I love the profession of dentistry. I love it! My mission for the last 22 years has been to help dentists overcome obstacles to gain happiness and success (while always ensuring the patient receives excellent treatment.) Win-Win. That’s the only acceptable outcome. Anything less than that is second rate-maybe even unethical. Most of us dentists have received bad advice from various sources causing us to oftentimes work too hard for the money we take home.
In the last 3-5 years, changes have been a plenty. Big changes. There has been an onslaught of insurance company control and influence on our profession. Plus, corporate dentistry has established a foothold. These two business models are especially popular with young dentists.
So…should you join PPO’s or not? Or, if you’re already steeped in PPO’s, should you continue?
Tough questions. Every dentist has to decide for him/herself based on several factors.
Am I totally against dentists joining PPO’s? Absolutely not. It can be a benefit to certain dentists and their patients.
However, I do have a problem with the common thinking that if you don’t join, your practice will die. That you’re stuck. That you have no choice.
As I speak around the country, here are a few of the comments other dentists have shared with me. Not my ideas. Just what I’ve been told.
What they thought when the first joined.
Advantage of joining PPO’s.
- A steady stream of new patients. A simple marketing cost.
- Develop a ‘busy’ practice by filling up empty chairs.
- Everyone is doing it and if you don’t join, you’ll never make it.
- A steady stream of new patients. A simple marketing cost.
- Develop a ‘busy’ practice by filling up empty chairs.
- Everyone is doing it and if you don’t join, you’ll never make it.
What they discovered.
Disadvantages.
- You write off literally thousands of dollars of NET each month.
- You are at the mercy of the insurance company. Reimbursement fees will continue to drop as they increase their profits. You are at their mercy.
- Treatment is often limited because of insurance maximums causing the ‘busy’ or ‘volume’ model to be the only way to “make the money work” by doing more “one or two teeth-at-a-time dentistry.”
- High overhead. More bodies through the door (of necessity) requires more chairs, bigger team, bad systems, larger office space, higher marketing expense.
- Oftentimes, because of insurance control, patients don’t receive comprehensive treatment and only ‘crisis’ treatment is given.
- Dentists are often forced to cut costs in order to stay afloat. Cheaper labs. Cheaper employees.
- Hire associate doctors to do cheaper procedures.
- Open more hours/days per week.
- Due to higher financial commitments, the dentist gets ‘stuck’ and can’t get out.
- End up believing that you are ‘unique’ in your locale and that if you don’t join, no one will come to your practice.
- One dentist friend told me that he’s the Walmart of dentistry and that he was OK with that. Hmmmm.
- Patients develop the “what will my insurance pay” mentality. So, the insurance company is influencing the patients’ choices which are based only on money, not on health. (And, many dentists confess to me that…try as they might, they too are influenced by the insurance company.)
- Speed is the one constant to make the PPO model work. Fast dentistry.
- Dentists don’t feel appreciated for their skill, care and judgment because they know that for the most part, patients choose them because they are on the list.
These are not my ideas. Don’t shoot the messenger. Just what other dentists have shared about their experience.
Interestingly, many consultants encourage signing up for PPO’s to get the practice busier. “Everyone is doing it.” Or, “You have to join to compete with corporate dentistry.” The contracted dentist often plans to get off PPO’s when the practice is more profitable. Problem is, for the majority, it never happens. Wrong systems. Wrong communication. Wrong vision. Wrong thinking.
Again, the question, should you join PPO’s or not? Or, if you’re already steeped in PPO’s, should you continue?
That depends. Am I against joining PPO’s? No. Please hear me say that. ‘No’! I have clients who participate in PPO’s and are profitable. Yet, am I against dentists allowing these programs to dictate how they should practice and what level of care they offer their patients?
We work with practices that are ‘cash-only practices’ and others that are PPO driven. If you are afraid to separate your practice from PPO’s, that’s fine. I help you get what you want. We help you create systems that support profitability, low stress and time off. If you want these, please give us a call or fill out our form for our free coaching offer.
One final true story from my practice.
Like you, we get compliments from our patients.
Recently one of our patients told me that she tells all her friends about our office. I thanked her and asked, “What do you tell them?”
“That’s the best part!” she proclaimed. “I tell them that Dr. Brady cares so much about his patients that he doesn’t care what the insurance companies say he can or cannot do. He does what you really need without the influence of the insurance.” “Isn’t that great?”
Made my day. – Dr. Chris Brady
Click here to request a free report – “6 Ways to Minimize Dependence from PPO’s”