It’s the most wonderful time of year and holiday shopping is in full swing. It’s a time when we think about the dreams and wishes of others and day dream about what it will be like to see the smiles on their faces when “they” open up the gift they’ve always wanted. It’s an amazing feeling being a part of those moments.
A few weeks from now, our thoughts will transition to New Year’s resolutions. One of the more popular resolutions for dentists centers on improving the profitability of their practice.
Three simple things your dental office can do to reduce expenses and improve profitability in 2017 are:
- Use your WDA membership to get valuable discounts on supplies. Did you know that as a WDA member you receive discounts on important disposable, infection control and hygiene supplies from Association Gloves? Simply create an account on AssociationGloves.com and save as much as 25 percent or more on popular brand name supplies. Taking advantage of this alone could save you as much as $1,000 next year.
- Save your office time and money by posting patient forms on your website. Many dental offices still mail out forms to patients prior to their appointments. This is a time consuming and expensive endeavor for staff to complete. The cost of postage and printed forms for each mailing is well over $2.50 and if you send out 400 mailings that costs you $1,000 per year. Instead, post your most popular patient forms in PDF files to your website and encourage your patients to print them off and complete in advance. PDFs of popular patient forms can be found at DentalRecord.com. If you get just half of your patient base (Gen Y and millennials will welcome this) to print forms off your website, it will save you hundreds and your staff will thank you for it.
- Save money on insurance processing costs. Accepting insurance is almost a requirement of a successful dental business these days. To make more on each claim and speed up your reimbursement, consider switching to a less expensive claims processing solution. A typical office that sends 200 electronic claims per month at 25 cents per claim using a product like EDS Bridge will save $600 per year over the average 50 cents per claim of other electronic solutions. Dental offices that convert from sending paper based claims to sending e-claims can save well over $1,000 per year!
These three simple changes can equate to big savings for your practice in 2017.
