GROWTH CONTINUES—THE SECOND QUARTER 2016 DENTAL DOW

Comparing the first half this year to the first half of 2015 for the mature area practices sampled, we find that practice production is up by 5.8% and collections are up by 5.2%, which is slightly off the first quarter’s pace of about 6% for production and collections.

Total patient flow is up 3%. New patients are up just 1%.

Open time in the hygiene schedules remained steady, but Doctor open time increased 15% giving up some of the gains that we experienced last year with reduced Doctor time.

Total production per exam is up 2.5% and crown and bridge is up 3.3%. Doctor Productivity remains the same at about $660 per hour.

So far, this makes about two years in a row of gains similar to those “pre-recession”. So, most dental practices aren’t confronted with an economic headwind against practice growth but no smart practitioner is complacent about practice vitality.

No one gets a gimme!

DO YOU THINK IT’S TRUE THAT?

  • Keeping the schedules full affects collections?
  • What your clinical team says to patients regarding insurance affects collections?
  • Communication between front and back affects collections? Hint: Almost every practice loses thousands of dollars per week because of that gap.
  • Treatment staff can reduce changes in the schedule and does that affect collections?