Monday, March 7, 2011
Step outside, please.
If you can step outside yourself for a moment and look at your labor as a Doctor separately from your role as an owner, you can see what a desirable investment your dental office is. Now let’s look at key points in increasing the profitability of a practice (whether you own just one or 20):
1. Hygiene productivity makes a big difference on the bottom line. Your sweat aside, it’s largely where the profit of ownership comes from!
An approximately $10 per hour (or patient visit) increase in hygiene translates to an almost 10% increase in profits. The average hygiene production per hour is $139 in the Metro Area and $122 for Outstate. Why would any Doctor (owner) in his right mind pay market rates for hygienists that are producing at less than the market?
2. Lower Costs: Some of these group practices have negotiated better prices from the supply houses and labs.
3. Negotiating with PPOs: Because they have a network of practices, they are sometimes able to negotiate better reimbursement.
4. Standardized Systems, training and supervision.
5. Serious Business Ethic: These groups are less tolerant of sub-standard performance than private practitioners often are.
Your Advantage:
You don’t have the group buying or bargaining power that these large groups do but you have one key advantage. You’re an on-site owner! You are totally invested in your practice, both financially and personally. And one more thing, you have the best management team in the upper Midwest (if not the country) eager to support you and add to your success (us). Our depth of experience and perspective in advising and receiving data from over 200 offices gives you a powerful ally in the marketplace.
Our Job:
Group practices aren’t the enemy, but as long as you own your own practice, you are competing with them and their economies. It’s our job to help you continue to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
So, relish the fact that you own your own business. Be resolved this year to leverage our recommendations and your business systems into greater profits.
Be resolved to let your staff know that you want them to be happy and focused. And, be resolved to hold them accountable for working the systems as planned and be resolved to reward them well for performance.
You and your staff will prosper in direct proportion to how well you follow through on our advice.
Posted by Bill Rossi at 12:03 PM
Labels: Advanced Practice Management, Bill Rossi, Dental Consultant, dental office overhead, dental office profitability, Group Practices