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Financing dental care
THE FRONT OFFICE Financing dental care Background.—Dentists can offer creative financing options that permit the patient to make better decisions when weighing treatment costs and benefits. However, dentists should not take on the debt for the patient, essentially making their practice “the bank.”
risk philosophy and want to lend money only to individuals who will pay them back. Increased procedure acceptance, improved access to care, and increased acceptance of higher cost elective procedures can accompany the inclusion of payment options in the practice.
Options.—Patients who want to pay monthly can put the entire amount on a credit card and pay the card off in installments. Financing agencies, such as CareCredit, the Dental Fee Plan, or health care credit cards, are also an option. These are nonrecourse, outside agencies. Affiliation with such plans has had a notable impact on dental practices. For example, a 2005 study found that practices that participated in CareCredit increased their gross annual production by 25.3%; those who did not showed a 4.1% increase. Financing program participants also showed a decrease in Accounts Receivable Aging of 37.7%, whereas nonparticipants had a decline of only 3.8%.
Discussion.—Dentists are always faced with patients who choose to decline, delay, or minimize their treatment because of cost issues. Taking advantage of payment options other than self-financing of patients’ dental care can make the practice more profitable and productive.
Analysis.—Keeping patient account balances on the accounts receivable list decreases the profitability and productivity of the practice. Over the course of 1 year, the cost in labor, stamps, and supplies often exceeds the actual balance in an average dental practice. Participating in an outside financing plan does mean that some patient applications will be rejected. Patients who have a borderline credit history may not meet the criteria for an extension of credit. The outside financing plans often operate on a minimum-
Clinical Significance.—Many dentists want to be the bank, helping patients finance dental care, but remember, we’re dentists, not bankers. Are we better judges of credit-risk than bankers? Practices offering outside financing grow more than those that don’t.
Litch B, Lynch K: And how would you like to pay for that? AGD Impact April, p 20, 2006 Reprints available from the Academy of General Dentistry. Fax your request to Jo Posselt (312/440-4261) or e-mail AGDJournal @agd.org
EXTRACTS GENE VARIANT SIGNALS ADDED RISK FOR ALCOHOLISM A bitter-taste receptor on the tongue may be an indicator for individuals at an elevated risk for alcohol dependence. In a study published in the January 2006 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, a gene variant was found to raise the prospect of alcoholism. Researchers identified a single base variation in the TAS2R16 receptor gene that produced less responsiveness to bitter compounds. The findings indicate such gene variations may be a factor in predicting alcoholism. But the researchers also note that the frequency of alcoholism can also be traced to other genes and to environmental factors. [The Taste for Alcoholism. AGD Impact March 2006, p 17.]
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risk philosophy and want to lend money only to individuals who will pay them back. Increased procedure acceptance, improved access to care, and increased acceptance of higher cost elective procedures can accompany the inclusion of payment options in the practice.
Options.—Patients who want to pay monthly can put the entire amount on a credit card and pay the card off in installments. Financing agencies, such as CareCredit, the Dental Fee Plan, or health care credit cards, are also an option. These are nonrecourse, outside agencies. Affiliation with such plans has had a notable impact on dental practices. For example, a 2005 study found that practices that participated in CareCredit increased their gross annual production by 25.3%; those who did not showed a 4.1% increase. Financing program participants also showed a decrease in Accounts Receivable Aging of 37.7%, whereas nonparticipants had a decline of only 3.8%.
Discussion.—Dentists are always faced with patients who choose to decline, delay, or minimize their treatment because of cost issues. Taking advantage of payment options other than self-financing of patients’ dental care can make the practice more profitable and productive.
Analysis.—Keeping patient account balances on the accounts receivable list decreases the profitability and productivity of the practice. Over the course of 1 year, the cost in labor, stamps, and supplies often exceeds the actual balance in an average dental practice. Participating in an outside financing plan does mean that some patient applications will be rejected. Patients who have a borderline credit history may not meet the criteria for an extension of credit. The outside financing plans often operate on a minimum-
Clinical Significance.—Many dentists want to be the bank, helping patients finance dental care, but remember, we’re dentists, not bankers. Are we better judges of credit-risk than bankers? Practices offering outside financing grow more than those that don’t.
Litch B, Lynch K: And how would you like to pay for that? AGD Impact April, p 20, 2006 Reprints available from the Academy of General Dentistry. Fax your request to Jo Posselt (312/440-4261) or e-mail AGDJournal @agd.org
EXTRACTS GENE VARIANT SIGNALS ADDED RISK FOR ALCOHOLISM A bitter-taste receptor on the tongue may be an indicator for individuals at an elevated risk for alcohol dependence. In a study published in the January 2006 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, a gene variant was found to raise the prospect of alcoholism. Researchers identified a single base variation in the TAS2R16 receptor gene that produced less responsiveness to bitter compounds. The findings indicate such gene variations may be a factor in predicting alcoholism. But the researchers also note that the frequency of alcoholism can also be traced to other genes and to environmental factors. [The Taste for Alcoholism. AGD Impact March 2006, p 17.]
Volume 51 • Issue 6 • 2006 323