Dos and dont's for financial management: Remove financial barriers to treatment

Whether or not they say anything, many patients are concerned about the cost of treatment in today's tough economy -- and this concern can have a direct impact on practice production. One of the best ways to solve this problem is to proactively inform all patients that your practice will be happy to help them arrange for outside financing through a reputable source.

Provide information about outside financing. For any but the most routine, inexpensive services, let patients know that financing can be quickly and easily arranged if they are interested. Give them handouts that describe the various payment methods the practice offers, as well as brochures or fliers provided by the finance company. Industry studies have shown that the availability of outside financing can increase case acceptance by an average of more than 40%.

Don't underestimate the costs of patient billing and collections. Although outside financing marginally reduces potential income per procedure, savings in staff time and aggravation more than make up for it. Not only that, it avoids the problem of uncollected fees -- a growing problem for dental practices for the past few years.