It’s time for a pop quiz. What was your 2018 revenue? How much profit did you make? What is your current overhead? If you’re like many dental practice owners, the answers to those three questions start with, “Just one second, let me open my spreadsheet.” Every successful practice owner should know their numbers without needing to think twice. Knowledge is power, and in dentistry, knowledge of these critical numbers is often the difference between success and failure.
The Numbers Every Dental Practice Should Know
- Total Revenue
- Total Profit
- Current Reimbursement Rates from Each PPO Partner for Your Most-Used Codes
- Other Statistics
- What are your overhead costs?
- What percentage of your patients are scheduled at all times?
- What percentage of money currently owed to your practice is outstanding? How much has been collected?
- What is your current over-the-counter collection rate?
- How many of your patients gave you a referral last year?
- How many inactive patients did you activate last year?
- How many net new patients do you have (after subtracting out lost patients)?
Why Do These Numbers Matter?
While helping patients is the first priority of every dental practice, you need to remember that your practice is a business. Just like every CEO should know critical numbers to carve out the best path forward and set realistic goals, you should know and understand your data. Without an idea of where your dental practice is at, you won’t be able to make educated decisions based on current and projected numbers. Instead, you’ll be operating out of emotion, guessing or what others in the industry are doing. Make a habit of running your reports on a regular basis and sharing pertinent information with your staff to keep everyone on track to meet your goals.
Improve Your Numbers with APEX
Once you take a look at your numbers, it’s time to come up with a plan to improve them. APEX Reimbursement Specialists works with dental practices just like yours to strategize the best ways to increase revenue, whether through a coding audit that identifies issues or negotiating reimbursement rates with PPOs on your behalf.
If you want to learn more about how APEX can help your practice improve your numbers and gain more insight into how you’re doing, contact our team today by calling (410) 710-6005. We look forward to working with you to make your practice a more profitable place.