for them, a lot of this innovation excitement can be lost. Here are some helpful ways to tell patients about continued care:

• Know your patients, and don’t try to upsell specific products or tech without knowing they will be receptive
• If it doesn’t help, it will hurt, or at the very least be a potentially awkward conversation
• Frame discussions around current issues and offer multiple treatment options (if possible)
• Always listen, and never tell your patients what they should or should not do

The delicate balance between professional opinion and dedicated educational information is one we must walk with each patient at every appointment. Remember your commitment to each patient when they may seem dismissive of your opinion, and work on listening to their primary concerns before offering solutions.

5. Know when to automate processes to benefit your entire practice

Asking for help can be one of the most difficult parts of your professional career. Yet, most of us know a mentor or have someone in mind, who when things got tough, were able to innovate and bring people together to find a solution. I hope that for your practice, eAssist is that solution. Not only do we provide you with an enhanced revenue cycle management process, but also serve your team in a way that allows them to become the best versions of themselves. Whether it’s dental billing, accounting, insurance verification, patient scheduling and more, eAssist has continued to innovate and provide solutions for practices just like yours. Schedule a consultation with us below, and tell us where you’d like to see your practice in the next few years. You don’t commit to contracts, and we don’t upsell you what you don’t need. Our solutions can be customized to best fit your needs, and there is no obligation when you contact us.