I Want My Practice Back!

“I Want My Practice Back!”

 

Decades ago, Dr.Q had written a business plan and a mission statement and answered the bankers question about where he would be in five years.  On December 2015 he said, “If I have to practice dentistry like this for another year, I will give my practice away and move to a cabin in the woods.”

 

“What do you think is wrong with your practice, Dr. Q?” , I asked.

 

“It’s not what I want anymore, it used to be but I feel like I am working for it instead of it working for me.   Patients are angry when the insurance doesn’t pay even when I tell them it might not.  Bills are piling up and my receivables are high.  I can’t keep a front desk person because my assistant and the hygienist aren’t satisfied.  They both have been with me for years and they run the place but I am not that happy with either of their performance.  If I say anything I fear they may both walk out and then where will I be?  I just don’t know what to do.”

 

Dr. Q does not have an Employee Policy Manual, or written job descriptions and he hasn’t conducted job performance reviews for years.  If you don’t run the practice like a business it won’t be long until it has many problems associated with lack of structure, no accountability and less than solid operating systems.

 

It is not advisable to bury the new Office Manager in a several page outstanding insurance claim report and a large past due accounts receivable.   The job of cleaning up claims that were not filed correctly and or need to be appealed can take hours out of every day and your cash flow is suffering now. Calling past due account receivables requires a quiet corner away from the desk and time to call.  Most offices need their Office Manager at the desk taking care of patients and practice issues.  Don’t set your office manager up to fail, outsource the insurance filing and follow-up and the collection calls  to a reputable professional billing service (eAssist Dental Billing).

 

Outsourcing office work is foreign ground to dentists in general because they feel they don’t have control.  The truth is they have less control when systems break down that they can’t fix themselves.  

Hiring additional  help at the desk often adds fuel to a fire with more drama to your office environment, increasing your debt and taxes and may not solve the problem. Consider outsourcing insurance billing and collections to a company that prides itself on success and making your practice more profitable.

 

Outsourcing dental insurance filing, collections of unpaid receivables and accounting/payroll tasks to experts is a smarter and more efficient way to manage your practice.

Take your practice back today by making sound business decisions.

 

0 Comments

Post a comment

Dental Billing