What you should have learned in dental school but didn’t!

Dental school: where we learn the ins and outs of clinical skills, but miss out on the essential business know-how needed to rock our own profitable practices. It’s time to face the truth, my fellow dentists. There’s a glaring knowledge gap we must bridge. While we worked so hard to learn clinical skills, we were falling short of getting the business training needed to successfully launch a profitable dental practice.

To create true wealth and legacy, we must understand how our practice operates. We also need to know the key levers we can pull to grow and help our practices become more profitable.

The other skills we should have learned are advanced people skills and leadership techniques that ensure good team relationships and communication with our patients. These skills can be picked up by trial and error, but that can get expensive financially and spiritually. Fortunately, there are services and support groups that can help you build these skills rapidly. Be proactive and reach out for help.

Spoiler alert! There is more to it than basic business skills and people skills.

I have seen many practices that, from the outside, looked successful and had sound business systems. But after learning more, I found out their accounts receivables were sick and were causing the practice to struggle to survive. Being unable to pay their routine expenses and needing more revenue to update technology that would grow the business made the practice a pressure cooker of low morale. Staff wanted raises, but the money was outside the bank. It was in the hundreds of unpaid claims and patient balances on the accounts.

These offices didn’t know that their Revenue Cycle Management or RCM systems were non-existent or broken.

Revenue cycle management (RCM) in healthcare describes the system to track services and collect revenue, from appointment to payment. The RCM system includes the following:

• The pace of patient payments for services: patients must pay for services when rendered/or the coinsurance amount collected (verified from insurance)
• Claims submission: claims must be submitted correctly (attachments/radiographs) within 24 hours (clean claims pay within 14 days)
• Reimbursements from insurance providers: must be monitored and follow-up done routinely; appeals must be addressed the day they are received

What makes your Revenue Cycle Management fail

• The patient’s insurance coverage is not verified before any procedures
• Payments, such as coinsurance/copayments, are not collected on the day of the appointment
• Claims are not submitted within 24 hours
• Outstanding balances after insurance pays are not followed up on
• Incorrect CDT coding is causing claim denials/ and not keeping up on coding changes that affect payment
• Not staying in compliance with Medicare and Medicaid program regulations
• Not following up on insurance denials in a timely manner (there are time limits on filing claims!)

Dental office business tips

• Only try to do some things in-house; It’s wise to outsource administrative tasks to professionals so that you can concentrate on improving your skills and spending time with patients. I started eAssist Dental Solutions to help myself and other dentists with the arduous task of billing dental insurance correctly and guaranteeing a profitable revenue cycle.
• Know your numbers/your KPIs (key performance indicators)
• Master a budget plan using industry benchmarks as guides. Benchmarks are industry ideals and goals that ensure a healthy practice
• Before you sign up for PPO networks, read the fine print of policy limitations and provisions.
• Understand the impact of dental insurance on practice growth and profits.

Building a great practice means building a great business. You can start by developing your skills as a business leader. Here are some things I didn’t learn in dental school that have helped me become a better leader in running my dental practices.

• Get passionate about what you do! You love dentistry! Show it!
• Adopt the entrepreneurial spirit to succeed. Belief in yourself, self-worth. Think positive!
• Build on or develop your leadership skills. No one is a born leader.
• Build a team of enthusiastic dentists(associates) who will deliver the level of care that you want to provide for your practice(s)
• Surround yourself with positive people. People who share your values and support your mission. Eliminate toxic people from your life.
• Find mentors from whom you can learn and who have the spirit, reputation, and drive you to admire. Talk to them and listen to what they have to offer.
• Learn stress-reducing techniques and live by them
• Adopt a healthy lifestyle of clean food, exercise, and spiritual growth
• Be a servant leader to those in your circle of influence.
• Build a support team of industry experts you can rely on to help you succeed: Consultants, legal and financial talent, and other business experts and influencers.
• Continue to build your knowledge/never stop learning (sharpen your saw)

Continue to grow by learning from the best and brightest

Some of my favorite reads:

• “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason.
• “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey
• “Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard 
• “Reinvent Yourself” by James Altucher

In conclusion, dental school equips us with impressive clinical skills, but it leaves us with a significant gap in essential business know-how required to thrive in our own profitable practices. Recognizing this knowledge gap is the first step towards seeking the resources and support we need to bridge it, ensuring that our passion for dentistry can be matched with the entrepreneurial acumen required for long-term success.