JOB FAIR ARBONNE

So, my advice to you - make this the best year you have had in practice. Get started by increasing your ABILTY with the MGE New Patient Workshop (http://www.mgeonline.com). I look forward to meeting you and tracking your success!

What am I going to do?

In 1992, after eleven years in my dental practice, I was asking myself this very question. My practice was in a strip mall and the supermarket moved out. The foot traffic left with it. New patients crashed to fewer than 10 per month and collections were down by 25%. Over the eleven years prior to this I spent tens of thousands of dollars on consultants to teach me how to have a great staff meeting, run my schedule, etc. But, after all of this consulting, I was still left with no solution to my lowered income and new patients. I was frustrated. I began investigating PPO and HMO plans as a solution.

1. Perhaps you to are or have look at managed care (HMOs and PPOs) either as a source of new patients or how to get out of it. As the topic of managed care is one that I get asked about on a regular basis, I thought it would be a good idea to look at A) why people join up and B) What it really takes to get out. If you are involved with any HMOs, PPOs, discount plans or just want to know how to stay out of them, this article is for you.
2. In looking at an exit strategy, we should first examine what prompts dentists to join these plans. Common answers I hear from colleagues are:
3. 1. I needed to be busier. It is better to fill that empty chair time with a patient (even at a reduced fee) than to have it empty.

2. I wanted to join the plan before I got "locked out" 3. A lot of my patients switched over to this plan. 4. I needed to improve my cash flow.

5. I needed more new patients.

You may find that the reasons you joined or are thinking of joining are similar. While these are all valid reasons, let me pose this question: If I were to ask if you would prefer to be paid your usual full fee for work you are doing, what would be your answer? (I am assuming it would be "yes.") The obvious problem with these plans is you are doing the same amount and quality of work at a reduced fee. This would work if your lab, suppliers, landlord and staff were willing to perform their services at a commensurately reduced fee - but we know that this is not going to happen! Generally, the write off percentage begins at 15-25% and go as high as 60% with some plans. You are reducing your income for a procedure, but not expense. At best you are cutting your profit; in severe cases may find yourself with a busy office having a difficult time paying bills.

What problem is managed care solving? You join a plan, you get more patients. Well, this begs the question: Why not go and just get more new patients without joining a plan? Think about it: If you knew how to attract enough fee-for-service new patients for practice to be successful - what would be the point of signing up for any plan?