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| A dental practice management
consulting company that focuses on revenue
and collection systems, front desk systems
and forms, dental insurance processing, medical/dental
cross-coding systems and employment-law compliance. |
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Recession
Depression Blues?
Are you and your staff feeling the
down effects of the economy? Many dental practices
would probably answer yes. These are very
difficult times and not just for individuals
and small businesses. You read or hear almost
every day that most businesses, both large
and small, have been affected. The media paints
a very gloomy picture, possibly gloomier than
the reality of the situation, and this worsens
the effect. It appears that there is no quick
fix for the economy and that this recession
will continue for many months. So how should
a dental practice deal with recession depression?
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We must react in a positive manner in order to survive. In other words, we need to make lemonade out of the sour lemons that have fallen in our paths. To do this, we must consider the practice both internally and externally.
- The internal aspects are both human
and business. Our practices have owners
and employees, each possibly facing difficult
challenges in their personal and professional
lives. As fellow members of a practice,
we need to be especially thoughtful and
considerate of each other. Negative responses
or actions may occur due to the stress
that a boss or employee is dealing with.
We can’t really “walk in their shoes”
but we can empathize with them by offering
to listen and possibly provide a shoulder
to cry on. I am not suggesting that it
is alright to bring our personal problems
to work but, in reality, it is not always
possible to cover up depression. Boss’s
have an especially difficult time because
they are responsible for the livelihood
of their employees and their own families
– for most they have families to support
and a business to stay profitable – a
tall order these days. Employees can be
helpful by working as a team to reduce
expenditures, verbally market the practice,
take spare time to mine the charts for
incomplete treatment plans, take CE courses,
rev up customer service, and be supportive
and understanding of the difficulties
that the boss must deal with. Work with
the schedule to create some open time
to schedule staff meetings where the team
can focus on the practice vision again
and discuss ways to handle the suggestions
listed above.
- And then we must focus on the patients.
Many may well be dealing with enormous
financial strain and feelings of depression.
This is the most important time to focus
on your usual great customer service but,
on top of that, we must all be exceptionally
good listeners, observers and communicators.
Now, more than ever, is the time that
we must not only care for our patients’
oral health but for their emotional health
also.
- With respect to their oral health, we
need to provide good estimates on their
cost of treatment prior to beginning work.
Now is not the time for surprises. As
much as you would like to help your patients
financially, your practice should never
become a lending institution. Companies
such as CareCredit and Wells Fargo are
wonderful financial tools to offer to
your patients. Always remember to document
your discussions with your patients. When
a patient elects to postpone treatment,
you do not want to be liable for a claim
of neglect of care.
- Lastly, monitor your accounts receivable
very carefully. Don’t wait to contact
patients when the account is over ninety
days past due. When an account is over
thirty days, a patient has probably already
received two statements. You should never
accept that it is okay to send more than
two statements. Contact patients ASAP
once the accounts have been billed twice
and not been paid. Approach the patients
in a helpful manner but be firm that the
balance needs to be paid now. Dealing
with accounts in this fashion is mutually
beneficial.
Invest time in your staff meetings to discuss these issues. Growth is often generated
from adversity. These need to be the times
that your practice will face the issues, deal
with them, and grow to be a far greater practice
than before. Keep that thought in mind as
you beat those recession depression blues.
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Time Line |
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Dental
Coding
CDT 2009 is now the code-set required
for dental claims (and medical using
HCPCS codes) and will be required through
2010. The following are the changes
in CDT 2009:
- Four new codes
- Twenty-two code descriptor changes
The four new codes are as follows:
- D0417 – Collection and
preparation of saliva sample for
laboratory diagnostic testing
- D0418 – Analysis of saliva
sample
- D3222 – Partial pulpotomy
for apexogenesis, permanent tooth
- D5991 – Topical medicament
carrier
The first two codes deal with saliva
testing which is considered by some
insurance carriers to be experimental.
I encourage practices to collect their
fee in full at the time of service
and to inform patients that their
carrier may deny benefits
Medical Coding
ICD-9-CM (diagnosis codes) and CPT
2009 (procedure codes) are now in
effect and must be used. Medical insurance
carriers do not offer grace periods
on the use of deleted codes or on
the incorrect use of modified codes.
The 2009 update for “CrossWalking
– A guide Through the CrossWalk
of Dental to Medical Coding”
is now available. Protect the investment
that you made in your medical coding
manual by ordering your update, thereby
keeping your manual current and preventing
unwanted denials or delays in benefit
payments. If you have any questions
regarding the update, please contact
me by phone or email (do not reply
to this newsletter).
Red Flag Rule Update
There has been an update to the implementation
date for the Red Flag Rule. The Red
Flag Rule requires a written plan
to be in place for financial institutions
and creditors to prevent and detect
identity theft. The FTC considers
businesses that don’t receive
payment in full at the time of service
to be creditors and this includes
most healthcare providers. The original
compliance deadline was November 1,
2008. However the American Dental
Association would like the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) to review their
decision that dentists are creditors.
A letter from the ADA was sent to
the chairman of the FTC asking that
the FTC postpone indefinitely application
of the Red Flag Rule to dentists until
a decision is reached.
A ruling on this matter may be a
long time in coming while the deadline
of May 1 is not far off. Therefore,
it is important that your practice
prepare now for implementation by
that date. There are sources available
for help in this implementation. Webinars
dealing with the Red Flag Rule are
available over the internet.
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Tips |
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For
our patients
Are
you recommending products containing
xylitol to your patients? If not,
you need to. Briefly, xylitol is a
natural sweetener with a low glycemic
index of 7 compared to sugar’s
83. Xylitol has 40% fewer calories
than sugar too. More than 1500 clinical
and laboratory studies prove xylitol
has many other health-promoting benefits
some of which are the following:
- Reduces the risk for dental caries
- Promotes a healthy oral environment
- When certain bacteria and fungus
are exposed to xylitol, they lose
their ability to stick to the tissues
in the mouth, nose, and upper respiratory
tract
Xlear, Inc. has an extensive line
of products, all based on xylitol,
that are available for our patients.
Their line of products include the
Spry brand of oral rinses, toothpaste,
infant and children’s tooth
gel, chewing gum, and mints in addition
to their Xylo Sweet sweetener. Products
that can be recommended for upper
respiratory use are Xlear Saline Nasal
Spray with Xylitol and Kid’s
Xlear Saline Nasal Spray. We like
to offer our patients full service
dental care that doesn’t stop
at the enamel. We are in the health
care business and offering care to
those suffering from decay, or infections
of the nose or ear is one small way
to do more.
For
staff
Medical Gloves
Effective December 19, 2008, the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) made
their final rule on the barrier quality
of medical gloves. The Acceptable
Quality Levels (AQL) for patient exam
gloves was reduced to 2.5 while the
AQL for surgical gloves was reduced
to 1.5. Most glove manufacturers do
meet these guidelines but it would
be wise to make sure that your gloves
meet these standards. |
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Dental Humor
for the quarter: |
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If
you have enjoyed "Dental Pearls Newsletter",
please share it with other practices that
could benefit from it. |
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The
Art of Practice Management
2217 Fox Horn Road • New Bern, NC 28562 • Phone: 1-252-637-6259
www.artofpracticemanagement.com
• a.p.m.1@suddenlink.net |
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