The Web-based Dentist
June 2015
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For: 

Jan Keller
Jan Keller
Power Thought: Jan Keller and Associates
Tips for Getting Paid on Time Every Time

In the current economic environment, the collection of accounts receivable becomes more of a challenge each day. There are several easy steps to take; however, that can help:

 

  • Strengthen your collection procedures.
  • Shorten your accounts receivable aging numbers.
  • Improve your overall collection rates.
  • Improve cash flow.

Let's take a look at a few that you can implement easily and quickly.

 

Define Your Internal Credit Guidelines

If your first thought was "what guidelines?", now is a perfect time to develop and implement a strong internal credit guideline policy. It's important to have clear written guidelines for your team to follow that go beyond "Make sure our patients pay, or "Just collect the money." And remember, as the doctor, you must resist the urge to make or imply financial arrangements when discussing treatment with a patient. Let your Financial or Treatment Coordinator handle this at the appropriate time, based on your treatment guidelines.

 

Tip: Allow your Treatment Coordinator leeway to vary from the guidelines based on the credit worthiness and past history of the patient, or in an attempt to attract the right new patient into the practice.

 

Tip: A system of controls for checking out a potential patient's credit should be in place, and it should be used before treatment is rendered. Further, there should be clear communication between the entire team as to current patients who become delinquent or otherwise do not follow the credit policy. Your morning huddle is an excellent place to bring this information to the team's attention.


More About Jan Keller and Associates
 
Why the Web? Reason #260
Better Customer Service--Like Tons Better!

 

Having worked for the other guys for 16 years I can tell you what I experienced behind the scenes: 

 

In the beginning, I worked for Dentrix Dental Systems and later for Henry Schein after their acquisition of DENTRIX in 1997. Back then, the customer service experience was sublime. The management team reviewed the average wait time on a weekly basis. If it was more than two minutes everybody was working to reduce that number.

 

Fast forward a decade or so and the situation is much different. Sadly the focus is no longer on providing service but saving dollars, in my opinion.

 

World class service is Curve Dental's number one goal. We hustle to take your call and we treat every customer like a VIP--because every customer counts. Exceptional customer service is key for Curve Dental for two reasons:

 

First, it doesn't matter how well our software performs, or how great it looks, if our customer service stinks. People like to associate with other people that make them feel like a million dollars. If not, they'll go hang with someone else.

 

Second, we must earn our customers' business every month. As a SaaS company (Software-as-a-Service), our customers subscribe to our service and can quit anytime. We have to continually work to satisfy their needs and win them over as customers. That takes a lot of work, but we're up to the task.

 

Some other differences: We provide our customers with 24/7 emergency customer service. If you got major issues on a major holiday, we're available to help you out. If you got major issues at 3:00 in the morning, we're available to help you out.

 

One more and then I'll let you go: Our customers can submit a question (or ticket) within our software. Every ticket can be tracked by your practice. If there's an outstanding question that we've not been able to resolve you'll clearly see that fact just as we can. We are pretty transparent when it comes to customer service.

 

You can learn more about our exceptional customer service by chatting with one of our dental software consultants at 888-910-4376. Call today to learn more or visit our website.


 


 

Informative Video Links
Expert Opinion: Dr. Huang
Expert Opinion: Dr. Williams
Expert Opinion: Dr. Mark E. Hyman
Expert Opinion: Dr. Mark E. Hyman

Classic Dental Jokes

Nervous man to receptionist: I'm here to see the dentist.

 

Receptionist: I'm sorry, sir, he's not in right now.

 

Nervous man with much relief: Thank you! When will he be out again?

Fun Dental Facts 

33% of all Americans have untreated tooth decay.
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