New Year, New Lens
Another year is upon us! During this time of the year, we often find ourselves with an extra spring in our steps, full of determination and often uttering the words, "this is going to be the best year". If you are like me, you would buy yourself a brand-new diary and write down all the resolutions for the year on the first page. In my case, that list seems to be about the only thing I write in that diary for the entire year. Regardless of where you record your resolutions, the reality of the success of achieving the goals set at the beginning of the year is not particularly encouraging. According to the website "InsideOut Mastery", 23% of people quit in the first week, and only 36% make it past the first 30 days.
If you are a dental business owner, I am sure some of your resolutions relate to your practice. Whether it is increasing revenue, more patients or more clinicians, an important fact is that business resolutions are less forgiving than personal ones. Although not ideal, losing that extra 5kgs is something that we could postpone to the next year as opposed to business goals where success or failure will significantly impact the practice's survival. At the end of last year, I discussed some tips to analyse the practice performance in the previous 12 months. With that information at our fingertips, in this article, we will discuss the basic steps of using an "Analytical Lens" not only to understand, but also to set and measure goals in your quest to successfully achieve those business-related New Year's resolutions.
If you are an analytics novice or looking for more structured analytics, the best place to start is what business pundits call the "Golden Business Formula". From a dental practice perspective, the formula looks like this.
Patient Visits * Value per Visit = Revenue
I hear you exclaim, "No way! It cannot be that simple!". It, in fact, is that simple. However, there is much more to this than meets the eye. Each component of this formula can be broken down into many metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to understand and impact various areas of your practice to increase your chances of successfully achieving your goals. In the section below, we will be looking at each of the components of the formula to better understand it.
Patient Visits
An increase in patient visits will undoubtedly have a positive impact on increasing revenue. Some of the important metrics to monitor patient visits are:
New Patient Count
Appointment Cancellations
Appointment Rebooks
Treatment Acceptance
Recall Effectiveness
Value per Visit
You should monitor the value of a patient visit and ensure that appropriate KPIs are in place to measure various areas that impact production, such as:
Treatment Acceptance
Production Treatment Mix
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Treatment Mix for Presented Vs Accepted Treatments
Treatment Plan Value per Treatment Category
Accepted Treatment Plan Value by Patient Type (New/ Recall/Emergency)
Revenue
The revenue component of the formula is entirely dependent on the success of the other two components: Patient Visits and Value per Visit. Yet, it is vital to closely monitor the revenue-related KPIs:
Production per Hour/Day
Production per Patient (New/Existing)
Production per Treatment Category
Collection to Production Ratio
Production Period Comparison (This time Last Year/Month, Month-on-Month, Year-on-Year)
The lists above are by no means exhaustive; they are aimed at giving you a starting point to get you on your way to successfully analysing your practice using data that you already have in your practice management system.
If you have not already done so, I encourage you to make one of your business-related New Year's resolutions of 2023 to "Look at my practice from an Analytical Lens". If done correctly, this resolution will pave the way for you to achieve your other business goals for the year. Once you start your exploration, you will discover other areas at your practice that can help you achieve success with the Golden Business Formula.
With the power of data, let us tackle 2023 head-on. May this year be the best year for your dental practice!
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