Goodbye 2019 and Hello 2020! I can’t believe we are starting a new decade. It is good to have short term, midterm and long term goals, however today let’s think about what you can implement today and in the next 30, 60 or 90 days. You can make a huge impact in your practice when you break things down into smaller pieces. So for today’s article let’s focus on some short term goals you and you team can put in place right now.
My question to you is: What are you saying hello to in 2020?
- Increase the cash flow in your practice? Put together a solid system for managing your accounts receivable which includes more accurate treatment plan estimates, more financial options for your patients and better verbal skills when asking for money at the front desk. As a Novonee member, you have access to one of our recorded webinars that was titled, “The Top Five Tips to Increase Your Cash Flow.”
- Treatment planning is the first line of defense to a successful collection system. Patients who are informed about the cost of treatment and have financial options to afford treatment will willingly pay their portion of their treatment on the day of service. Make sure your insurance estimates are as accurate as possible by keeping the insurance coverage tables and payment table up to date. Also, you can now use the new integration with CareCredit to do a new application or check a patients open credit right from your patient ledger. If you would like a copy of my CareCredit worklow tip sheet you can email me directly at dayna@novonee.com.
- When you have a more accurate patient portion (it’s never 100% accurate), then you can feel more confident with your teammates helping with the collection process. Find a place in Dentrix to document what the patient’s portion is so your entire team is informed about what the patient owes today. My favorite place is in the note box on the appointment because this note also prints on the Patient Route Slip or the Patient Visit Form.
- Make sure that all your team members are trained on how to collect money in your office and know how to use the credit card machine. This will ensure that no patient ever walks out the door without paying their co-pay.
- When patients do walk out the door without making their co-pay, you need to have a systematic approach to managing the accounts receivable. Therefore, it is always better to collect at the time of service to maximize your cash flow. The best report for managing patient account balances is the Collection Manager.
- I am a huge fan of getting out of the old standard way of sending billing statements once a month. Get out of your comfort zone and send billing statements a couple of times a week or even daily. This is a fantastic way to increase your cash flow and reduce the monthly stress of billing statements. Also, now in Dentrix version G7.3 you now have the option of sending out a billing statement via email.
- Reduce holes in your schedule? I am an advocate of being proactive with your schedule and creating a weekly system of working the scheduling reports. These reports include the Unscheduled List, the Continuing Care Report and the Treatment Manager. All three of these amazing reports offer different types of lists and require your attention if you want an appointment book that stays full.
- Better tracking of your production goals? Yes, every office should have a daily production goal for the doctor and the hygiene department. I am not saying that your patient care is dependent on the production. I am saying you do need to know what the goal is and be able to see where you are at. Being able to see your goals helps your team schedule better. The goal is to work smarter not harder. Check out my mini YouTube video on entering goals into Dentrix by CLICKING HERE.
I am excited about 2020 and I hope you are too. There are so many other topics we could talk about as goals for 2020 and I had to choose my top three. Let’s continue the conversation on this blog, in our podcast and on social media. I would love to hear from you.
