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September 2009 Newsletter
Increasing Case Acceptance
Is your office experiencing what hundreds of other orthodontic practices are — a decline in case acceptance, fewer new patients, and general dentist’s not referring to you as often?
There is no better time than now to rethink common protocols of the new-patient exam process. With the economy on a major sliding decline, and the vast majority of analysts agreeing that the economy will not be getting better any time soon, orthodontists in general need to restructure their exam process to accommodate the current and upcoming economy shift.
According to the JCO’s “Orthodontic Practice Survey,” orthodontics has been on a steady decline since 2001 (2001 case starts aver- aged 219 per year and decreased steadily through 2006, averaging 188 per year). After speaking to hundreds of orthodontists, most are still feeling the steady decline into 2008!
Times are changing and so must the vast majority of orthodontists. In order to keep case acceptance up, orthodontists need to be more flexible in their payment arrangements and not overly concerned about credit checks and or labeling potential starts as A, B or C patients. All patients with an expressed interest in starting treatment, especially during these economical hard times, should be treated as if they are royalty to the practice.
Too often in orthodontic practices, the emphasis is placed on the patients overall credit score or on how we view them as a potential new patient (rating them A, B or C). I strongly disagree with this approach; all patients should be treated equally and given ultimate customer service leaving nothing out. It’s our job to educate, motivate and excite all new patients about the benefits of treatment. Once they have agreed to the recommended treatment, it’s once again our job to aid in helping them achieve their goals to pay for our services.
All too frequently, I have seen “low credit score patients” walk into an office and pay in full. In addition, “C-rated” patients often become an office’s best referral source. With today’s housing crisis, many families are dealing with foreclosures and short sales seriously affecting their credit rating. Even Donald Trump has claimed bankruptcy — not once, but twice.
The vast majority of parents want what’s best for their children even if economical hard times have changed their financial situation. I recommend spending far less time on rating people and judging their credit scores and more time on creating reasonable financial solutions that will accommodate a much higher majority of potential starts.
As an example, Chase Health Advance (www.chasehealthadvance.com) has exceptional financing options to assist those patients struggling to pay for orthodontic care. They offer no down payment plans, 24 months with no interest, low monthly payments and a service fee far lower than any other competitor. In addition, they have a higher approval rate than most other companies.
It’s time we, as an orthodontic profession, step up to the plate and swing not only at the strikes, but also those pitches that are a little outside the box. It could be the difference between a double play or a home run!