Podcasts about eassist

In this episode, mindset expert Suzanne Black discusses her career as a certified positive intelligence coach before becoming a dental consultant. Suzanne has helped countless dental teams reignite their passion, refocus their efforts, and achieve sustainable growth. Her clients see their practices grow by 20% or more and experience a joyful transformation in how their teams work and connect with patients. Tune in to discover the invaluable insights Suzanne brings to the table and learn how to create lasting success in your dental practice! Highlights: How C3 Results Group was born and Suzanne's vision behind its creation Strategies for reigniting passion in dentists facing burnout The importance of mindset and how to build and maintain strong, inspired teams Unique approaches and systems C3 Results Group uses to deliver exceptional results Special Deal ~ Join Suzanne Black in Chicago on October 24 and 25 for Dental Boot Kamp Accelerate, a two-day team experience designed to reignite your practice's growth and teamwork. Visit www.dentalbootkamp.com and use code eAssist for a special courtesy. For more information about Suzanne and her consulting services, visit www.C3Results.com. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, visit https://shorturl.at/LjEX7. Don't miss this episode filled with actionable insights to help you reignite, refocus, and grow your dental practice!

Unlock the secrets to building patient trust and harnessing the power of intuition in your dental practice! Listen in as hygienist and consultant Cindy Rogers dismantles the myth that case acceptance is solely about money, time, and fear. She dives into the power of listening and reveals how seemingly insignificant details can hold the key to uncovering hidden barriers patients face. Discover practical strategies for cultivating intuition, strengthening patient relationships, and increasing case acceptance. Take advantage of this opportunity to transform your practice and empower your patients. Tune in now and take the first step towards a more empathetic and successful dental practice! Learn more at www.cindyrogers.com. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Rereleasing one of DAT's most popular episodes! Kiera is joined by Tiffany at eAssist to talk all things outsourcing. eAssist is a remote dental billing company that offers a variety of services (like dental billing, patient billing, insurance verification). Together, Kiera and Tiffany touch on the following topics: How outsourcing can help increase your front office's success The best tip for following up on outstanding claims How often billing is touched in a healthy practice How to get buildups paid The rate of appeals And a ton more! Episode resources: Learn about eAssist Email learnmore@eassist.me Reach out to Kiera Practice Momentum Group Consulting Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum!   Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:51.47) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And you guys, I don't know about you, but billing was my absolute arch nemesis in a dental practice. So I'm super excited with our guests today. They run one of the companies we actually recommend and refer all the time, eAssist. If you guys haven't heard about them, they are fantastic. You can outsource your dental billing. And I am always pro doing that. You can call me lazy. You can call me efficient, whatever you want to call me.   Honestly, I'm so jazzed to have Tiffany, Tiffany with E -assist on the podcast today. Tiffany, how are you? I am so good. Thank you so much for having me on here. It's awesome. Yeah, absolutely. We were just chatting about a good old Kansas city. What took you to Kansas city? I should have asked you, but like, let's just air it to the whole team or the whole podcast crew. What took you to Kansas city? I actually was born and raised in liberal Kansas. It's a small town, Southwest Kansas.   and then went to school at K state and then moved here. I lived in Denver for a little bit and then ended up coming back. Do you miss Denver? I worked in Denver for a while. Or are you like, Nope. Cause Kansas city has way better sports. mean, you guys just crushed the, you know, March madness. So kudos to you guys. Happy. I'm sure the whole city was like, that's something I do love about Kansas city. It's like a raving city when it comes to sports, you guys love your sports team. So do you miss Denver? You happy with Kansas city? Like, how does that work?   I love Colorado. It's gorgeous. When I lived there, my kids were little, so I feel like I didn't really get to, I don't know, explore and, you know, really be involved with all the things that I would like to do. But, and, and one of my best friends lives there, so that's kind of sad to be away from her. But I do love, I love me some Kansas City. We've got good people here. Good people, good food, good sports. I mean, you got the whole shebang.   Guys, if you're looking for a good place to go, Kansas City, appears is a great place or Denver, but real topic, Tiffany, kind of walk us through, like if people haven't heard of eAssist, kind of just give us a background on what eAssist is. And then I really want to talk today about how outsourcing billing can help with admin teams because right now we are in the great resignation. Hiring is probably one of the hardest things. And so I think it's a really, really pertinent topic. So tell us a little bit about who eAssist is, what they do, just so people know about what your company   The Dental A Team (03:07.864) Yeah, so eAssist is a remote dental billing company that offers a variety of different services. So we do dental billing where you'll have a dedicated team for your office that remotes in and submits all of your claims and attachments and whatnot, and then comes in and posts all of your payments. We also have a patient billing, which then handles things from that point on.   where they are sending statements and following up on past due accounts with patients. We also offer insurance verification, which anybody that's It's been so long. I've been waiting for you guys to get to insurance verification. like to hear this, I'm just jazzed because that takes so much time. So thank you. Yes, it's amazing. For some reason, there are unicorns out there who actually enjoy doing insurance verification. And thankfully we have them. It is a weird -   talent to obsess, but I'm glad that they do it. I mean, you can really crank that stuff out if you're like on it and that's what you do. I had a girl that I used to work with and she's like, Kiera, I get paid like for all of my, I've just learned how to do it. She like was so fast at it. And I thought, wow, there you go. Like you can have a free day and get all your insurance is verified. She was so quick. So I'm glad you guys have that now. That's awesome.   Yeah, well, and it's a easier when that's your only task that you're taking care of, you know, and you're not having to answer the phone or schedule new patients and get all that information or checking patients in there out or working up treatment plans and you know, the list goes on. So insurance verification does, it can be a huge time sucker if you will, but it's also literally the number one missed dental billing   And in my opinion, it is one of the most paramount pieces of dental billing because if we don't verify, then patients ask us questions. We're not as confident when we treatment plan, even though everybody knows we do not treatment plan based on insurance. But if they're going to ask me what their insurance is estimated to cover, and I haven't found that information out, I get fumbly. I'm not as confident. Patient's not as confident. And good information in, good information out. You can send cleaner claims, get paid faster.   The Dental A Team (05:22.126) it's just, yes, I'm such a pro. Like don't, don't skip it. It does. Yeah, it, has, actually the number two reason why patients leave a dental practice is, because they have lost their trust because they've gotten an inaccurate treatment plan. So insurance verification is the way to, really make sure that the, the, the quotes that we're, giving to patients are as close, as close to true as possible. I mean, with insurance, you know, anything can happen,   Yeah. What is the number one reason you've got me like questioning? You number two is due to loss of trust on treatment. What's the number one reason people leave practices? it is because they feel neglected. Interesting. Okay. They don't feel taken care of. Yeah. I talk to people about that all the time. Like what, what can we do today to help our patients, feel safe, seen and heard. Interesting. I like it. I like it a lot. There you guys go like   I feel like that was like Dettol Tidbit 101, Tiffany. Thank you for that. But yes, so I am a huge proponent of eAssist. And the reason why I've just fallen in love with you guys is because you do it really well and you have to keep people hired and staffed and I don't have to deal with it. So I think especially right now, so many offices are just realizing like we don't have manpower out there. mean, I ran up, oh gosh,   I could be totally lying on this number, but it was about this amount. I'm thinking I'm a little erring on the side of less than more, but I think I ran up a bill of over 12 grand last year on Indeed ads, trying to hire people. And I think that's a pretty hefty cost to try to hire people that weren't out there. Now it's starting to kind of shift, but at the same time, people get sick, people have kids, people have work problems, people have car problems, people get COVID, people get COVID exposures, people   The list goes on and on and I just love that e -assist. Like you guys have to deal with that. You guys, I'm sure struggle with it, but me as the client and the practice, I don't have to deal with that turnover when I outsource. So let's kind of talk through this about how outsourcing really can help increase your front office's game and make it easier for them and just have more consistency on the billing side. Sure. mean, you know, it really all, like we said, starts with insurance verification and that takes up so   The Dental A Team (07:41.486) time. And we really want to do everything that we can to really create that ultimate patient experience, which as I said before, it's making them feel seen and heard. And you can't, they don't feel seen and heard when you're on hold with the insurance company and the patient walks in and you're not standing up to greet them or see how they're doing because you don't want to hang up because you were just on hold for like 30 minutes. And then it's like, there's no   Right? Like you just, it's like, you're weighing the pros and cons. Like what's it worth right now? Because I know that they can't really work up a treatment plan unless I get this done. does the patient even want to go back and be seated if I don't look at them and smile when they walk in the door. So yeah, that's for sure. And then really helping to submit clean claims. So a lot of times,   claims are generated and they're put in the queue. And if you're sending them electronically, know, they go out the, they go out and over to insurance to be adjudicated or whatnot. But people are opening up those claims and looking at all the information to make sure that it's accurate, that the codes that are being submitted are actually the correct codes, that there are radiographs attached, intra -oral photos, narratives,   clinical notes, period charting. There's just so many things that go into that, in making sure that that click, that claim that's going out is clean and it looks good and everything is being sent the very, very first time. Otherwise, you know, it takes time for claims to be processed and that's just longer and longer that there's money that's not going into the bank. So for sure. And I think it's interesting how you talked about this. Cause I remember I was consulting in a practice.   And the gal who was over billing, I said, okay, perfect. Like our AR is really high. Let's look at this. Like why are our accounts receivable so high? And a lot of it was actually insurance. And I said, Hey, we're having like a lot of these insurance claims come back. looks like. And she said, Kiera, it takes way more time to actually check my claims before I send them out. So I just send them out and then I wait for them to come back and then I fix them.   The Dental A Team (10:01.998) No! That was due. response was the same as mine. I was like, it actually will save you lots of hours, like tons of hours, if you'll make sure your information's clean before it goes out. That way when it comes back in, we have less and less and less.   Dirty claims is what I call them. Like if you have to resubmit, I call that a dirty claim. We like we want clean claims, always clean claims, only clean claims. We want to get paid quickly. I'm like a one and done type girl. do one take podcasts recording 99 % of the time. Like that's how I feel your insurance claim should be. So people who say, oh, that's too much time, Tiffany. I don't want to actually take the time to make sure everything's attached correctly. I'm just going to send it out to get it done. And then whatever comes back, I'll deal with it. And I'm like, oh man.   That just like gives me anxiety. I know it's like making me want to throw up a little bit, but yeah, it's a really big deal to make sure that those are going out as clean claims. Now things can happen, right? Like sometimes things will get kicked back. So another really good thing that ESS does is they make sure that you're following up on those outstanding claims on a regular basis. So I can't tell you how many dental offices that I've gone into and I'm running that outstanding claims report. And it's   massively long. And I'm asking them, when's the last time, you know, that you looked at this? And sometimes they've never run the report to begin with. I didn't even know that it existed. Or they say, oh, I do that once a month. I print the report like at the beginning of the month and then I work through it. So yeah, best practice is to follow up on every single outstanding claim every 14 days. You gotta touch everyone. Yeah. Yes.   So I'm gonna ask because let's just like, let's give offices like above and beyond today. What are your favorite billing reports to run? Like what do you suggest? What's kind of the frequency you suggest? So in case an office is like, no Tiff, I've got this. I'm gonna just call you Tiff because we have a Tiff. I hope that that, like that just got real close right there. But they're just gonna say, you know, I think I can do this in my practice, which I'm all for. If you guys can do this in your practices, rock on.   The Dental A Team (12:10.958) I just think outsourcing can free up a lot of manpower to do other things. So what's kind of the cadence of reports that you guys recommend people run? How often, like you just said, run your unsent claims report or all your claims. Like look at those, like every 14 days. But what else do you guys run? What's the cadence? What's the frequency? Just so people get an idea of how often their billing should be touched in a healthy practice. Yeah. So you're, you're going to want to run your, uh,   production and collections and look at those numbers. I like to do that every single day. I wanna look and see what has come in and like what production has been done, how much we've actually collected on. And then definitely on a weekly basis, if you have weekly team meetings, I know there's different schools of thought on that and I don't wanna get into the practice. I'm pro weekly, you're good. Okay, good, I love it.   So I would always touch bases to review all the numbers with the team on a weekly basis. I think it's important for the team to know what the numbers are. That's how they cash their paychecks. That's how they get paid. And I think it creates incentive to help them work a little harder and kind of have some buy -in as far as that goes. And then definitely on a monthly basis. So the average dental practice has a collection ratio.   of 91%. So that means they're only collecting 91 % of money that is rightfully theirs to be collecting to begin with. Whereas - just that a quick personal connection. If your paycheck, if I decide to only pay you 91 % of your paycheck, you wouldn't be super happy about that. You'd be like, what the heck? You ripped me off.   Pay me right. People get pissed because they have to pay taxes all the time. I'm like, so that's like rightful money for your practice that's going to help your practice grow and evolve. And it's just because we didn't like look into it. I agree. Like my, I get it. I don't expect people to be perfect. I did just interview a girl and we give scenarios for a consultant. And I said, we asked the question of like, what do you think is a healthy collection percentage? And she wrote back and she said a hundred percent. And yes, it can be done. And I'm like, dang, watch out guys. If she gets hired.   The Dental A Team (14:21.934) that those offices are going be pushing 100%. I'll give a little bit of grace. do 98%. I don't know what your number is, Tiffany, but. 98%, right? Yeah. I don't expect perfect, right? 90, I mean, we always say, like at ESS, we say we want to help you collect 100 % of what is rightfully owed to you, always.   I will say on average with eAssist our collection ratio is 98%. Awesome. Very cool. Okay. So we want to look at production collection every day. We want to have a weekly meeting and then a monthly meeting as well. So what reports do you run? Because for me, was running like procedures not attached. I was running my unsent claims report every day. I was running my AR report and I say every practice you should   every single patient in that ARR report every single month, like at least like touch every one of those. And I do that on purpose because if you've got 25 pages, I want you to hit every one of those. So you stop sending dirty claims. can get that ARR sheet shorter. But that's my philosophy. Billing has never been my strength. So. Yeah, no, I completely agree with that. 100%. I love all of those reports, especially checking to make sure that treatment that has actually been walked out is actually being sent and submitted to insurance.   And it's not just sitting there and nobody even knows that it exists. So that's super, super important. I mean, I paid for myself on our consulting just by running a procedures not attached to insurance. was like, so I just found you guys like $75 ,000 by procedures that you should have submitted anyway. And they're like, what? is this even I cash or Venmo. Exactly. Exactly. So you're welcome. I'll see you in six months. It's perfect to see you. But OK, procedures not attached claims. What else do you what were you going to say?   Annually, you need to be printing out all of the procedures that you have done throughout the year, as well as all of your fees that are attached. And really what you're checking for is how the codes have changed. What codes have been revised? What codes have been deleted that aren't applicable anymore? Are we still using codes that have been deleted? And is that a reason why a lot of these   The Dental A Team (16:37.404) claims are being kicked back from insurance, right? We have to make sure that we're talking the same language. So, for example, like there's a code that, you know, you might use in, in December, but then come January, that code is no longer applicable. And so now you're like, you're speaking a completely entirely different language and the insurance company doesn't know what you're saying.    Which I think is something a lot of offices overlook and they don't realize codes change. mean, how many people are doing like perio maintenance and there are now, different perio codes that so many people aren't doing, that could be changed. So, okay. So you recommend doing that at least once a year, making sure we're current. I'm going to ask a question. It's a total derail, but I'm just curious. A lot of people are getting so frustrated that buildups are not being paid with crowns. Do you have any tips on how to get buildups paid?   consistently? Yeah, you to make sure that you're always including a narrative for one and listing how much tooth structure is actually remaining once the tooth is fully prepped and all the decay and everything has been removed. So a general rule of thumb with that is there needs to be more than half of the tooth structure missing in order to get that build up paid out.   The Dental A Team (18:55.04) Also taking intra oral photos. So I actually, I just did a webinar on this and I was talking about intra oral photos. I am a raving fan of the intra oral photo. So you want to take a photo before to show the extent of the decay. You want to take a photo after the prep and you want to take another photo once the buildup has been completed,   And I say this all the time too, a picture is worth a thousand words, but in dentistry, it's literally worth thousands of dollars, tens of thousands of dollars. And the crazy thing about buildups is that most payers will deny a buildup the first time that you send it out. And the reason for that is only 33 % of denied claims are ever appealed. So No way.   That's a crazy stat that makes my heart hurt. That's just easy billing. That's what I think too. That was direct guys. I have no filter today. Clearly. I know. If that's you, it's okay. Do it different. Now, know, I hope you are part of that 33%. If you aren't like get on the bandwagon and appeal those claims because just because they deny it does not mean that it's denied forever. And that was something I didn't realize as a biller.   when I first started that I could actually go and say like, no, you're wrong. Luckily I had clinical experience and I'm like, what do you mean you're not paying for a buildup? It clearly needs a buildup. Like we're going to resubmit this and I'm going to tell you why it needs to be covered. Like I don't care who the dental board people are. Like I can prove this 100%. So, but gosh, only 33%. That's insane. Okay. It is. Yeah. It's crazy. It's nuts. And so in insurance companies, they know this, right? So they're like, okay, I got in, um, a hundred   claims for buildups. We'll just go ahead and deny them. Only 30 of them are going to come back that we're going to have to pay out on. People just kind of accept it because they   The Dental A Team (20:54.626) They either don't know how or they don't have the effort or the time or the energy to fight for that reimbursement that is legitimately theirs. There's no, you know, scelo stuff like going on. It's this is my money. Give it to me. Right. I feel like, OK, tell me if you've got clinical experience, you worked in dental practices. I can tell. I feel like ESS billers like the equivalent of a hygienist.   Hygienists are obsessed with getting that little speck of calculus and we're all like, give it up, it's fine, like it's good enough. And yet I feel like like ESS billers are obsessive about getting, even if it's 20 bucks, like we want to get that because that's rightfully our money. And you're not going to sit here and deny claims on us when we know, like it used to light my fire when I would be able to appeal a claim and when...   And they were like, well, okay, we'll pay it now. Like it felt so good. was so rewarding. So I feel like that's a healthy analogy between like true billers who love billing and people. mean, I'm not the person who's like, let me go chase it down every single dollar. Like it's fine. It's 20 bucks. I'm like, you think about those 20 bucks or 25 or 65 or a hundred times. How many of those procedures, like if you want to just feel sick, go run a report from last year of how many buildups you had. And then.   Just do a hundred percent. Cause honestly, you probably only got like 10 % of them covered. So you could drop it down to 90 or even 50 % and just see how much money you lost just on that one code because we didn't go back and appeal it. Exactly. It's, isn't it crazy? And the, the other really awesome part about E -assist is, um, while we have brilliant minds on our team, there is not a single one of us that's perfect.   And when you've only got one person in your office that's doing this, it doesn't matter how awesome they are, if they're not plugged in and like constantly learning or networking or connected, there are things that can be missed. like within eAssist, we have an entire platform where everybody can go on and like post a question about this. And then there's literally, you know, thousand people coming back to answer their question.   The Dental A Team (23:12.642) that sense of community and really bringing all of the brains and all of the smarts together to really increase your bottom line and get you the money that you're out. Which is awesome. I think it's just a matter of, I feel like so many offices neglect billing because like we're going to actually go after our collections if we're not, we don't have enough money for payroll. Like that's a given. We'll do that. Or if we don't have enough money for supplies, but I just feel like it's   a slow bubbling pot that doesn't have to be taken care of. Checking our claims doesn't have to be done. Resubmitting claims doesn't have to be done. Sending out collection letters doesn't have to be done. It'd be great. I remember in office, this is such a gross story. It like made me so sick. Don't do this. This is not good. But I remember there was an office and they had, I think they had one to 2 million in over 90. And I was like, wow, that's a lot of money in that.   And I asked like how she was going about her process and she said, oh, you know, once I hit over 90, I actually just start like writing it off. And I said, I'm sorry, what? Like you, that's not your money to write off number one and number two, there are a lot of ways to collect that. Let's definitely fix that. And so again, I feel that billing and dentistry is such a, it's not a well -taught model in my opinion. It's not well, it's just   I learned from the person before me and if they knew how to do it and most of time that's learning and I just like there's so many layers to billing, is why I really love what you guys do. I think it's actually a really brilliant thing. I will ask this question and I'm hoping it's like, I'm hoping to dispel some people's beliefs about e -assist because I've heard from some offices like I love e -assist and I've got my own two cents on it. So don't worry. I'll like back you guys on it too. But they say e -assist is really inconsistent because they're not in the office all the   So I wanted to ask a question like, how would you answer that question? Cause I've got my own two cents on it from the practices side, just because it's outsourced. But what would be your, cause I've heard from some people like, well, my biller is not that great or she doesn't know all these things, which is just eAssist. Which isn't eAssist. I'm not saying it can't be like impossible. I'm sure there's like maybe a random scenario, but the systems that we have in place on the backend.   The Dental A Team (25:36.888) the checks and the balances and the reporting and every single one of these, these Ea sisters have their own goals and they've got so many that they're reporting to on a consistent and irregular basis. So I just don't see how that could happen. I just saw them. That's good. I wanted to dispel some rumors that I've heard. And also I will say from the practices side, I am always saying just because it's an outsource company, it doesn't mean you don't need to check in with   So I recommend offices when you do outsource that you have a relationship. Like I treat my outsource companies as if they're my team. And I'm going to, if Tiffany, you were my biller, I'm going to set up consistent meetings with you where we review our AR, where we look to see where we're at. We look to see our collection percentages. We look to see the statements that were sent out. We look to see why our claims are being denied so we can fix it on the front end. Like just because they're getting denied doesn't mean keep doing it. But I really suggest, and that's something   that I will preach forever because I think outsourcing truthfully is one of the best things that can happen. Like, hello, thank you, COVID. Thank you. All these different things that have happened to us to create amazing outsource companies. think you guys are one of the top tier billing companies out there, but really I feel offices can't neglect the responsibility of ensuring that the E -assister is working on their practice to the goals that you want and that you're communicating those goals as well. Would you agree? Like that's kind of my two cents on outsourcing.   and how offices need to take some accountability on it as well. Absolutely. It's all about having consistent and clear communication. And if you feel like you can't pick up the phone and call your e -assister to ask them a question, then you need to let them know or let your team leader know so that they can get you a different e -assister. Communication is incredibly important. And making sure that you're providing great soap notes.   for documentation purposes, that you're taking the right x -rays, that you're taking those intraoral photos, that you're charting the bleeding on probing. You know, that all of these things are happening because that's what your e -assister needs to be set up for success to get all of the other stuff on the back end taken care of. And if you're not involved as a practice owner, as a doctor, that's a big deal. And I know that you're busy and you've got a lot   The Dental A Team (28:00.694) stuff on your plate and there's a lot going on and that's okay. But you need to be involved in the process. Otherwise you may not always be happy or get the result that you could have. For sure. And that's why I wanted to bring this up. Like I'd rather dispel what people think. But I think also, as you said that one of the benefits of having an outsource company is they force you to have tight systems. So things like we aren't charting our bleeding, I need this information. So coming from somebody who knows what a practice should look like.   I think that's actually one of the best things I remember when I started outsourcing our podcast. It's now in house, but we had, we went with somebody who was working for another company. And I remember it was like, I instantly created a very quick system because this person knew what we should be having, how it should be done, what the process should be. And we had just hodgepodded it together prior to that. Like it was fine. It was working, but it wasn't succinct and tight. And when you said like, are your hygienists documenting   Ontario charting and are they doing it consistently? So many offices I walk into, they're not doing it consistently. I'm like, guys, we need that to get our claims to be paid. They're not taking intraorals like you were saying for those buildups and then they're complaining that it's being denied. they're like, well, I guess all buildups are just denied. No, that's why I love ESA. That's why I love working with companies who bill.   for hundreds and thousands of practices because you see so many more claims than I see, you know tips and tricks, you've got your whole community of people. So that's where I just feel like if nothing else, I also think it's a great way to ramp up your systemization and get cleaner documentation, cleaner notes, cleaner insurance verification, cleaner billing, so that way it really is a better process all around. So. for sure.   100 % I mean I'm all for outsourcing. Eassist obviously is about outsourcing, but they also believe in the power of education and you know you've got to make the choices that are best for your practice. And if you've got the team in place and you feel like they can handle it, but they just need to to learn or have some education to support them. Eassist also has dental zing, which is an entire online webinar continuing education platform. They're not out there saying.   The Dental A Team (30:14.222) You must outsource to us like in order to be successful at saying, you know, make the choice that's right for your practice. If you want to outsource, we're here for you. If you want to coach and train your team, like we're here for you. Here's some courses, like let them take these. it's yeah, that's great. Which I think is awesome. So guys, end all be all. Stop doing it the hard way. There's a book called, gosh, what is it? It's not how, but who.   And I really love thinking that because I think so often in practice, like, how are going to figure out our billing? How are we going to figure this out when sometimes those can actually just be answered by who is there a billing company like ESS that you could outsource to and try it. Tiffany, if it, if an office wants to set up with you guys, how long does it usually take from like, call you say, I need help with billing to you guys actually submitting my claims. Like how long is that process? If I'm a practice in dire need, just so I have a timeline.   that's actually a great question. It's been a while since I've been on that side of things. but I know in the past it's been usually seven days. I think the goal is to maybe to cut that back. I'm not actually sure, but it used to be seven days, but that's also really dependent on you getting them all of the information that they need in order to get things set up. So there's, you know, tech installation and all of that, but it can, the turnaround can actually be exponentially quicker than that. it all just kind of depends on systems.   That's awesome. again, very quick turnaround time. I know that doesn't seem like fast, but it is quick. You guys start billing immediately. You start telling them, helping them get their systems in play. I know there's check scanners. So it becomes a, you guys have it really dialed in. So Tiffany, I love this conversation. I love that we went from how to get buildups paid. went from what it even looks like to outsource. We've talked about different types of reports you should be doing, uh, looking at your claims every 14 days that only 33 % of people.   appeal denials, like crazy stuff. So guys, if you are looking and you're saying, Hey, I'm ready to get going and I need help. Tiffany, how do they get set up with ESS? Like, what's the best way to connect with you guys just to find out more information, see if you're a practice, I can qualify. What's the best way? Yeah, absolutely. So first thing is first, always go to our website, dental billing .com. There's a lot   The Dental A Team (32:31.67) A lot of your questions that you have are going to be answered just by looking at the website, including pricing and what all of that looks like, the variety of services that are offered and which you feel like is the best for your specific practice. And then you can always send out an email to learn more at ESS .me. Awesome. Well, Tiffany, I am so excited, guys, if this is even something you've been considering, I'd strongly encourage you guys to look into it.   Touch base, C, because at the end of the day, let's cut the stress off your front office, outsource it, make sure your billing's coming in consistently. I know I always love when my paychecks are consistent and that money into our company is consistent. It's very stressful when it's not. And not having it dependent on people's time or availability or hiring is a really awesome solution. So Tiffany, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for being a part of eAssist. Super grateful for you and all that you guys do for the dental community. Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having   Of course. All right, geuys, check it out. Try it out. Let us know if we can help you in any way. Email me Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.   The Dental A Team (33:45.09) wraps it up for another episode of the Dental A Team Podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.

Jacquelyn Hurley welcomes a former dentist who transitioned into finance after a life-changing experience with his son's health. Dr. Howard Polansky shares his journey from the dental chair to becoming a financial coach, teaching people how to manage their cash flow more efficiently. Listen in as Dr. Polansky explains how he uses lines of credit to help individuals become their own CFO - Cash Flow Optimizer. He discusses the importance of income exceeding expenses, the risks and misconceptions of his financial strategies, and provides valuable tips for achieving financial freedom. Don't miss this insightful conversation that could change the way you think about your finances.Connect with Dr. Howard Polansky:Website: Financially LedPhone: 512-608-1020To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Struggling to keep up with the ever-changing OSHA and HIPAA regulations? You're not alone! Many dental practitioners and their staff face this challenge.Join Olivia Wann—whose unique background combines dental expertise with a law degree, graduating in the top 30% of her class—as she delves into the most common violations related to HIPAA and OSHA compliance that dental professionals face. Wann will explain the best practices for documenting compliance and highlight the significant repercussions of non-compliance.If you need help documenting your compliance efforts, you can find her at oliviawann.com. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Struggling to keep up with the ever-changing OSHA and HIPAA regulations? You're not alone! Many dental practitioners and their staff face this challenge. Join Olivia Wann—whose unique background combines dental expertise with a law degree, graduating in the top 30% of her class—as she delves into the most common violations related to HIPAA and OSHA compliance that dental professionals face. Wann will explain the best practices for documenting compliance and highlight the significant repercussions of non-compliance. If you need help documenting your compliance efforts, you can find her at oliviawann.com. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Jacquelyn Hurley welcomes a former dentist who transitioned into finance after a life-changing experience with his son's health. Dr. Howard Polansky shares his journey from the dental chair to becoming a financial coach, teaching people how to manage their cash flow more efficiently. Listen in as Dr. Polansky explains how he uses lines of credit to help individuals become their own CFO - Cash Flow Optimizer. He discusses the importance of income exceeding expenses, the risks and misconceptions of his financial strategies, and provides valuable tips for achieving financial freedom. Don't miss this insightful conversation that could change the way you think about your finances. Connect with Dr. Howard Polansky: Website: Financially Led Phone: 512-608-1020 To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

‍How can you streamline your operations while maintaining exceptional patient care? In this episode, we've brought on Priscilla White, the innovative CFO of Comfort Dental Studio in Chicago, to uncover the secrets behind their thriving office. Priscilla provides an illuminating overview of their processes and systems, emphasizing how their commitment to caring professionals translates into superior patient experiences. She elaborates on their strategic expansion to a second location in Pilsen, a move designed to meet the demands of a growing patient base and reduce waiting times, demonstrating the power of patient-focused growth.Facing daunting challenges like high aging accounts receivable (AR) and inefficiencies at the front desk, Priscilla shares how she transformed these obstacles into opportunities. After transitioning from corporate banking to the dental industry, she introduced cutting-edge practice management software, Dentrix Ascend, and leveraged third-party partnerships with Unitas and eAssist. These innovations have not only optimized insurance billing and PPO negotiations but also allowed the practice to concentrate on patient care while ensuring profitability. Priscilla's hands-on management style and strategic decisions, including staff realignment and enhanced communication protocols, have significantly boosted efficiency and financial health at Comfort Dental Studio.What You'll Learn in This Episode:How to effectively manage expansion and new locations in a dental practice.Strategies for reducing high aging accounts receivable (AR).The benefits of implementing Dentrix Ascend practice management software.The role of third-party services like Unitas and eAssist in enhancing practice profitability.Practical tips for improving front desk operations and patient ledger management.The importance of thorough communication and systematic processes in team productivity.Insights on staff realignment to meet practice goals and philosophies.Advice on utilizing sophisticated practice management systems tailored to dental offices.Let's dive into Priscilla's expert insights and proven strategies today!‍‍Sponsors:‍For high quality AND affordable dental supply options, visit The Dentists Supply Company(TDSC) website today! Our listeners get a special deal - 25% off on orders over $500 - Just type in the special code: TDM25 at checkout for your exclusive offer. AND if you're a member of your state's Dental Association, you may be eligible for additional savings upon providing your ADA number. Click or copy and paste the link here to save today! https://www.tdsc.com/‍Guest: Priscilla WhitePractice Name: Comfort Dental StudioCheck out Priscilla's Media:Website: https://www.comfortteeth.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comfortteeth/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551046628909‍Other Mentions and Links:‍Priscilla's 4 production columns to cover 4 operatories: Dr. Production (fillings, etc.)HygieneNew Patient Recall ‍Software/Services:DocSitesUnitasDetrix AscendeAssist‍People:Dr. White‍Businesses/Brands:Henry Schein‍Establishments:University of ChicagoSophy Hotel‍Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.‍

Your practice's unique dynamics can determine whether you should be in-network or out-of-network and what the strategic advantages and drawbacks are. Dr. Alfe, who has practiced dentistry for 25 years, dives deep into a practice's numbers as she shares the 7 Steps to Financial Freedom and what it takes to optimize production, engage patient satisfaction, and align your team to create a cohesive environment.  For more information: Email: gerilyn@getaheadcc.comText: 312-479-4427or go to www.getaheadcc.comTo learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Your practice's unique dynamics can determine whether you should be in-network or out-of-network and what the strategic advantages and drawbacks are. Dr. Alfe, who has practiced dentistry for 25 years, dives deep into a practice's numbers as she shares the 7 Steps to Financial Freedom and what it takes to optimize production, engage patient satisfaction, and align your team to create a cohesive environment. For more information: Email: gerilyn@getaheadcc.com Text: 312-479-4427 or go to www.getaheadcc.com To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

It may not be surprising to learn that 86% of Dental practices today are submitting claims electronically and, only 17% are receiving EFT payments electronically. Chris Haines, the founder of Dental Web Smart says that cash flow is the number one challenge facing dentists today. Listen in as Chris talks about a piece of technology that can help you easily set up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and receive your reimbursement quicker than ever before. The first 7 new clients to register for the EFT and ERA Technology Insurance System, will receive 1 hour of 1 on 1 personal support from Chris herself. You can schedule a free consultation by going to www.dentalwebsmart.com. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Join us as we welcome Kristine Berry, an inclusive leader and advocate for cultural diversity in dentistry. Kristine's journey from surviving bullying to becoming a voice for inclusion has shaped her passion for fostering sustainable success through diversity. With over three decades of experience in the dental industry, Kristine founded the Dental Diversity and Inclusion Alliance (DDIA) to empower organizations and individuals alike. In this episode, we'll delve into the practical aspects of implicit bias in dentistry. Kristine will explain what bias is and how it affects dental care. We'll learn how dental practices can effectively check for bias among their team and patients. Kristine will also provide practical tips on creating a workplace where everyone feels respected. We'll hear stories of dental practices that have improved by embracing diversity. Plus, Kristine will recommend resources for learning more about bias in dentistry, including her entire CE Course at www.dentalzing.com. You can contact her at coachkristineberry@gmail.com. Let's make dental care better for everyone! To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Join us as we welcome Kristine Berry, an inclusive leader and advocate for cultural diversity in dentistry. Kristine's journey from surviving bullying to becoming a voice for inclusion has shaped her passion for fostering sustainable success through diversity. With over three decades of experience in the dental industry, Kristine founded the Dental Diversity and Inclusion Alliance (DDIA) to empower organizations and individuals alike.In this episode, we'll delve into the practical aspects of implicit bias in dentistry. Kristine will explain what bias is and how it affects dental care. We'll learn how dental practices can effectively check for bias among their team and patients. Kristine will also provide practical tips on creating a workplace where everyone feels respected.We'll hear stories of dental practices that have improved by embracing diversity. Plus, Kristine will recommend resources for learning more about bias in dentistry, including her entire CE Course at www.dentalzing.com. You can contact her at coachkristineberry@gmail.com. Let's make dental care better for everyone!To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Do you dream of a dental practice where your team is confident, focused, and passionate about delivering exceptional patient care? In this episode, we welcome Kelly Duggan, a certified image coach, speaker, and consultant with a wealth of experience in dental hygiene. Kelly delves into personal and team development in the dental practice. She equips you with the tools to foster inner composure and strategic thinking, which she identifies as crucial skills for enhancing your workflow, patient care, and overall practice environment. Here's what you'll learn: - How active listening, personalized treatment plans, and effective communication lead to patient satisfaction - Strategies to uncover what makes your practice unique and how to leverage that for success - Join us and discover the Dentistry Advantage – for you, your team, and your patients! You can reach Kelly at www.Kellyduggan.com for a complimentary strategy call! To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Creating a thriving dental practice is more than being profitable. It's striking the perfect balance between profitability and patient care through people, professionalism, and patience. Listen in as Daniela Skeen, the visionary founder of DentaEdge, shares invaluable insights on essential strategies for stress management, effective time utilization, and fostering genuine connections with patients and team members. Learn how cultivating a positive and professional environment can lead to not only increased profitability but also enhanced satisfaction for all involved. Don't merely survive the challenges of dentistry—thrive! Tune in for expert guidance and tangible strategies to elevate your dental practice to new heights of success and fulfillment. For more information and to connect with Dani, you can find her HERE on the eAssist Consultant Network! To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Creating a thriving dental practice is more than being profitable.  It's striking the perfect balance between profitability and patient care through people, professionalism, and patience. Listen in as Daniela Skeen, the visionary founder of DentaEdge, shares invaluable insights on essential strategies for stress management, effective time utilization, and fostering genuine connections with patients and team members. Learn how cultivating a positive and professional environment can lead to not only increased profitability but also enhanced satisfaction for all involved. Don't merely survive the challenges of dentistry—thrive! Tune in for expert guidance and tangible strategies to elevate your dental practice to new heights of success and fulfillment. For more information and to connect with Dani, you can find her HERE on the eAssist Consultant Network! To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Can dental professionals give up traditional case presentations regarding individualized patient care? What if there's another way? JoinBrandi Hooker Evans RDH-ER, MHE, MAADH as she explodes the myth that dental professionals must rely solely on case presentations for individualized care. Discover her revolutionary 4-step approach that empowers patients to take charge of their oral health journey. This episode dives deep into how shifting the focus to education and informed decision-making can boost patient engagement and accountability and improve outcomes and satisfaction. Absorb some of her passion and expertise at www.brandihookerevans.com, where you will receive a free Stellar Infusion Study Club ticket and check out her new book that will launch soon called Dentists, Hygienists and Cows.To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Can dental professionals give up traditional case presentations regarding individualized patient care? What if there's another way? JoinBrandi Hooker Evans RDH-ER, MHE, MAADH as she explodes the myth that dental professionals must rely solely on case presentations for individualized care. Discover her revolutionary 4-step approach that empowers patients to take charge of their oral health journey. This episode dives deep into how shifting the focus to education and informed decision-making can boost patient engagement and accountability and improve outcomes and satisfaction. Absorb some of her passion and expertise at www.brandihookerevans.com, where you will receive a free Stellar Infusion Study Club ticket and check out her new book that will launch soon called Dentists, Hygienists and Cows. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

AADOM Radio & eAssist Present:Penny Reed-Chief Growth Officer Learning Objectives:Provide strategies for office managers in dental practices to enhance their performance and reduce stress levels.Offer practical advice on communication, time management, patient experience, self-care, and outsourcing dental billing.Empower dental practice leaders with insights to streamline operations, improve patient satisfaction, and ensure the well-being of office managers.More About Penny:Penny Reed is the Chief Growth Officer at eAssist Dental Solutions, and theauthor of the book, Growing Your Dental Business. Penny was recruited byher own dentist to run his growing practice, after spending two years as an ITmanager with the Walmart Corporation.Penny has over 30 years of experience as a speaker and dental business coachand has been designated a Leader in Dental Consulting by Dentistry Today from2007 to present. She is a certified “Behavioral Consultant” through the Institutefor Motivational Living, and a former Dale Carnegie Trainer.Penny is the executive team support for the marketing department at eAssist, thenation's leader in outsourced dental billing. She speaks at dental meetings aboutteam coachability, effective revenue cycle management, and practice growth.Penny is a member of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants, TheSpeaking and Consulting Network, and a Speaking/Consulting member of theAmerican Association of Dental Office Management.More About eAssist Dental Solutions:https://dentalbilling.com/eAssist Dental Solutions, a Henry Schein company, is the nation's leading dental billing company. eAssist serves thousands of dental practices by providing them with vetted dental billing specialists, allowing practice owners to fully outsource their billing department to eAssist. This end-to-end solution enhances a dental practice's revenue cycle management and eases the burden on office staff, ultimately helping practices be more efficient, profitable, and patient-focused.More About AADOM:https://www.dentalmanagers.com/

Keeping dental teams motivated can be challenging in even the most successful dental practice! In this episode, Dr. Maggie Augustyn will explore the pivotal experience in fostering a motivated and cohesive dental team long-term. She shares some secrets on retaining top talent with a focus on the core values of each team member and how to inspire and empower dental professionals by driving both individual fulfillment and collective prosperity. Join us while we discuss Dr. Maggie's passion, purpose, and practice of excellence in dentistry. If you would like to learn more about what it takes to becoming the leader instead of the manager of your team, reach out to Dr. Maggie on her website. www.myhappytooth.com She would love to connect with you! She is all about not only loving and being there for her team, but she loves to give back and help other dentists. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Keeping dental teams motivated can be challenging in even the most successful dental practice! In this episode, Dr. Maggie Augustyn will explore the pivotal experience  in fostering a motivated and cohesive dental team long-term. She shares some secrets on retaining top talent with a focus on the core values of each team member and how to inspire and empower dental professionals by driving both individual fulfillment and collective prosperity. Join us while  we discuss Dr. Maggie's passion, purpose, and practice of excellence in dentistry. If you would like to learn more about what it takes to becoming the leader instead of the manager of your  team, reach out to Dr. Maggie on her website. www.myhappytooth.com She would love to connect with you! She is all about not only loving and being there for her  team, but she loves to give back and help other dentists. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

In this episode, Lisa Copeland, CEO of Communicate with Influence, shares her insights on bridging generational gaps for dental professionals.The discussion dives into recognizing generational differences within dental practices, addressing how these nuances affect team dynamics and patient care. Lisa emphasizes the need for practices to become more generationally perceptive, offering specialized care tailored to each generation's preferences.She offers a complimentary Generational Jeopardy Chart. To understand the differences in working with different generations. Don't miss the chance to elevate your practice – explore coaching opportunities with Lisa at www.CommunicateWithInfluence.org.To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your free consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Is your business culture suffering due to inconsistency and the need to be more organized? It's time to embrace the power of well-documented systems. People + Process = Proficiency. Glenda Acevedo is a documentologist. She talks about what a documentologist is and how she can help get some systems in place for increased productivity, superior teamwork, and enhanced customer loyalty. Contact Glenda at thedocumentologist.com. She will help you develop an actionable plan for long-term success in your practice. Everything is customizable, the first 2 practitioners to reach out will receive $500. Contact Glenda at glenda@glendaacevedo.com for your customized proposal. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your free consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

In this episode, Lisa Copeland, CEO of Communicate with Influence, shares her insights on bridging generational gaps for dental professionals. The discussion dives into recognizing generational differences within dental practices, addressing how these nuances affect team dynamics and patient care. Lisa emphasizes the need for practices to become more generationally perceptive, offering specialized care tailored to each generation's preferences. She offers a complimentary Generational Jeopardy Chart. To understand the differences in working with different generations. Don't miss the chance to elevate your practice – explore coaching opportunities with Lisa at www.CommunicateWithInfluence.org. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your free consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

Is your business culture suffering due to inconsistency and the need to be more organized? It's time to embrace the power of well-documented systems. People + Process = Proficiency. Glenda Acevedo is a documentologist. She talks about what a documentologist is and how she can help get some systems in place for increased productivity, superior teamwork, and enhanced customer loyalty. Contact Glenda at thedocumentologist.com. She will help you develop an actionable plan for long-term success in your practice. Everything is customizable, the first 2 practitioners to reach out will receive $500. Contact Glenda at glenda@glendaacevedo.com for your customized proposal. To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your free consultation with eAssist, visit https://shorturl.at/deiR9.

On this episode of "How We Did It", host Alex Dagostino chats with Dr. Jeffrey Proniloff of Sequoia Dentistry. Dr. Proniloff talks about his journey in dentistry, what makes his practice an eAssist Top Practice and advice for recent dental grads.To learn more about eAssist Dental Solutions, please visit dentalbilling.com. To schedule your complimentary consultation with eAssist, please visit https://shorturl.at/mDQV4.

AADOM Radio & eAssist Dental Solutions Present:Penny ReedLearning Objections:By the end of this podcast, listeners will be able to…Evaluate the potential for income and growth as an eAssist dental biller: Through real-life anecdotes and expert insights from Penny Reed, you will learn the financial prospects and career growth potential this side hustle offers.Know the role and responsibilities of an eAssist dental biller: You'll learn the day-to-day tasks and overarching responsibilities associated with being an eAssist dental biller, understanding the value this role brings to dental practices.Recognize the pathway to becoming an eAssist dental biller: You will learn the necessary steps, from beginner to expert, to start your side hustle with eAssist Dental Solutions.More About Penny:Penny Reed is the Chief Growth Officer at eAssist Dental Solutions, and the author of the book, Growing Your Dental Business. Penny was recruited by her own dentist to run his growing practice, after spending two years as an IT manager with the Walmart Corporation.Penny has over 30 years of experience as a speaker and dental business coach and has been designated a Leader in Dental Consulting by Dentistry Today from 2007 to present. She is a certified “Behavioral Consultant” through the Institute for Motivational Living, and a former Dale Carnegie Trainer.Penny is the executive team support for the marketing department at eAssist, the nation's leader in outsourced dental billing. She speaks at dental meetings about team coachability, effective revenue cycle management, and practice growth.Penny is a member of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants, The Speaking and Consulting Network, and a Speaking/Consulting member of the American Association of Dental Office Management.More About eAssist Dental Solutions:Is dental insurance giving you a headache? You need an assist from eAssist! eAssist is the industry-leading outsourced dental billing company. With the largest network of dental billing specialists, we offer state-of-the-art, secure claims processing services. Learn more at dentalbilling.com! www.dentalbilling.comMore About AADOM:https://www.dentalmanagers.com/

Today we're going to introduce a game changer in the dental practice management software world...‍‍This is an innovative, all-in-one, cloud-based practice management software, and it offers an array of powerful features that are custom built for dentists by dentists ready to revolutionize the way you work. ‍If you are a start-up and decide to sign up with Oryx, they will NOT charge you a single dime, until you reached 200 active patients!⁠⁠They are partnering up with all startup practice owners and making sure you succeed, fast!⁠⁠ Click this link to schedule a FREE personalized demo and to see more on their exclusive deal!⁠‍‍Guest: Brad BillingsBusiness Name: Full ScheduleCheck out Brad's Media:Website: https://dentalbilling.com/full-schedule/Email: brad@mountainwest.healthcare‍‍Other Mentions and Links:Pacific Dental ServicesQSI AnalyticsDOSAbundant Dental CareDentrixDental IntelOpen DentaleAssistWeaveForbesAndrés Irlando Forbes top 40 under 40Fortune 500MicrosoftMicrosoft Leadership TrainingsPracticeWorksEaglesoftSQL databaseKois CenterCurve DentalDentrix AscendDentrix Enterprise‍‍Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society‍‍My Key Takeaways:Some of the core steps to an effective front office onboarding system are clinical and insurance fundamentals, understanding practice software, phone skills, and financial arrangements.Empowering your employees does not mean handing them a script. Give them some autonomy to make their own decisions under a certain dollar threshold.How should you handle mistakes by team members?Help team members be individually successful and they will make your practice successful.The top 4 metrics that contribute to high profitability are 1. continuing care growth, 2. open hours, 3. number of indirect restorations, and 4. percentage of firm financial arrangements.‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)Michael: Alright, it's time to talk with our featured guest, Brad Billings. Brad, how's it going? Good. Brad: Thanks for asking. Michael: Awesome, man. We appreciate you coming on. If you can you kind of break it down to us? Tell us a little bit about your past, your present. How'd you get to where you are Brad: today? Oh, that's a, that's an interesting one.So actually worked at Verizon Wireless for a number of years. 15 years and made it to lower level executive status great leadership development program and I had a ton of really good leaders. think what was interesting there and probably what I'd translate into dental is, they just had every metric you could think of all the data that you'd ever want for any.Situation out of every store, every phone, everything, they just had all the data and we use that to, you know, gauge and monitor performance. I was in the sales channel, that's kind of where I started and I'll be brief on that 1. and then I moved to, uh, Pacific dental services and that was my foray into dentistry.And it's probably good that I went to a company like Pacific dental. Specifically because I didn't know anything about dentistry and they had a really good training program, which is obviously something that you need. If you're going to, if you're going to try to enter into a leadership role, within the dental industry, you have to know what you're talking about.So, pretty extensive training in a very successful region. and that kind of was my entrance into the dental world. And then the other thing about Pacific Dental is they also had an exorbitant amount of data. They worked out of a system called QSI. There might be a few people on the station that, that know of QSI.It's really archaic. It was written in DOS and, still running in DOS. You had to do. Manual um, command entries to get it to do anything. And, and then they had an overlay. I forget what the overlay was called for the doctors to enter their clinical notes charting and things like that. But the reason that they had such a hard time transitioning to anything modern, was because of the amount of data that they were getting out of that. And that really was the foundation, That I think helped kind of springboard me into success outside and into, small DSO and, and starting up a private practice.It was kind of that foundation and understanding that, metrics drive decisions. And, and if you're just making guesses about what you should do within the business, you're oftentimes going to, guess incorrectly without those metrics and data. Gotcha. Michael: And so right now, what are you doing? Brad: guess there's more background in all of that. I left for an opportunity to run a small DSO. In Utah, or to help run, I should say. So I got hired as the VP at Abundant Dental Care, a phenomenal DSO. I still have a great relationship with them. I entered in to that relationship.They had about, I think they had four practices, so very small. they were doing about, probably about 500, 000 a month. So a decent amount of money. They were like many small organizations that I saw. They were running they had a really good foundation. So they had like a really good team, really good processes, really good.Atmosphere. And this is kind of why I chose to go with them is because their foundation was so solid, really good clinical work. They had some of the best dentists out there with a really good clinical leader, which is stuff that I don't know. So I didn't want to try to tackle. solving clinical gaps along with solving operational gaps.So that's why I kind of decided to go with them. And then they, this is going to be the most boring podcast you ever.Anyway uh, they were operating off like, you know, sugar house dental care at gmail. com and they had, you know, four practices and they're just sharing documents across gmail platforms and, you know, they were careful not to share HIPAA information across those things, but that made communication super challenging.So, I initially came on, you know, as operations to help with the, case acceptance, closure and, you know, operational performance. And there were just so many gaps everywhere else that did do that. And then I also started to, work on automated reporting is where I started.They were doing these spreadsheets every night. It would take, you know, 45 minutes to an hour of. Office Manager's time. They tracked a lot. They tracked everything. How do they track everything? They, it just does a spreadsheet. And they would pull manual Dentrix reports. So they would, and I don't know if you've ever dealt with Dentrix at all, but say create this report, and then you can walk away.Like you can, Yeah. Go to the bathroom and, eat dinner and then come back and it might be done. And you do that, but you have to do, you know, four or five different ones, and then you take all the data manually off of those. And manually enter them in this spreadsheet. They had four different spreadsheets, which was also really weird, four different spreadsheets.And then they had another operator that would grab, from those four different spreadsheets that were filled out by office managers and manually enter them into this master spreadsheet that the owner would look at in the morning and decide what our day was like the previous day and try to take action, depending on that.Right. far as execution is concerned, like. They did a pretty good job with what they were doing. Like they always filled that out. They always, you know what I mean? There's a lot of people that try to do processes like that and can't execute on it because it takes a whole lot of accountability and follow up to make sure that those numbers are right.So they were doing a good job. But was manual and it took four hours at least each night, plus the hour that it took that other operator put it all together. So you're talking about five hours a day, you know, how many working hours a week. So it was an incredible amount of hours.And then it was, it was often wrong because, human error. So I just, I got a wild hair and I went to the owner. I said, look I, want to make this automated. This is ridiculous. We're doing it this way. and he was like no, I'm not going to give you any resources. You can't do that. I don't believe that you can do that.You don't have the skill set. I was like, sure. Yeah, I, okay. So I just went and did it on my own. Like at night I, I called a buddy of mine that I went to college with. And, at the time he was working for a data company, just basically doing what I was asking us to figure out. Right. And all the time I'm like researching all this stuff too.Cause I there's dental Intel out there and there's, there's a few others, but I researched probably three or four and I found out that bad data in, bad data out. And to get access to that back, that backend of Dentrix was, very expensive. And I don't remember the exact dollar amount, but I already didn't have any funding approval to do what I was trying to do.And so I'm trying to stand up on, this manual SQL backend. So what I did initially was I took this spreadsheet, put it into one, protected spreadsheet, and then had an auto pull from the spreadsheet into this database. so all I really did initially was remove That last hour of the combination from that other operator.And you know, but I worked and I was like, Oh, this is, this can be powerful, but I'm not going to, I don't have the means. We didn't have the means that this is company we weren't profitable enough to go pay the amount of money needed to get under the back end of denture. Yeah. I started to research open dental was the first one that, cause everybody researches up though they start there cause free, right.You have access to everything. You have access to all the tables. It's not an API. all the back end. So we just did like a demo account in this back end to Open Dental. And but I don't, I'm no longer employed by them. I, I ended up growing this big enough to contract with them and move on. Michael: So what is it exactly? Like, if you don't mind me asking the you're doing right now, Brad: I own two practices with a partner, a doctor, that's a partner in Utah. The laws don't make you you don't have to be a clinician to own. It's one of like three states in the US but we're set up as A D S O. So, I can own a portion of A D S O that owns practices. So we are set up legally for me to own in other states as well.But we, right now we just have two practices. And then, I also own a company called Full Schedule, which is, I'm in strategic partnership with eAssist. I'm not a partner of eAssist, so I have to make that very clear. We're a separate company, but I am in a strategic partnership with eAssist, the dental billing company, and we essentially Some of their clients I own a company that has employees that call and fill their schedule essentially.So instead of doing that automated faceless, nameless, kind of process with like the weaves of the world and whoever else we have, we put a face and a name to it, set targets to it and help them get treatment and hygiene scheduled and then, you know, we charge per office for Michael: that. So is it more like, that part, full schedule, is it more like front office services in the sense of like, Hey, I only have one front office right now, I need someone to answer phones and, take care of stuff whenever that person's doing other things. Brad: not yet. It is on the road map to have an answering service. so right now we just are filling schedule. So it's basically like, we're 2 years in our recare list is miles long, but for whatever reason, we're never full.And our treatment is still out there and it's not getting closed. So employ only, Currently, I would say stateside, so that we have, experience that we have hygienists that have been doing this for years and years, scheduling appointments, know what clinically they need to be doing all of these.So we have about 30 offices right now that we. Essentially, we just find out what they want to do, what they want scheduled how they want it scheduled, which operatories they want it scheduled in, what their treatment times are that they want scheduled. And then we follow those standard operating procedures for that office.And we fill the needs of that office, eventually, you know, fill the schedule. if we don't reach our commitments to the office, we reduce our price per each schedule not fulfilled to our commitment. Okay, Michael: man. That sounds legit. cause that is a humongous need, right?as far as when it comes to front office and answering services and things like that. So. That'd be really good. real quick, Brad, if we can rewind a little bit. You mentioned that you worked for Verizon and that they had a great leadership program. What to you, because it made it great, and what takeaways from that program would you recommend someone in a dental practice, your dental practice owner, utilize?Brad: That's a good question. think anytime you have a program at all no matter how good the curriculum is or anything else, it's dependent on the people that are in it. I was lucky. I, I had some of the, in my opinion, and granted, it's my humble opinion. I had some of the best leaders, even in Verizon.I had a. The president of my region that I was in, Oh, Andres Irlando, he was Forbes top 40 under 40, just a amazing guy. He's running another tech company now. then I had a couple of other really, some of the smartest men that I've ever met.I think that Fortune 5 companies draw those kinds of. And then I had another guy named DJ Leckwold and another guy named Shane Schwab. And these guys were just very focused on, you know, personal growth and leadership, what that actually looks like and how to communicate with your teams around performance.Cadence and meetings large workload organization, which was very challenging for me. and that's what I would probably say Verizon had is, and what these leaders did is Verizon has a ton of resources. They have classes going on around the country all the time. Either run even by teams of Microsoft employees to teach you how to use Microsoft more effectively.They have time management trainings. They have, communication trainings you know, trainings based on books like crucial conversations, and, they have all of these trainings going on. And what these leaders allowed their team to do, and a lot of leaders wouldn't because it would affect budgets.They don't understand the, uh, return on investment that you're receiving, but they would allow us to fly around the country all over. I remember flying to, you know, Massachusetts from Arizona so that I could take a time management class for Microsoft and they're not cheap, but, I still use large majority of those practices today, or I wouldn't be able to do what I do.and then on top of that, you know, obviously they modeled what a leader should, what a leader should do, what a leader should look like. So that's probably what I would say. I got, I got out of her eyes on this really good leader. Michael: Gotcha. But how are you implementing that into the practice or how would you, if you were to tell me like, this is what you got to do, Mike, for your practice?Brad: Around leadership specifically? Yeah. I think there's a Appropriate priority level leadership and leadership development. if you're an individual practice owner, we've purchased practices where there's this harsh separation between front hygiene and clinical, right? And your practice will never be successful if you're not running like you have a true leader to follow and that leader is engaged and helping the entire team be successful, and not just, the team being engaged to, make the practice successful, but also they need to feel like you're helping them be successful, whether that's in, you know, their goals and where they're headed, or.In their skill sets in the practice, but you have to be engaged and know what your employees want and what they're trying to do every single day and help them get their goals. And if you do that they'll give it back to you and help you be successful and be happy working for you. And that's, I think a lot of what leadership really is, especially on an individual practice level.From there, I mean, if you're going to go larger than that, then it, it comes to Having a an actual training process from soup to nuts. So from beginning to end, when you bring people on, you can't just assume they know exactly what you're going to talk about. And if you don't have defined training process, there's no way everybody's going to have that same training experience and everybody's going to deliver a different product to every patient that comes in and, and that creates uncontrollables that then create a lower performance.And, so yeah, that, that's kind of the difference between private and as you grow, I think private is you could really just be a leader by. Being engaged with your team and helping them be successful in who they are. And then outside of that you've really got to start formalizing and structuring a training program, leadership training and development.Michael: Do you have one of those for your, both of your practices, Brad: I've only left Abundant. think I've been outside of Abundant for three months. We just bought our second practice. In August. So, do I have one? No. And, have I felt the pain of not having one?Yes. Did I build one at Abundant? I did. We had a very robust training program with videos and tests and the onboarding processes. And I led that initiative and, and built that whole platform. And I also built a like a knowledge based platform so that, Yeah, after the training, they could go back and reference it.So, I desperately need one here. I just, as I'm sure many of your listeners know when you buy that second practice, You're first standing it up, making sure everybody's reducing turnover and, you know, keeping production as high as you can through that transition. Michael: Yeah.And we'll dive into that right now. But when it comes to the robust training, if you can, Brad, could you make us one right now? Meaning like this is what from beginning. The steps you should be in initializing, you know what I mean? Like the, I guess more like the title headline and then the headings and that's it, you know what I mean?Kind of thing. Like, how should it look? Brad: mean, that's a pretty tough question because it you want to. Michael: Could you give us like front office? Brad: Yeah. So like front desk. Yeah. Sure. And also this depends on your structure too, because different people have front desk, do different things. But, it starts with, dental knowledge. You have to have a foundation in dental knowledge and normally.When front desk, when you're hiring front desk because of the wages that they're in they really don't have foundational knowledge and I'm talking like, Keith numbers and surfaces and procedures and really just the basics because people are going to be talking to them about that stuff and they can't be just caught.Blindly in the headlights there. And from there, it would probably be to like foundational again, very basic knowledge of insurances and those sorts of things. So really just foundational knowledge between clinical and insurances. If you're taking insurances, I should say, they should know all the insurances that you take. They should know all the um, leased networks that you take and how to check to see if they're in that leased network, so that they can answer those questions appropriately. And then, the 3rd foundational piece for their job should be a complete understanding of the system they're using.So the PRM, that probably the first 3 foundational things, and then I would move very quickly to and I'm talking probably before they even have face to face interactions. They need to have those 3 things locked in and tested, or you're going to be every interaction that they have.You're going to be deteriorating the integrity of your of the perception of your business, right? And then even before again, still before the 1st face to face interaction, you should set some very clear expectations on. Communication to patients, how to answer the phone, empower them to solve problems without passing the buck all the way till the end, even if they're going to make mistakes doing it.And that takes some training too. We made a lot of videos at Abundant specifically how to answer questions when people say, I can't believe I'm on a 300 bill, let me say. You know, you very quickly say I'm, sorry that you're unaware of this bill. How can I help today? And then if they say, any anger at all, then it's okay, no problem.We'll take care of that for you. If it's under 500 bucks, it doesn't matter. We'll take care of it for you because the value of a patient is way more valuable than 500 that they didn't know about that you're trying to wrangle out of their hands. So. Anyway, so those, that's probably the foundational training for them and then it gets into more I'd say more detailed actually, you know, doing, insurance coordination and entering that into the systems and you're getting more into the details of making sure patients are set up for success while they're there, how to check copays and how to collect money at the front, things like that. Michael: So that's good, man. This is a good like process. And you mentioned something.A lot of great stuff, but one thing you mentioned is, you empower the team to handle problems on their own. It's super huge. So how do you do that? Like how do we, do we just provide them like with scripts of like, what if scenarios or? Brad: that's not empowerment enough you can't script everything.It's literally Hey, I want you to take care of the patients any way you can. Anything that you think is right probably is treat them how you'd want to be treated. If you go outside of the bounds, then we'll have a discussion, but you won't be in trouble. And then it's really you know, you got to hire well.you give them that, let them go. You can't micromanage true patient care. You really can't. And because every patient is going to be a bit, different and so you've got to have, the right front desk person with the right kind of empathy and communication skills to be able to make a lot of those decisions on their own.And yeah, I mean, there's absolutely times where like, Hey, you probably shouldn't have given that. 500 credit because they actually did owe that, but at the end of the day, if they did a very good job and that patient stayed, it's worth more than 500 bucks. So, again, it's, I guess, continual coaching.So that would be empowerment to me is you say, yeah go do it. You said very loose boundaries. Like if it goes over 500 bucks from grab us. But anything else you have full autonomy, just let us know when you're done and we'll talk about it. Yeah. Michael: Interesting. Okay. So like having almost like full confidence in them to, yeah, you made a mistake.And then almost to the point where it's like, well, let's just talk about the mistake. That way they're like, okay, it's cool to make mistakes. I mean, not huge ones, but I'll learn from them. You know what I mean? Brad: I mean, there's been big ones, man, but I still think it's more valuable for someone to have that empowerment and make One big mistake, but have corrected 20 mistakes that the patient was feeling. maybe we got 1 big mistake where they went out of bounds, you know, and they shouldn't have done that. You're still saving those other 20 patients their empowerment. And then you do that correction.And, and that is the attitude you take, like. We love mistakes you learn from it. That's great. I love that you did that. like that man. It's really good that's what empowerment is to me. Michael: Okay, and have you ever gotten like pushback from so you mentioned something about a PRM, right?So have you ever gotten people like hey, man We've been using Open Dental or practice works or Eagle software ever I know like the back of my hand like don't be switching it what happens Brad: And yes, I mean, every practice that I've been a part of acquiring and switched off of all the mainstream archaic PRMs that are out there, clinicians, especially they, they all have just challenges with that change and change is hard, doesn't matter what it is, change is hard.So I get it. And let me tell you the things that we can do after we make this change and why you're going to like this better. I mean, I think we mentioned it, but I use Oryx and all the practices that I've managed and that I own. I think that's the thing, as long as you are open about the challenges that are coming.And then understanding about the challenges that those people are going to be facing through the change. And then also you can express and make sense logically as to why the change is needed. Then most of the time you can get through those transitions relatively easy. We started really early with Oryx, and.It's a thousand times more robust than when we really, when we very first started. those first, you know, few months while I was learning and trying to teach it, I had to be the brand advocate and then I had to, get, one by one by one, these other to say, no, this is the PRM that we want to use and here's why.And, and with that one by one by one, they just kind of starts to spread. And now I mean, I still go back and ask like, Hey, if you had a chance, there's still hiccups in every PRM, but also in works. And occasionally we get a hiccup and they submit to their help team. And, And you say, Hey, would you switch?Like, even after this, would you switch? And every answer resoundingly, every time they'd never go back, there's no way to go back to a server based. Archaic DRM like that, there just isn't. Michael: Why did you decide to go with Oryx? Brad: So I was kind of getting into that before I stop, but it was that whole automated reporting thing.It started with Open Dental, and we spent a lot of money training on Open Dental on a single office. We switched one office over to Open Dental. It was on an, it was on an acquisition that we, so it was a new acquisition that we were doing at Abundant, and decided rather than, you know, Just paying for a year of, because Dentrix charges you a year up front, figured that practice, you have to re sign a contract.Rather than doing that, we were just like, let's just try Open Dental, see what happens. Super painful transition. They had good support. Open Dental was, good support, but just a painful transition. The conversion was rough. everything was pretty rough training. Everything was pretty rough.Posting was rough. Everything was rough. It was just new to me. And it was, and I'm the one training, so I'm trying to learn it and train it. And they had good support and all of that. And then we, we actually stood up automated reporting. So we pulled their backend just straight out of their database.Dumped it into a SQL database, and started running automated reports. And then I showed the owner and he was like, I want more of this. I want all of this. I want everything you can do with this. And so he was just fully body and like, when are we switching to open dental? So I started doing test conversions and all the other practices we had.And at that point, I think we had seven. So I started doing these tests conversions and open dental. I've got a lot of experience in conversions now, and I wouldn't have done it the same way that I was doing it in that first office. But anyway, I had probably 4 test conversions done. I was about to pull the trigger and I had a buddy call me from.Texas from PDS, a doctor buddy of mine. he had just got back from Coyce Institute. And he's like, just talk to me about his great experience with Coyce and comprehensive dentistry. And you know, his plan to make his practice just pop and dude, it was so exciting and he's a very engaging guy, just exciting guy to talk to.So I'm like, that's rad, man. What else, What else did you learn? Tell me everything. And he's like, Hey man, there's this software that he talked about at the end. It looked amazing. Have you ever heard of it? Oh man, I've been, I've been researching and I, I researched everything like curve, open dental, Eaglesoft, Dentrix, Dentrix Ascend, Dentrix Enterprise.you name it, I probably have done a test conversion during that time period for it. And I was still going with open dental after all of that. I was like, nah, man, I haven't heard of it, but. Man, I just don't see how anything this is. This has got to be the one I've looked at every other one.He's like, dude, just check it out. I called him up and yeah, I was blown away. Like, it's simple. It's intuitive. And this again was, this was four years ago. So it was much less robust than it is now. I don't know how to explain that any other way, but it did not have all the features that it has now.And so anyway I, it was really frustrating, but I remember calling the owner and I was like, Hey, look I, I hate more than anybody that I'm making this phone call right now. Like I've put months into this, I've put nights, evenings, weekends, just to even stand up our one office and open dental, but we got to do more.And he was like, no. And I was like, all right, well you, and we, Abundant was a comprehensive dental model. Which kind of, it very closely aligned, like Oryx and our model very closely aligned. was like, look, I understand. Like I said, I hate this too, but you just get on the phone. I'll get Ronnie on the phone, Ronnie and and our owner got on the phone and kind of talked through, they actually knew each other, which was small world.Yeah. But, yeah, it was very he eventually got, so he saw it and he was like, well, I could work. So we, you know, we decided to make the switch for all of them. So we switched all seven of our practices over to work. Michael: Nice man, that's good. And right now are you going to transition to Oryx 2 with your two practices or already?I do Brad: it. I do it on day one. Yeah, I don't take over a practice with that. Yeah, I've got so many systems built through this now that It just has to be done. Like rather than trying to figure out how to remote in to a server with RDPs and then manually track things I, I already have prewritten programs that pull from works as APIs.And so I, I've switched an office over day one and get API access and we're off to the races. So, man, Michael: all right, good stuff, man. So, cool. Oryx is the winner for you then. That's what you like. Oh, by Brad: far. Yeah. Yeah. and I would just, for anybody that's out there looking like, I am an Oryx fanboy, so I'll get that out of the way.But, at the very least, like, Just stay away from server based platforms. It creates complication and expense. You just don't need, just don't need it. You have to pay an it team any break that you have, like, I have an it degree and it takes me hours to figure out. These complicated setups.So, no, it's just not yeah, I would say stay away from those. Go online. Orcs is a great Michael: base. Yeah. Gotcha, man. Awesome. Awesome. So then I know you've been talking a lot about data and metrics and I feel like that's, that's your thing, right? So it is. Yeah. If you were telling me right now, I'm telling you like, Hey man, I can't, yeah.I'm struggling. struggling in the sense of like, Sometimes new patients are good. You know what I mean? looks like I'm growing, but my bottom line is also growing and all these things. What data or metrics would you say? Hey, these are the top metrics you need to hyper focus on.Brad: Yeah. All right. So this is what and this is A correlation I learned through my extensive training, top 3 most correlated metrics to practice profitability. There's actually more. We talked about 5 or 6. I'll give you top 3 and then we can. expand a little more, but top three, number one is is actually continuing care growth year over year.and it's super interesting because it tells you so many things, but care growth year over year is always the first place I focus. And the easiest way. To start that increase because you can't obviously that's you're waiting a year to see if so it's a very lag metric.It's, you look at it after the fact. So you've got to do something up front and track a metric to make sure that you are even approaching that attainable year over year growth. quickest 1 for that is just reappointment rate. them while they're in the practice? And if you're not anywhere between 85 and 95 percent, then you're actually deteriorating your practice growth year over year.And every practice that I've ever gone to is like, oh, we're killing that. We always reappoint our, then you go look at, they're always at 60 to 65 percent. I'm telling you, everybody right now on the things on your podcast is going to be saying, no dude, we're. We're at 80 percent easy if they had a number that actually pulled the data, I guarantee between 65 and 70, 60 to 70.It's always Michael: there. That causes it Brad: to decrease. And there's statistics and I don't want to butcher them, but there's essentially there's a certain. recare patients that return and a certain percentage of new patients that return. And so if you're below 30 new patients a month, which majority of practices are, I mean, both of these practices that we just got are well above that, but a lot of practices are at that 30 to 50 new patient range.If you're at 30 new patients are below and you're below I think it's 75 percent reappointment rate assuming they're going to come back, then you're going to have an actual deterioration of patients. unless you have obviously some sort of strategy to then reactivate them, but then you're doing double work on the backend rather than just doing it on the front end while they're in the practice.All of a sudden, now you're employing my company full schedule to reappoint your patients for you, which then is another added expense, right? Um, Rather than just doing that job up front and tracking performance of that job, making sure your people are doing it. Gotcha. Michael: Okay. So continuing care growth and then reappointment.Brad: Well, yeah, so really continuing care growth year over year, all that other stuff was just about continuing care growth, but that's where I would focus. Initially the 2nd most correlated is Dr. Days, Dr. Hours, call it whatever you'd like. It's a very easy one to think about, but I mean, the less days that you're open, the less money you'll make.and this is to profitability. I'm not talking revenue. So. There's a lot of practices that have this super concern of like, we don't have enough patients, so I'm not going to open another day. But the statistics show that you open another day, you're going to be more profitable. Even if you think you're not ready yet.If you open another day, you're going to be more profitable. And it's just, you know, open it up on, Google and you advertise for it and you put marketing out for it. You may be down for a couple of months, but for the year, you will be more profitable just to open the day and be there and your people will figure out how to fill it.That's number 2. Number 3 is, number of indirects, and this is a challenging one because you can't obviously set a quota on your doctors doing number of indirects, but it is just a very highly correlated metric. Doctors that do more indirects make more money. Michael: So more indirects. Brad: Yeah, indirect Michael: restorations.Yeah. Gotcha. Okay. The first one, reappointment rates. Man, that's pretty huge. So like when you come, when it goes to that, The system that you utilize that Brad utilizes for making sure reappointment rates happen is Hey, right when they're in the practice, we got to get them on the books for the next appointment Now what would happen and I'm sure you've experienced this many times, but like, you know how people complain like the no shows, right? What do you do for that? Brad: so there's going to be no shows. A good no show rate is actually 15%, which is still a ton. And that's a good no show rate, right? Traditionally, I'd say most practices are probably in between 20 and 25%. Which is a huge slide. And yes, you need to work your very best to capitalize on bringing those patients back in.doesn't really in my metric calculation, it doesn't go into reappointment rate. Because reappointment rate is if you came if you did a dollar of production, we counted as a completed appointment, and then we check for the next appointment schedule.So, we don't count that into reappointment rate. But yeah, we have strategies around and we actually do you know, heavy confirmation, and then. And so if they don't show, we usually know why and then if they're not there within 5 minutes, we call them and text them. And then if they're not there all day, we, you know, we reach out to again, try to reschedule appointment.But I think most practices do that. That's kind of like the easy low hanging fruit. you're not doing that as a practice, you've missed. That to me doesn't even have anything to do with metrics other than understanding your no show rate which brings me to my fourth metric, which is a percentage of firm financial arrangements, which is different than what I was taught historically, but in my data.Now, it has changed and from financial arrangements, this means collect in full for any appointments you put on the schedule with the exception of obviously like hygiene exams and be patient. You can't collect before they're there. But if you're going to put a root canal and a crown on your schedule, have it paid in full before you put it on there. Michael: Okay. Is there a specific script you kind of like mentioned when you're like, Hey, you got to pay us in full. Brad: You know, surprisingly, it's not super challenging. You just say we do collect in full for our procedures. Before we put you on the schedule and then you basically just say, how did you want to pay for that today?And then if they ask questions you just say well our doctor's time is valuable so we really have to make sure that the people are going to show up that say they're going to be here and usually when people pay that means they're going to be here and people really understand it They're not turned off by it at all. Like if they're really planning on being there They're going to pay for it. Anyway, the only thing that we do is If a patient's like, you know, I don't get paid till Friday can you collect for me on Friday? Then we'll say, yeah, and Norix has a great tool.You just send a text link. So you put a little reminder and, in a calendar, and then you send them a text link on that day and they pay over that. And if they don't, then you have to pull them off the schedule because. you can assume Michael: that they're not going to be there if they haven't paid. Yeah, that's true.So then these are like the four main metrics we want to keep looking at. What are, in your experience, what are the numbers or the data that you notice or you see like in the forums or on Facebook or something where practice owners are talking about it, they're looking at it, but in your mind, Brad's mind is like, man, that ain't even that important.Brad: Interestingly enough, new patient count, it is important. get me wrong. You have to have a new patient count to grow your business. But there's so many clinicians that come out of school that are, they don't even care. You're continuing care patient depth. They just care. Like if they're coming on as an associate in your practice, they want to know how many new patients. a crazy skewed metrics. 70 percent of practices established over two years. Their revenue comes from continuing care patients. 70 percent of the revenue. So 30 percent of your revenue only comes from your patients after two years. So if you're in your first two years, yeah, hit the marketing hard.Make sure you're doing your reappointment rate. But after that second year, you should be focusing very heavily on your exams what's going on there. Michael: then, Right now, one of the questions I wanted to ask you is what can a dentist do today, practice owner, to improve their marketing or their business? Brad: marketing honestly. Michael: Or their business, or their business in general. I'll Brad: give you, I'll give you my basic marketing rundown and we're, averaging about.Anywhere from 60 to 80 new patients a month at both of our practices, and it's super basic, and there's plenty of practice out there that can do much more than this, like Abundant was, really approaching 100 new patients a month, but they spent, you know, a ton of time on marketing. This is like me in my spare time while I'm also not managing operations.And helping, you know, look for new practices, but this is, it's super basic. You need, Google ads and you need a really high Google score. and that's it. If you have Google ads a low Google score, you're just torturing yourself. So make sure you have a ton of reviews. Make sure as many of them are as five stars.Don't do anything shady. Give them the experience that they want. And if you have those two things in place, patients just find you and they come. At least that's in my experience. And then we also have strategies that we're on, certain streets with 20, 000 cars passing with high visibility.Like obviously those things matter. But outside of that, that and sandwich boards and the new patient special, we don't do much. Michael: With your Google ads budget, what's the budget look like for there? Brad: 35 an office, we try to stay below 1. 5 percent of revenue. And really right now, we're at like, 0.8 percent of revenue because. We just don't need to keep spending it. So 3500 a month is what we. What we were doing and then we just never really upped it and we don't really have to Michael: you're doing pretty good like 60, new patients and everything like that. So that's really good, man.Awesome, Brad Thank you so much for your time, man I truly appreciate it But before we say goodbye if anybody wanted to reach out to you for questions or anything like that, where can they find you? Brad: man, I got I got a ton of email addresses. Let's do a Brad at MountainWest. Healthcare. Alright, Michael: Brad at MountainWest. Healthcare, you said? Alright, so that's going to be in the show notes below for anybody who wants to to Brad. And Brad, thank you so much for being with us, man. It's been a pleasure. Thanks for having me on. Brad: talk soon. Bye.‍

On today's episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down with Penny Reed, the Chief Growth Officer at eAssist Dental Solutions and author of "Growing Your Dental Business". Penny's journey from an IT manager at Walmart to a dental business expert brings a unique perspective to the table. With over 30 years of experience as a speaker and dental business coach, Penny shares invaluable insights. Discover how Penny's transition from an IT background to the dental industry shaped her expertise in successful practice growth. She discusses the art of integrating outsourced billing services effectively into private practices, a topic she champions as the Chief Growth Officer at eAssist Dental Solutions. Tune in as Penny delves into the realms of leadership and culture within a dental practice. She defines the essence of team culture and shares her insights on fostering a positive work environment that fuels growth. As a certified "Behavioral Consultant" and former Dale Carnegie Trainer, Penny's wisdom is not only practical but also backed by years of experience. Learn about the future plans with Penny and eAssist as she continues to empower dental practices. For those seeking Penny's expert assistance, feel free to reach out at penny.reed@eassist.me or contact her at 901-371-6295. Her wealth of knowledge and passion for dental practice growth make her a valuable resource in the industry. EPISODE RESOURCES www.dentalbilling.com https://www.truedentalsuccess.com Dental Success Network Subscribe to The Dentalpreneur Podcast

In this episode, we discuss embezzlement in the dental practice.  "Embezzlement happens when dentists don't understand the business of the front desk and don't monitor their production/collections and adjustments everyday. eAssist is another set of eyes on your accounts and it provides timely practice management reports so that you can protect your hard earned revenue." - David Harris, CPA, CMA, MBA, CFE, CFFOriginal air date: 9/22/21Join our Facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dentistsintheknow/

AADOM Radio & eAssist Dental Solutions Presents:Penny Reed-Chief Growth Officer/eAssist Dental SolutionsLearning Objectives:Uncover limiting beliefs regarding outsourcingLearn more about the “genius work” theory and how to boost productivityDiscover how to measure ROI and evaluate other hidden costs such as burnout and turnoverMore About Penny:Penny Reed is the Chief Growth Officer at eAssist Dental Solutions, and the author of the book, Growing Your Dental Business. Penny was recruited by her own dentist to run his growing practice, after spending two years as an IT manager with the Walmart Corporation.Penny has over 30 years of experience as a speaker and dental business coach and has been designated a Leader in Dental Consulting by Dentistry Today from 2007 to present. She is a certified “Behavioral Consultant” through the Institute for Motivational Living, and a former Dale Carnegie Trainer.Penny supports the marketing department at eAssist, the nation's leader in outsourced dental billing. She speaks at dental meetings about team coachability, effective revenue cycle management, and practice growth.Penny is a member of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants, The Speaking and Consulting Network, and a Speaking/Consulting member of the American Association of Dental Office Management.More About eAssist Dental Solutions:eAssist Dental Solutions, a Henry Schein company, is the nation's leading platform for dental billing and patient billing services for dental offices. eAssist serves thousands of dental practices through a proprietary technology platform that connects dental practices to vetted dental billing specialists, allowing practice owners to fully outsource their billing department. The end-to-end solution enhances a dental practice's revenue cycle management and eases the burden on office staff, ultimately helping practices be more efficient, profitable, and patient-focused.Learn more at www.dentalbilling.com, Facebook.com/eAssistMe, and @eAssist.me on InstagramLearn More About AADOM:https://www.dentalmanagers.com/

Tune in and learn.  David is offering his $139 Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire to clients of eAssist, as well as listeners of this podcast.  Email requests@prosperident.com to request the assessment, and be sure to mention this podcast.

Tune in and learn.  David is offering his $139 Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire to clients of eAssist, as well as listeners of this podcast.  Email requests@prosperident.com to request the assessment, and be sure to mention this podcast.

Dr. James Anderson joins the Group Dentistry Now Show to discuss eAssist Dental Solutions. Hot topics include: Dr. Anderson's entrepreneurial journey Dr. Anderson's experience running his own dental group Why he started eAssist Dental Solutions Why outsource your dental group's billing department The current employment climate & outsourcing The value of a knowledgeable dental billing specialist Much more..... To discover more about eAssist Dental Solutions visit - www.dentalbilling.com  Here is a great read on dental billing recently published on Group Dentistry Now - 7 Deadly Sins of Dental Insurance Claim Denials If you like our podcast, please give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on iTunes http://apple.co/2Nejsfa and a Thumbs Up on YouTube. Our podcast series brings you dental support and emerging dental group practice analysis, conversation, trends, news and events. Listen to leaders in the DSO and emerging dental group space talk about their challenges, successes, and the future of group dentistry. The Group Dentistry Now Show: The Voice of the DSO Industry has listeners across North & South America, Australia, Europe, and Asia. If you like our show, tell a friend or a colleague.

Kiera is joined by Tiffany at eAssist to talk all things outsourcing. eAssist is a remote dental billing company that offers a variety of services (like dental billing, patient billing, insurance verification). Together, Kiera and Tiffany touch on the following topics: How outsourcing can help increase your front office's success The best tip for following up on outstanding claims How often billing is touched in a healthy practice How to get buildups paid The rate of appeals And a ton more! Episode resources: Learn about eAssist Email learnmore@eassist.me Reach out to Kiera Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast on iTunes

The Group Dentistry Now welcomes the CEO, Healthcare Enterprises of eAssist Dental Solutions to the show. Lois Banta discusses outsourcing dental billing and more. We also talk about understanding the revenue cycle management process, dealing with staff shortages with qualified administrative teams, we address the recent Covid-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and much more. To learn more email - Businesssolutionsteam@henryschein.com If you like our podcast, please give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on iTunes http://apple.co/2Nejsfa Our podcast series brings you dental support and emerging dental group practice analysis, conversation, trends, news and events. Listen to leaders in the DSO and emerging dental group space talk about their challenges, successes, and the future of group dentistry. The Group Dentistry Now Show: The Voice of the DSO Industry has listeners across North & South America, Australia, Europe, and Asia. If you like our show, tell a friend or a colleague.

Sunny, Dripping Springs Family Dentistry Office Administrator, shares what sets her practice apart and how eAssist has helped her reconnect with patients.

Sunny, Dripping Springs Family Dentistry Office Administrator, shares what sets her practice apart and how eAssist has helped her reconnect with patients.

Curtis Marshall, Dental Intelligence Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships, talks about which practice numbers to monitor and what goals dental billers should be setting.

Curtis Marshall, Dental Intelligence Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships, talks about which practice numbers to monitor and what goals dental billers should be setting.

Lois Banta and Allison Norris break down the D4346 code, how it differs from D4341 / D4342, and how to support your clinical staff to get it paid!

Lois Banta and Allison Norris break down the D4346 code, how it differs from D4341 / D4342, and how to support your clinical staff to get it paid!

When did dental insurance start? How are CDT codes added and changed? Dr. Roy Shelburne breaks it all down and gives his prediction for the future of dental billing.

When did dental insurance start? How are CDT codes added and changed? Dr. Roy Shelburne breaks it all down and gives his prediction for the future of dental billing.

Expand your knowledge of Eaglesoft with Jackie and Jessica, two dynamic dental billers that specialize in this detailed dental practice management software.

Expand your knowledge of Eaglesoft with Jackie and Jessica, two dynamic dental billers that specialize in this detailed dental practice management software.

Why should insurance verification be a big deal in your practice? Let's find out.

Why should insurance verification be a big deal in your practice? Let's find out.

Do you sometimes feel like your team is not rowing in the same direction? Listen to dream team Jane Weiss and Mia Davis and learn the secret to their amazing teamwork!

Do you sometimes feel like your team is not rowing in the same direction? Listen to dream team Jane Weiss and Mia Davis and learn the secret to their amazing teamwork!

Listen in for a great conversation with dental biller, Meghan Mackey, where she discusses her best practices for posting insurance payments and why it is important to do it timely.

Listen in for a great conversation with dental biller, Meghan Mackey, where she discusses her best practices for posting insurance payments and why it is important to do it timely.

Amanda Cross discusses best practices for morning huddles and how to make them efficient and effective for the whole team, resulting in better patient care.

Amanda Cross discusses best practices for morning huddles and how to make them efficient and effective for the whole team, resulting in better patient care.

Amanda Boles, dental biller and Dentrix trainer, discusses the features of Dentrix that help dental billers maximize efficiency.

Amanda Boles, dental biller and Dentrix trainer, discusses the features of Dentrix that help dental billers maximize efficiency.

Michelle gives her best tips for overcoming the mother of all roadblocks for dental billers - not enough clinical documentation.

John Stamper speaks with Penny Reed, Director of Education at eAssist Dental Solutions, about best practices and her experience as a leader and coach in the dental industry.

Karrie has years of general and OMFS experience under her belt, and she shares her Dentrix tips and tricks for all Dentrix dental billers.

The holidays are usually slower and allow for more time to tie up loose ends. Here are some end of year best practices to start the new year off with a clean and organized slate.

Shae discusses her protocol for appeals and denials, and how to prioritize your day.

Let's talk ortho! This specialty episode discusses orthodontic billing processes, and how general dental billers need to know these processes too.

Beth Pokorny shares her insights on documentation for general and oral surgery practices, in order to get claims paid.

Penny Reed discusses the importance of communication in a dental practice, and how coaching each other can help.

Cori Anne talks about how she stays motivated and works diligently to ensure all the steps of the dental billing process are completed daily.

Lois Banta shares her advice on the most important area to focus, as a dental biller, to ensure the success of the practice.

As it turns out, a lot of dentists are great at filling in cavities, doing root canals and pulling wisdom teeth, but not necessarily running great businesses. Find a need and fill it. This is how entrepreneurs build great businesses. And that's no exception when it comes to today's guest, James Anderson. He's a dentist who recognized that having a front office run smoothly is as important as doing great dental work when it comes to building a profitable practice. After owning nine of his own dental offices he learned that there was a great need for improved efficiency around billing and collections that was lacking with many dental practices. That's why he founded eAssist, the nation's # 1 leader in dental billing.

John Stamper talks with eAssister Jackie Koontz about the dental industry and the dental insurance billing process.

John Stamper talks with eAssister Jackie Koontz about the dental industry and the dental insurance billing process.

John Stamper sits down with Rachael Grant, one of the great eAssisters working for eAssist. They speak about the dental insurance billing process, as well as Rachaels experiences in the world of dental billing.

Dr James Anderson is a practicing dentist in Syracuse, Utah. He has built nine dental practices in the last decade and is the CEO/Founder of eAssist Dental Solutions, the largest national dental insurance billing company in the world. Like so many practices, Dr Anderson saw their practices growing but the income wasn't increasing at the same rate – they had an insurance issue. If you're struggling with insurance billing, make sure you listen in to this podcast with the guy who might just know it ALL about dental insurance and billing. Get your practice pointed in the right direction beginning today! Take a listen. If you're interested in learning more about eAssist, visit their website or email team@eassist.me.

Katherine is Dentistry's Communication Coach! International speaker, author, and coach in the US, Canada, and UK, Katherine's known for helping professionals develop unscripted, exceptional telephone and client communication skills, personal and professional greatness, as well as train-the-trainer and executive speaker's programs. Her company, LionSpeak, helps practices, teams and executives achieve extraordinary results by communicating with greater clarity and inspiration. She's consulted with CareCredit, Philips Oral Healthcare, Sirona Cerec, Henry Schein, eAssist, and Patterson Dental. Spotlight-On-Speaking champion, National Speaker's Association member, Speaking Consulting Network board member, past-president Academy of Dental Management Consultants, recipient of the Linda Miles Spirit Award.

Andres Quintana is a busy and successful dental business professional who is also an optician, dental spouse, and the voice of the eAssist podcast. Andres is a remarkable individual with a story that needs to be heard.

On today's episode, we have dental billing specialist Dr. James Anderson. Dr. Anderson built nine dental practices from scratch. While building his empire, he identified a need in the marketplace and created one of the largest dental billing companies in the nation. If you are looking for some great dental billing tips, this is the podcast for you.To find out more about eAssist or to connect with Dr. Anderson:https://dentalbilling.com/Toll Free 844-eAssist or 844.327.7478

- Peugeot Introduces New Plug-In Hybrids - Tesla Making Progress with Semi Truck - Volvo Trucks Suspends Operations in Iran - GMC Sierra eAssist Details - Porsche Drops Diesels from Lineup - The Mid-Engine Cadillac That Never Was

- Peugeot Introduces New Plug-In Hybrids- Tesla Making Progress with Semi Truck- Volvo Trucks Suspends Operations in Iran- GMC Sierra eAssist Details- Porsche Drops Diesels from Lineup- The Mid-Engine Cadillac That Never Was

Getting a dental practice up and running is one matter, finding the right staff and systems is a whole different matter. When faced with various issues with billing, insurance and staffing, Dr. James Anderson found effective solutions that not only worked for his business but for many other dental practices around the country. Today his company, eAssist Dental Solutions, is providing truly helpful solutions to many dentist offices and he is here to share his journey and top tips to running an effective and stress-free practice. You can find show notes and more information by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/2BIl9ds

- German Authorities Investigate Audi and Porsche- U.S. Diesel Market Continues to Grow- China Could Halt Special EV Permits- Toyota Sells Off Stake in Tesla- Top Companies Ranked by 2016 Patents- Buick LaCrosse Gets a Mild Hybrid- Acceptance the Biggest Hurdle for Autonomy?

- German Authorities Investigate Audi and Porsche - U.S. Diesel Market Continues to Grow - China Could Halt Special EV Permits - Toyota Sells Off Stake in Tesla - Top Companies Ranked by 2016 Patents - Buick LaCrosse Gets a Mild Hybrid - Acceptance the Biggest Hurdle for Autonomy?

As market woes continue, expect automakers to lower expectations -- especially the Japanese companies. Toyota plans to smash the EV lap time at Nurburgring hoping it will stir up more excitement for green technologies. The Obama Administration turns its focus toward reducing emissions from heavy-duty vehicles. All that and more, plus we put the new eAssist technology in the Buick LaCrosse to the test!

This week, Chelsea and Michelle are joined by a real GM insider. We ask him about the idea of a $25,000 luxury car and he explains the Buick brand's position on the eAssist technology and what that means for consumer education. We also ask about what GM knows about marketing fuel efficiency versus selling hybrids and if the buying public cares as much about what powers a car as the enthusiasts do. Questions from callers include everything from praise for Buick to category comparisons to pleas for the return of the El Camino. We also discuss what will be next for Buick. Nick Richards is the Buick Communications Group Manager and has previously been at PowerTrain, OnStar, Hummer and Volt. Michelle Naranjo, editor of Autobytel.com is live in studio in Detroit while Chelsea Sexton of chelseasexton.com holds down the fort in California.