1. 2009 National Primary Oral Health Conference
November 3, 2009
Nashville, TN

2. Efficiency Improvements and Cost-Saving Ideas in Tough Times
Panel Format
Carolyn Brown, DDS
Moderator
Dental Director, SF
Native American Health Center
San Francisco, CA

3. Panel Members Andrea Hight Henry Schein, Inc.
“Managing up with your suppliers”
Kevin Hursh, DDS NAHC, Inc.
“AEGD Residents- Productivity Gains and Salary Savings”
Jack Luomanen, DMD Dental Consultant
“Patient-Centered Efficiencies”

4. Practice Management Resources
Practice Management Consultants with I.H.S./CHC experience
Safety Net Solutions
Pride Institute
National Network Oral Health Access NNOHA
Small, individual private practice consultants
Other resources
California Health Care Foundation
“The Good Practice: Treating Underserved Dental Patients While Staying Afloat.” Aug 2008
Dental Clinic Manual

5. Layers to Practice Management
Administration
Patient Flow
Staffing Patterns
Billing
Inventory Management
Early Intervention Programs
Collaborations

6. Administration Budgets (annual, quarterly, monthly) Data Sources
Chain of command and internal processes
Quality Improvements/Reports
Production
Billing/Collection
Aging reports
Salary Allocations
Policies
Patient payment policy
No Show policy (including enforcement)
Scope of service
Payer mix
Demographics
% of payer types

7. Patient Flow Examine check-in to check-out process (Time study)
Patient Satisfaction
Scheduling patterns
Waitlist or Patient appointment availability
Recall protocol
No show rate
Managing missed appointments
Managing emergency patients
Optimizing patient volume
Creating positive reception areas/experience

8. Staffing patterns Front desk and back office staff
Provider staffing, scheduling, admin time
Strategic use of hygienists and licensed assistants
Ex: RDA with sealant certificate
Recruiting and retention
Technology adjunctives
Software for EDR
Software for automatic calling
Software and hardware for inventory control

9. Business of Dentistry Evaluate your costs- fixed and non-fixed
Fixed: Rent/mortgage, depreciation, indirect rate, etc…
Non-fixed: salaries, supplies, lab fees
Strategies
Low hanging fruit- Fix easy things first
Big game sport- Address largest non-fixed costs first
Billing Process
Eligibility
Collections/Aging
Encounter forms
Treatment plan presentation/ revenue collection

10. Business of Dentistry Inventory management Strategies Lab fees
Standardize!!
Look at costs over a quarter and one year
Calculate cost per patient
Supply expenses for 3 months/# patients seen for 3 months
National average $ per patient
Strategies
Managing your relationship with suppliers
Managing your relationship with manufacturers
Just-in-time mngt
Lab fees
Evaluate your environment, your fees, your regularity of svcs
Relationship build with your labs

11. Prevention, Intervention and other Programs
Expansion of services, patient pool
Teambuilding programs (incentive programs)
Collaborating with medical or other internal departments
Partnering with private practices, county or state, or other CBOs
Be careful-Evaluate
Return on investment
Demands on staff
Sustainability
New patient visit generated
PSDA study

12. Ex: NAHC Incentive Program
Increase Access
Decrease the No Show rate
Increase Production
the # of patients served per day
Increase revenues to the clinic
Increase staff productivity
Build Team Mentality
Improve the morale of the Dental Staff
Build cohesiveness of the dental team

13. Panel Members Andrea Haight, DMD Henry Schein
“Managing up with your suppliers”
Kevin Hursh, DDS Native American Health Center
“AEGD Residents- Productivity Gains and Salary Savings”
Jack Luoanamen, DDS Consultant
“Patient-Centered Efficiencies”

14. Panel Members Questions: Carolynb@nativehealth.org
Andrea Hight Henry Schein, Inc.
“Managing up with your suppliers”
Kevin Hursh, DDS NAHC, Inc.
“AEGD Residents- Productivity Gains and Salary Savings”
Jack Luomanen, DMD Dental Consultant
“Patient-Centered Efficiencies”
Questions: