Gary Moore, business development manager at Independent Care Plans, asks you to consider whether your dental plan is really working for your practice.
As with everything in life, we need to make sure we regularly assess our situation and adapt accordingly. It is very easy to become complacent and favour ‘keeping things as they are’. Although we talk ourselves into it being easier to stay the same, deep down we know we need to change (diet changes, increasing exercise anyone?).
However, Darwin knew what he was talking about, in order to survive and progress we must adapt and evolve. With even more practices converting to private in light of the uncertainty within NHS services, it is more pertinent than ever to ensure that your dental practice is operating at its best.
Dental plan review
Ask yourself the following:
- When was the last time you reviewed your plan?
- Is there synergy between your dental plan and your business goals?
- Is your current dental plan helping you to grow your private revenue?
- Is your plan correctly positioned in order to improve the practice’s profitability?
Your dental plan should be helping you to achieve the bigger goals that you have set for the practice such as guaranteed income, moving away from the NHS, or perhaps, increasing the future value of the practice should you have an eye on retirement plans.
Review the following:
- Your marketing materials – are they up-to-date? Do they effectively promote the benefits of joining your dental plan?
- Your patient communications – do you regularly stay in touch with your patients? Do you periodically contact your dormant patients? Do you remind patients about the benefits of becoming a plan patient?
- Your team – is everyone at the practice on-board? Your dental plan should be part of the practice culture and a key part of the service that you provide to patients. Do you need to consider some team training?
Reviews
A dental plan that works effectively for your practice can be hugely beneficial to business performance. If you need help reviewing your existing plan or are considering changing then Independent Care Plans (ICP) can help; it has been providing bespoke care plans for over 20 years and is currently running a £10 per patient switch incentive. Here are two testimonials from practices who have recently switched:
Calum Cassie, Bellstane Dental Care, Edinburgh – ‘We had become increasingly aware of the first class service ICP offer to both patients and dentists alike and had been thinking of switching solely to ICP for a while. Running two plans wasn’t ideal, however, the thought of the paperwork and time this would involve meant that we never quite got round to it…the financial incentive was the push we needed to get going! We needn’t have worried. The switching process was very straightforward and administered like clockwork by ICP. They were always helpful, friendly and very efficient.
‘Having one plan provider is much more straightforward and as a practice we now have the increased confidence of knowing that we are giving our patients a high standard administrative backup service to match the high standard of dentistry we provide.’
Mitesh Patel, Mi Dental, Stony Stratford near Milton Keynes – ‘We decided to switch to ICP because we were looking primarily for a cost-effective option for our plan membership. Our existing provider’s running costs were at a level where it did not offer good value. The joining incentive was extremely helpful and the transfer support has been excellent.
‘We have a well-supported plan, with added benefits to our patients, and a cost saving to our practice that has the potential to become even bigger in the future.’
For more information contact Gary Moore, business development manager at Independent Care Plans on 01463 223399 or email: [email protected].
