1 / 3

Why Are Dentists’ Incomes Declining?

<br>https://www.mypractice9.com/<br>Why Are Dentists’ Incomes Declining?<br>

williamwiggins
Download Presentation

Why Are Dentists’ Incomes Declining?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. WhyAreDentists’IncomesDeclining? September18,2017 Dentists’incomesareonthedecline.In9outofthelast10years,dentistshaveseenadropintheir earningsandtheAmericanDentalAssociationhasforecastedthat2017willbeanotherdownyearfor dentists’incomes.ThoughtheeconomyhasreboundedfromtheGreatRecession,dentists’incomes havenotbouncedback.Whatisbehinddentists’decliningincomes?Andwhatcandentistsdoabout it? SupplyandDemand Themostbasicprinciplesofeconomicstellusthatwhensupplyishighanddemandislow,priceswill fall.Thisiswhathashappenedinthefieldofdentistry. Sincethemid-2000’sthedemandfordentalserviceshasdecreased.Thiscouldbe,inpartatleast,due totheeconomicrecession.However,evenastheeconomyhasimproved,demandfordentaltreatment procedureshasremainedlow.Thedentalindustryisuniqueamongmostmedicalfieldsastheclear majorityofdentalworkisdiscretionary.Patientscangoyears…evenalifetimewithoutsuffering complicationsfromamissingtooth.Forexample,thereare174millionAmerican’scurrentlymissingat leastonetooth.Certainly,weallknowfriendsorfamilymemberswhohavelessthanperfectteeth. However,thecostandfearofdiscomforthasbeenasufficientdeterrenttokeeppatientsfromseeking cosmeticororthodontictreatment. Thingsarenotgoodonthesupplysideeither.Despitetherelativelyweakdemandfordentalservices thereisanincreasingnumberofdentists.Thistrendisexpectedtocontinueinthecomingyears,driving downpricesfurther. Hopefully,thedemandfordentalserviceswillpickupagaineventually.Withunemploymentfalling, moreadultsshouldbeginseekingdentalcare.However,thereareotherfactorsunrelatedtothecurrent stateoftheeconomythatareresponsiblefordentists’decliningincomes. CorporateDentalChains Onecauseofdentists’decliningincomesistheriseoflargecorporatedentalchains.Again,thebasic economicscomeintoplay.Bigcorporatedentalchainshavetheadvantageofeconomiesofscale.By sharingresourcesamongmanydifferentlocations,thesechainslowertheiroperatingcosts. Inaddition,mostoftheselargedentalclinicsprovidespecialtyservicesaswell.Thisallowspatientsto receivecomprehensivedentalcareunderoneroof.Theinconveniencethatpatientsexperiencewhena privatepracticedentistreferspatientstolocalspecialistissignificant.Studieshaveshownthatasmany as30-42%ofpatientsneverfollowuponspecialtydentaltreatmentswhentheyarereferredoutsidethe dentalpractice.Corporatedentalchainsdonothavethatissueandarerapidlyacquiringnewpatientsat thecostofthetraditionalprivatepracticedentist. Thankstotheirlowercostofbusiness,corporatedentalchainscanofferservicesatadiscount.While theymaynotbeabletoprovidetheindividualizedcareasaprivatedentist,theystilldrawincustomers

  2. withtheirlowprices.Tocompete,otherdentistsintheareaareforcedtodroptheirownpricesorlosewiththeirlowprices.Tocompete,otherdentistsintheareaareforcedtodroptheirownpricesorlose customers. DecreasingInsuranceReimbursements Furtheraffectingdentists’decliningincomesisadecreaseininsurancereimbursements.Inthepast decade,thefeesthatmostdentistschargeforprocedureshavegoneup.However,theamountthat dentistsarereimbursedbyinsurancecompanieshasgonedown. Therootofthecausestemsfrombusinessesdemandinglowerpremiumsfortheiremployeebenefit plans.ThishasforceddentalinsurancecompanieslikeDeltaDentaltoreducereimbursementsto dentistsfordentaltreatments.Inaddition,insurancecompanieshavecreatednew“lowerbenefit”plans whicharebeingrapidlyadoptedbybusinesses.Dentistsarethenforcedtoacceptthenewplanswith thelowertreatmentcostsandfees.Ifdentistsrefuse,theyruntheriskoflosingasignificantnumberof patientsbecausethatdentistisnow“out-of-network”. Paymentsfromprivateinsurancecompaniesmakeupalargechunkofadentists’income.When reimbursementratesfall,despiterisingcosts,dentistsarelefthurtingfinancially. RisingCostofBusiness Inadditiontothelowdemandfordentalservice,competitionwithbigcorporatedentalchains,and decreasinginsurancereimbursements,dentistsmustalsodealwiththerisingcostofbusiness.Staff salaries,crushingtaxesandregulatoryfees,equipment,andfacilitiesareallcoststhataddupquickly. Newexpensesareconstantlyemergingfordentists.Dentalpracticesarealwaysinvestinginnew technologies.Theswitchtoelectronichealthrecordshasalsobeencostlyfordentists.Strictprivacyand legalrequirementsmakeimplementinganyelectronichealthrecordsystemexpensive. NewSourcesofIncome Tocombatdentists’decliningincomes,manydentistsarelookingfornewrevenuesourcessuchas offeringexpandeddentaltreatmentservices.Thisisadifficulttaskfordentistswhohavebeeninthe generaldentistrypracticefortheirentirecareer.Theprospectofmovingintoofferingmorelucrative specialtyservicesmaybetempting,butmostdentistsdonothavethetime,training,moneyordesireto makesuchaswitch. Instead,manydentistsarepartneringupwithdentalspecialiststobringinadditionalincome.Every year,dentistsreferoutbillionsofdollars’worthofspecialtydentalservicestolocaldentalspecialists suchasoralsurgeons,periodontists,endodontistsandorthodontists.Bykeepingthoseservicesin house,dentistscanaddasmuchas30%ormoreproductionrevenuetotheirpractice. Hiringafull-timespecialistisnotinthebudgetforyouraveragedentist.However,workingwithan itinerantdentalspecialistallowsdentiststooffertheservicesofaspecialistwithoutthehighcost. Itinerantdentalspecialiststraveltotheofficesofgeneraldentistsandperformservicesfortheirclients. Thedentistandthespecialistthenagreeuponatreatmentsharingfinancialstructurewhereprocedure revenueandexpensesaresplit.

  3. Bybringingspecialistsintotheiroffice,dentistscanincreasetheirincomewithoutpayinglargeupfrontBybringingspecialistsintotheiroffice,dentistscanincreasetheirincomewithoutpayinglargeupfront costs.Itshouldcomeasnosurprisethatmoreandmoredentistsarehiringitinerantdentalspecialists. MatchingDentistswithSpecialists Thelogisticsoffindinganitinerantdentalspecialistcanbetricky.Dentistshavespecificprocedurestheir patientsneedatspecifictimes.Howcantheyfindtherightspecialistattherighttimefortheright price? Therearemanynewlocalandregionalservicesthathelpdentistsfindqualifiedspecialists.Mypractice9 isoneofthoseservices.Theonlineserviceisfreetomemberdentistswhocanpostspecialtydental treatmentrequestssuchasamulti-unitimplantcase.Subscribedlocalitinerantdentalspecialistsare instantlynotifiedoftherequestandrespondbyprovidingtreatmentproposals.Thedentistssimply selectthespecialisttheyfeelmostcloselymatchestheirpracticecultureandclinicalneed.Mypractice9 alsoprovidesahugenumberofvaluableresourcestomemberdentists(alsoforfree)suchas pretreatmentchecklists,patientconsentforms,andtreatmentservicecontractswhichoutlinesthe procedures,warrantiesandpaymentterms.Thissystemmakesiteasyforgeneraldentiststofind itinerantdentalspecialistswhocanmeettheneedsoftheirpatients. Bybringingintherightitinerantdentalspecialists,dentistscanseetremendousgrowthintheirpractice. Patientsalsobenefitfromaccesstothebestspecialistsintheirregulardentist’soffice.Thisallleadsto happierpatientsand,hopefully,greaternetincomefordentists. http://www.ada.org/en https://www.mypractice9.com/

More Related