Nigel Jones explains how revisiting the basics of the patient journey can help dental practices cope with rising costs.
Many of the practice owners I talk to are struggling with the squeeze on profitability caused primarily by the rising costs of running a practice. For some, this is already prompting worries around the value of the practice when they come to retire, especially in a world of reducing multiples. However, for others this is piling on further pressure with the here and now stress of running a small business providing healthcare.
It’s understandable that, in such circumstances, it’s those rising costs that initially come under scrutiny and opportunities are sought to offset increases in some areas with efficiencies in others. And what of the additional strategy of increasing income by passing the burden on to private patients?
Invisible demand
As has been highlighted by the chancellor’s call for an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into private dentistry, private treatment fees have indeed been rising. However, the figures put out by the British Dental Association (BDA) based on its own research would suggest that the increase in treatment fees is lagging significantly behind the inflationary effect of increased practice running costs. That leaves a gap which, if not filled, could tempt owners into short-term measures, such as further cost cutting that risks weakening the underlying strength of the business.
For many practices, options remain with the development of additional income streams designed to capitalise on the continuing demand for cosmetic dentistry. Without doubt, that demand weakened in the face of a cost-of-living crisis and the end of the bulge in interest caused by the ‘Zoom boom’ during the COVID years.
However, many of the peers of those patients who led the way in improving their confidence with straighter whiter teeth have now been reassured that the risks are minimal and the costs are worth the benefits. A number of anecdotal sources point to demand continuing even if it may not match the heady days of the post-lockdown era.
And perhaps, therein lies part of the problem. Although the demand is there, it’s not as visible. The new cohort of interested patients are more resistant to change than the trailblazers and need more careful handling if their inherent fears of pain and cost are not to sabotage their desire for help. And yet, patient journeys that, pre-COVID, may well have become well-established highly effective habits often seem to have fallen into disrepair during the boom times.
The impact of AI
Of course, nowadays, there is some very impressive, very slick, often AI-driven technology available to recover the lost ground. This can both significantly improve the patient experience and reduce the pressure on the practice team and is well worth a look.
But sometimes the most basic things are being overlooked. I’m not talking about marketing activity like the use of websites, even if there are still some practices that either have the most rudimentary of sites or even now, lack a website altogether. I’m talking about what happens once a patient has found your website and been persuaded to contact the practice to express an interest in potentially having treatment.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise, but I still come across so many practices that have no awareness of how many telephone calls or enquiry forms to the practice go unanswered. Yes of course, some of those will be existing patients checking appointment times, but some calls will be from potential new patients who may have taken days to pluck up the courage to phone.
Remember the fundamentals
And what about treatment plans proposed but not taken up? Is there a process for following them up in a timely fashion only to make sure the patient isn’t hesitating due to a misunderstanding about, say, the time off work involved? Is the treatment plan conversion rate even being monitored to pick up early warning signs that something is amiss with the practice’s patient journey?
A level of sophistication can now be applied to managing new patient enquiries and the patient journey that is several worlds away from the world of dentistry I entered in the 1990s. That can be both inspirational and intimidating and definitely should not be ignored. However, when reaching for solutions to the ever-increasing challenges of practice management, some of the fundamentals are still just as relevant and shouldn’t be overlooked.
There’s never been a safer time to leave NHS dentistry. If you’re considering your options away from the NHS and are looking for a plan provider who will hold your hand through the process at a pace that’s right for you, you’re in safe hands with Practice Plan.
You can start the conversation today by calling 01691 684165 or booking your one-to-one NHS to private conversation at a date and time that suits you, just visit practiceplan.co.uk/nhsvirtual.
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This article is sponsored by Practice Plan.
