Dr Bob Ballard and Hema Dhingra of Ballard and Tucker Dental Practice in Bedfordshire explain the positive impact of transferring their dental plan to Patient Plan Direct.
At the beginning of 2014 we set ourselves a realistic target of growing our practice turnover and profitability. As part of this exercise we looked at every cost centre in our business to try and identify where we could potentially cut costs and increase profitability. One area that stood out the most was the administration fees that we were paying to our plan provider at the time. Nearly 10% of our plan income month on month was eaten up in administration fees, so we set out to explore alternative solutions to running our practices dental plans.
Discovering Patient Plan Direct
We looked at other plan provider propositions in the market and were attracted to Patient Plan Direct thanks to their low and flat administration fees, strong reputation, administrative efficiency and experience of managing lots of successful plan provider transfers.
In meeting with one of Patient Plan Direct’s business development team we were not only put at ease regarding the management of the transfer process and what was involved, but were also impressed with the advise we received around growing our plan base further which was inline with our overall objectives.
We were so confident the transfer and on-going plan growth strategy was the right move for the practice and our patients that we committed there and then.
With almost 400 plan patients we stood to save over £8,000 per annum (£40,000 in the next five years) in administration fees year on year as a result of the transfer.
Patient retention as a result of our transfer
We were understandably nervous initially that transfer would result in some patient drop off. However, Patient Plan Direct fully managed and fulfilled the mailing to patients and supported us throughout the transfer process to ensure retention was maximised. The communication of the transfer to patients was presented in a positive manner to ensure patients were assured that the move was in the best interest of both the practice and our valued patients in the long term.
As a result of the effective management of the transfer we lost literally a handful of patients, no more than we would normally expect as a result of the annual fee increase we had always been encouraged to apply year on year by our old plan provider.
A revised plan strategy and subsequent growth
Once our transfer was underway we applied the strategic changes Patient Plan Direct recommended. Previously we had only offered and promoted to patients a capitation (care) based plan. We felt we had exhausted the promotion of such a plan proposition to our patient base. As such, we opted to introduce a simple, value driven maintenance plan as a new option for patients. This was in line with current consumer habits and market trends which Patient Plan Direct explained to us.
Once we had determined the best plan structure and price point that would prove beneficial and attractive to patients and profitable to the practice, we completed a full team training session with one of Patient Plan Direct’s experienced business development managers. The session ensured the whole practice team was clear on the overall objectives, recognised the benefits of the plan to both the practice and patients and ensured everyone was confident in speaking about and promoting the plan.
One year on from when we completed our plan provider transfer we have increased our total plan base by a further 50% representing a significant increase in plan income month on month. Moreover, the plan continues to grow week on week. We now have even more loyal patients at the practice that have committed their oral health care to us for the long term.
Assessing your dental plan provision
We would encourage other practices with dental plan patients to ensure they keep on top of their plan administration cost analysis and be aware of what fees are being applied month on month by their respective plan provider. Since our transfer we have realised the fees we were paying to our previous plan provider didn’t represent value. As a result of transferring to Patient Plan Direct we are now confident our costs are minimised and we have access to expert advice and support as and when required to ensure we can reach our long term objectives thanks to the support of our dedicated business development manager, a user friendly and comprehensive administration portal and helpful client services team.
Patient Plan Direct is a plan provider offering a low cost plan administration fee of £1 per patient per month (inc. VAT and Worldwide Dental A&E cover). Patient Plan Direct has helped practices across the UK successfully transfer their existing dental plan from other plan providers, benefiting from significant cost savings and first-class support.
Web: www.patientplandirect.co.uk
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Tel: 08448486888