Bracing for More for More Effective Financing Options: Dental and Orthodontic Practices Search for More Effective Financing Options and Automated Patient Financing Solutions By Valerie Harding T he material used to make braces isn’t all that new -the revolutionary part is that the fabrication of the wire which usually takes place in a manufacturing plant can now be done in the clinic as the patient waits. A robot not only bends but produces the necessary high temperatures needed to form the memory alloy which makes up the implant for the alignment process. A robot can make more precise bends and the information regard-ing the braces is stored and re-adjusted minutely as the treatment progresses with minimal changes or inconvenience. The technology is not cheap and neither is the treat-ment but staying on the cutting edge is important. So when dental insurance won’t cover it, financing programs are often the best options. The dental profession over the past five years has emphasized many creative financing options. Often practices have accepted a very 22 September/October 2010 JAOS high number of paid in full contracts without budgeting the monies over a two-year period. What happens in this case if the economy takes another dip or the referral patterns change? The key to creative financing is to establish your financial goals based on a percentage of how you want to handle your income from orthodontics. According to Dental Research Programs (DRP), 25%-30% of cases paid in full would be a healthy number with the balance of the contracted accounts being in monthly payments or automatic debit. Others may recommend taking as many paid in full contracts as possible to generate a positive cash flow. Most doctors surveyed by DRP recommend budgeting any paid-in-fulls from one year to another to avoid loss of income if it starts to decline due to unforeseen circumstances. Other financial challenges that doctors face are in dealing with collections. Many of the collection problems doctors experience are due to the policies they have implemented that are too loose. The number of statements sent should be mini-mized due to check debits and credit card withdrawals. In regard to financing practices, many doctors typically wait too long to dismiss patients due to financial situations. The office team must clearly under-stand the protocol for collection issues. Insurance companies have continually slowed payments to offices that do not pursue monies quickly when they are overdue. Practices often let the insurance companies off the hook too easily. It is important to follow the accounts receivable and projected income numbers closely to ensure a healthy financial system. There is a brief window of oppor-tunity when new patients become loyal participants who embrace their
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society September-October 2010: Page 22
