Dental Deep Dive

Part two of a conversation with Mike White, CPA, Principal with CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP). Mike works with DSOs around the country to help them improve financial outcomes and profitability. In this second part of our conversation, Mike shares his recommendations for how dental organizations can benchmark their financial standing, red flags to watch out for, as well as how and when practices should be evaluating their financial data. He also answers questions about when certain business roles should be outsourced or brought in-house. In this episode, we ask - 00:58 What do you recommend to DSOs when it comes to benchmarking P&Ls? - 03:28 How often should dental leaders be looking at the financial metrics of their business? - 07:44 What red flags should dental teams be sure to watch out for when examining their financial reports? - 13:14 What do you recommend for DSOs when it comes to deciding what job functions to keep in-house and when to look at outsourcing? Resources - CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, www.claconnect.com/directory/w/white-mike This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise helps dental organizations optimize accounting processes, including collections and reporting, to support their goals for greater financial sustainability. To learn more about Dentrix Enterprise, visit www.dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

Part one of a conversation with Mike White, CPA, principal with CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP). Mike offers expert insights for dental organizations looking to improve their profitability. In part one of this two-part conversation, we discuss current financial trends in the dental industry, how practices should be using their practice management software to improve their financial outlook, as well as where organizations should be centralizing functions across practice locations. In this episode, we ask - 02:48 In what areas do you see dental groups needing the most financial support and expertise? - 07:15 What are the trends you are seeing in the dental industry as we head into this new year? - 09:56 What are you seeing as far as consolidation within DSOs? - 12:34 How can practices better use tools within their practice management systems to improve financial performance? - 18:26 What do you recommend DSOs centralize within their organizations? Resources - CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, www.claconnect.com/directory/w/white-mike This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise can help your dental practice scale and grow with tools to track and manage your financial goals. It also can be integrated with tools like Jarvis Analytics to further increase insights into the financial health of your organization. Learn more at www.dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with international speaker, author and consultant Janet Hagerman. Janet is a DSO development expert helping dental groups establish an empowering culture and foundation for scalability. She is the author of “Selling Dentistry – Ethically, Elegantly, Effectively” and her communication systems help regional DSO managers empower their practices to double their case acceptance and utilize KPIs to accelerate peak performance. During the episode, Janet shares her expert insights and strategies for improving case acceptance for all locations across a dental business. In this episode, we ask - 01:20 What are you hearing about most right now when it comes to trends in the dental industry? - 05:14 When it comes recent challenges with keeping employees and avoiding burnout, what are you seeing successful organizations doing? - 07:29 How are you seeing improving case acceptance evolve? And how does it impact a practice's success and patient care? - 13:16 Where do you think practices struggle most with case acceptance? - 16:45 What is a healthy case acceptance rate? How can practices benchmark to know if they are doing well or have opportunities to improve? - 19:51 What other best practices would you recommend to help practices improve case acceptance? - 24:15 What are the top things you would recommend practices start doing now to improve their case acceptance? Resources - Visit www.janethagerman.com or email janet@janethagerman.com for complimentary resources. This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise is a powerful practice management platform that allows dental organizations not only to centralize operations but also standardize their approach to dentistry. Successful practices can use Dentrix Enterprise to manage treatment planning and cases. To learn more about how Dentrix Enterprise can help standardize and accelerate case acceptance in your organization, visit www.dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A discussion with Melissa Marquez, Chief Operating Officer with Jarvis Analytics. With more than 20 years in dental, including a variety of DSO leadership roles, Melissa is an industry expert who is helping dental leaders to improve their businesses through data. Melissa shares best practices for tracking and utilizing analytics data within a dental organization. She also discusses what Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) practices should be looking at and how to unify goals across locations. In this episode, we ask - 04:58 What can you tell us about Jarvis Analytics and how you’re helping practices find success? - 08:35 Why should dental practices track analytics? - 10:27 What would you say are the most significant pain points for practices when it comes to how KPIs are measured and how data is presented? - 12:01 What do you think is the most important metric, or set of KPIs, for measuring success for a DSO? - 14:06 What best practices would you share for managing multiple practice locations? - 16:22 What would you say is the first metric a dental leader should check each day? Week? Month? - 18:12 What is the most common disconnect between a central office and the practice locations? - 22:45 What traps do dental leaders fall into when it comes to operational efficiencies? Resources - www.jarvisanalytics.com This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise is a powerful practice management platform that allows DSOs and other dental organizations to centralize and standardize operational procedures in order to run all practice locations efficiently and effectively. Dentrix Enterprise can also integrate with technologies like Jarvis Analytics to further increase business capabilities. Learn more today at www.dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Mike Uretz, who is a nationally recognized dental software and dental EHR expert. Mike is the founder of both Dental Group Partners and DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com, and he is the dental software editor for Dental Products Report. In this episode, we welcome Mike back to the program to discuss the growing need for interoperability between dental and medical management systems. Mike shares the dual need he sees for software to strengthen a dental program’s clinical operations as well as connect with medical systems. In this episode, we ask - 01:35 Since we last had you on the podcast, what have you seen happening with dental/medical interoperability? - 04:36 Are you seeing dental organizations being successful in their use of interoperability? - 06:34 How do you see medical and dental being different clinically, and how does that affect what these teams need in the software they use? - 12:56 What is the difference between system integration and true interoperable systems? - 15:44 How would you advise a dental director who is looking at a new software system? What would be the most important things for them to be aware of and what should they really be looking for? - 26:35 As regulations continue to be introduced, such as the 21st Century Cures Act, how do you think this will affect the adoption of greater dental/medical integration? - 28:49 If you were to give a dental director your top three pieces of advice on incorporating interoperability, what would that advice be? Resources - https://dentalsoftwareadvisor.com/activity - Mike Uretz previously joined the Dental Deep Dive podcast in episodes 4 and 5. This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise is a powerful management system that allows dental organizations to standardize operations and improve efficiency. Dentrix Enterprise also has powerful features that allow it to interoperate with more than 40 medical systems. Learn more today at www.dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Dimitri Rabinovich. Dimitri is a Senior Product Manager for Henry Schein One who focuses on patient relationship management (PRM) and patient demand generation. Before joining Henry Schein One, he was an operations manager and a management consultant for several dental and medical practices in Washington State. With a background in health care and business management, Dimitri brings decades of experience to our conversation on PRM. In this episode we ask - 02:30 What are the trends happening right now that are impacting PRM most? - 04:05 How do you look at the need for relationship management when it comes to health care? - 05:42 What differentiates an effective PRM solution from a manual communication strategy within a practice? - 07:21 What are some of the most common pain points practices have in relation to communication with patients? - 09:10 How are you seeing the most successful dental organizations use PRM to drive practice growth and provide better care for patients? - 14:33 What would you say to a practice that worries that using a PRM solution would eliminate the personal touch they have with patients? - 17:17 What are the best practices that organizations should start using today to better manage their relationships with their existing patients? Resources - Henry Schein One patient communication tools: https://henryscheinone.com/solutions/group/patient-communication This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise is a powerful platform designed to help dental organizations grow and scale. To learn more about how Dentrix Enterprise can help optimize your dental business and integrate with patient relationship management software, visit dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Teresa Duncan, MS. Teresa is an author, speaker and consultant with over 20 years in dental. Her regular podcasts “Nobody Told Me That!” and “Chew on This” are helpful resources for dental leaders. In this podcast, Teresa shares insights into how dental leaders can get the most from their managers and staff. She also discusses how improving revenue cycle management and insurance workflows can benefit patients while improving the bottom line. In this episode we ask - 01:24 What dental trends are you hearing about the most? - 04:23 What are the most common questions you’re asked with regards to making practices more successful? - 07:32 What can practices be doing to improve insurance management workflows? - 14:40 What advice do you have for dental teams when it comes to avoiding burnout? - 18:29 What are the top three things dental leaders and managers can be doing now to improve their practices? Resources - www.OdysseyMgmt.com This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise provides solutions to help dental organizations improve and optimize the efficiency of their revenue cycle management processes. From claims to billing to payments, Dentrix Enterprise offers specialized tools to support your needs. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A discussion with Dr. Ethan Kerns, Chief Dental Officer for Salud Family Health Centers, which is the state of Colorado’s largest dental department in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Dr. Kerns is also President-Elect for NNOHA, the National Network for Oral Health Access. In this episode, Dr. Kerns offers insights into how dental programs like his can make improvements within their FQHC to significantly benefit both providers and patients. He also discusses the work that NNOHA is doing to help dental professionals and increase overall access to dental care. In this episode we ask - 01:31 What hot topics and industry trends are you seeing most right now? - 05:38 What can you tell us about NNOHA and the work they do? - 07:40 Where are you seeing NNOHA make the biggest impact? - 10:20 What are some of the biggest challenges you are seeing for dental clinics right now and what are successful clinics doing to help overcome those challenges? - 12:04 With some dental programs facing challenges in filling staff positions post COVID, what resources does NNOHA offer to help with these challenges? - 15:11 What are you seeing successful dental programs doing well that maybe other programs aren’t focused on? Resources - NNOHA Website – www.nnoha.org - NNOHA Workforce Resources – https://nnoha.org/ohi-toolkit/option-2-currently-offers-on-site-dental-services/expansion-addition-of-off-site-direct-services/workforce-resources/ This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise is a robust management software that provides tools and technology to help CHCs and FQHCs optimize organizational efficiency with a preferred, dental-specific workflow. Dentrix Enterprise is also interoperable with more than 40 different medical systems. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Jamie Westfall, Henry Schein One. Jamie brings over ten years of experience as a Certified Trainer with a proven record of helping dental teams experience success. In this episode, she shares her expert insights into how dental programs can apply best practices across locations through their organizational workflows, and how making workflow improvements can positively impact overall patient outcomes. In this episode we ask - 01:49 What dental industry hot topics are you hearing about the most? - 06:45 What impacts have you seen for practices that have the right dental workflows in place? - 10:40 What key areas do teams need to focus on when evaluating the effectiveness of their current workflows? - 12:14 What are some ways to help improve team accountability for adopting and implementing workflows? - 14:56 How does the technology that a dental organization implements impact the effectiveness of their workflows? - 21:17 What can dental programs do today to make improvements in their current workflows? Resources - Episode 9, Jamie Westfall – Best Practices for Staff Onboarding - Episode 17, Michelle Strange – Teledentistry This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise provides tools and technology to help dental organizations optimize and streamline their centralization processes. The Dentrix Enterprise team offers specialized Workflow Analysis services to help you analyze and improve practice workflows. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A discussion with Michelle Strange, MSDH, RDH. Michelle has over 20 years of experience in numerous roles in dentistry. She is the cofounder of the popular podcast, A Tale of Two Hygienists; cofounder of both Level Up Infection Prevention and TriviaDent; and the client success manager for MouthWatch. And she still finds time to work as a practicing dental hygienist! In this episode, she shares her expert insights into best practices in the use of teledentistry in improving overall patient outcomes. In this episode we ask - 03:24 What are the hot topics you’re seeing in the dental industry right now? - 07:23 How have you seen teledentistry evolve over the past year? - 09:25 Of the aspects of teledentistry that came about because of the pandemic, which will remain important to practices going forward? - 12:55 What would you tell practices that haven’t adopted teledentistry yet about how it can benefit them? - 15:38 How can different dental organization types, from DSOs to Community Health Centers, be utilizing teledentistry for their specific needs? - 23:11 What have you seen practices do well, as far as change management for patients and providers goes, when adopting teledentistry? Resources - Michelle Strange – michelle@mouthwatch.com - Podcast – www.ataleoftwohygienists.com This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise helps dental programs manage the complexities of their unique organizations while improving practice efficiency and productivity. Get dental technology solutions designed to fit your specific needs and improve patient outcomes. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A discussion with Thomas Barberio. Tom brings over 18 years of experience delivering technology solutions in variety of industries, including dental. He currently holds CIO, consultant and advisory board positions with many large DSOs. During our conversation, he offers valuable advice for practices around industry trends in artificial intelligence, analytics and technology integration. He also shares insights into centralization best practices and where dental practices should be investing to find the greatest success. In this episode we ask - 02:14 What hot topics are you seeing in the dental industry right now? - 12:55 What areas of the patient experience, that have come about over the last year, are now staples that practices need to have going forward? - 14:57 What areas of practice operations are helping dental organizations become most successful? - 21:46 When it comes to technology, what should practices be investing in right now? - 29:53 What are the top three things you would advise practices to do — short-term, mid-term, and long-term — to help drive practice success? Resources - Tom Barberio – Email | LinkedIn - “All in One Place,” an Efficiency in Group Practice article, featuring Tom Barberio This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise is a powerful practice management system designed to help you grow and manage your multilocation dental practice or integrated health center. Centralize data and operations, improve clinical efficiency and increase revenue potential with Dentrix Enterprise. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Jill Helm, Pharm.D., VP, Solution Management and Helena Molyneux, client account manager with Veradigm, an Allscripts company. Jill and Helena bring years of experience in electronic prescriptions. Throughout the podcast they share valuable insights into prescription trends within the dental industry, including recent and upcoming state mandates. They also share details on how ePrescriptions can add value to practices while benefiting both patients and providers. In this episode we ask - 02:50 What’s happening with the landscape and evolution of prescription writing? - 10:20 What can you tell us about the progression of state mandates for ePrescriptions? - 13:40 How do you view the consumerism of today and how it influences the direction of electronic prescribing? - 18:55 How can dentists and staff start today to implement best practices around ePrescribing and keeping patients safe? - 20:45 What trends or changes do you see coming in the future? - 24:21 What are the three main takeaways dental professionals should focus on when it comes to ePrescriptions? Resources - ePrescribe – State Mandates List This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise offers services that integrate directly within the practice management system. Among these offerings is Dentrix Enterprise ePrescribe, which allows dental practices to prescribe medications easily and safely. Improve practice efficiency by sending prescriptions to retail and mail-order pharmacies directly from Dentrix Enterprise. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Vincent Cardillo, President & CEO of Maeva Dental Advisors. As a proven industry leader with wide-ranging experience leading dental service organizations (DSOs), Vin joins the Dental Deep Dive to discuss the benefits and challenges of using metrics in the dental practice. He shares insights into using metrics that fit your practice goals while moving you from sustainability to profitable growth. In this episode we ask - 05:19 What advice do you have for practices that are trying to use metrics? - 11:25 Are practices setting the right types of goals? - 12:34 What pitfall are you seeing that practices are falling into? - 19:54 What are the metrics practices most often miss tracking (that they should be)? - 23:13 What first steps would you advise practices take to get started using metrics effectively? Resources - Vincent Cardillo, Maeva Dental Advisors – vin@maevaadvisory.com - eBook – The Six Stages of Growth: From Solo Practice to Dental Service Organization This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise is a complete dental practice management system that offers multilocation and group practices, including DSOs, the reporting insights they need. With the centralized database of Dentrix Enterprise, these complex organizations can gain the visibility they need to manage and track individual locations as well as their overall organization. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Karina Santos, Strategic Customer Success Manager with Henry Schein One. With more than 25 years of practice management experience, Karina works closely with dental executive teams to transform their digital workflows and improve their profitability. In this episode, Karina shares her expert insights into the use of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for dental practices and gives examples of how SOPs can improve efficiency within any organization. In this episode we ask - 03:41 What are the best practices that organizations should be focused on with their Standard Operating Procedures? - 06:25 What are common pitfalls for practices that don’t have SOPs? - 08:21 What first steps would you share with practices who are starting with SOPs? - 12:02 What can practices do to use their existing SOPs more effectively? - 18:30 What is the biggest benefit for companies that have a good culture around their SOPs? - 21:25 What do successful practices do to keep SOPs top of mind for their team members? Resources - Webinar featuring Karina Santos – Centralization Secrets of National DSOs This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise provides practice management tools to help dental teams improve their operational efficiency as they grow and scale. Dentrix Enterprise offers a best-in-class system for multiple location and group private practices, DSOs, community and federally qualified health centers, and institutional dental organizations. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Andrea Dickhaut, RDH, BSDH, MHA. Currently the Program Manager & Senior Dental Operations Consultant with D4 Practice Management, Andrea has a wealth of experience in the dental industry across multiple organization types. She shares insights into what dental programs can do to overcome common challenges. She also discusses what they can focus on incrementally to make sustainable improvements within their organizations. In this episode we ask - 02:19 What do you see evolving in the dental industry right now? - 05:28 What are some of the common challenges you see that dental programs face? - 08:54 What advice do you have for dental departments struggling to stay out of the red? - 14:24 What are the areas of revenue cycle management where you feel organizations can benefit the most? - 17:56 What should organizations be doing as they work to build a culture of success? Resources - Andrea Dickhaut, D4 Practice Management – andreadickhaut@d4dimension.com This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise helps dental organizations improve workflow efficiencies and enables dental-specific scheduling. With powerful tools to help create economies of scale and lower expenses with integrated revenue cycle management tools for insurance claims, billing and payments, Dentrix Enterprise offers best-in-class dental software. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Mike White, CPA, Principal with CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP). Mike shares expert insights into best practices for dental organizations that are looking to take the right steps to improve their financial positioning in a challenging market. We talk about current industry trends as well as recommended financial strategies to consider as we head into 2021. In this episode we ask - 03:10 What are the three most important industry trends that you are tracking right now? - 10:08 Has the dental industry reached a ‘New Normal’ post COVID-19? - 11:49 What do you see in the industry when it comes to mergers & acquisitions? - 17:41 What trends should we expect to see in 2021? - 24:02 Given current trends, what financial strategies would you recommend going into the New Year? Resources - CliftonLarsonAllen LLP – www.claconnect.com This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. The Dentrix Enterprise practice management system from Henry Schein One gives large dental groups and DSOs, as well as public health and institutional dental organizations, the ability to centralize in order to increase efficiency and productivity. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Jessica Napiza, software training manager with Henry Schein One. Jessica returns to talk more about best practices in patient workflows, specifically in the area of patient clinical readiness. In this episode we ask - 02:18 What is clinical readiness for patients? - 10:20 When evaluating a treatment plan strategy, what might a practice overlook? - 15:01 What patient clinical readiness best practices should practices be doing now? - 18:50 How have you seen dental organizations benefit from improving their patient clinical readiness practices? Resources - Listen to episode 6 of the Dental Deep Dive for a conversation with Jessica on Patient Financial Readiness. This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise offers a best-in-class management system designed specifically for dental providers. Benefit from proven, preferred dental workflows that standardize clinical procedures and office processes. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A discussion with Jamie Westfall, a certified trainer with Henry Schein One. Jamie offers insights into best practices for onboarding of new dental staff. She shares details on what practices can focus on now to help improve staff retention, job satisfaction and understanding of their role within the organization. In this episode we ask - 01:46 What areas are most often overlooked when it comes to onboarding staff? - 05:55 What are the best ways to communicate the overall goals of the organization? - 12:53 What outcomes do practices see when they are doing onboarding the right way? - 18:48 What are the three areas where practices struggle the most with onboarding? - 23:27 What is one thing that practices can do today to improve their onboarding process? This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. With Dentrix Enterprise from Henry Schein One, your staff can quickly learn and become productive because Dentrix Enterprise features the most recognized user interface in dentistry. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A discussion with Kim Larson and Bill Neumann of Group Dentistry Now, a leading source for DSO and group dental practice news. Kim and Bill share what they are seeing in the DSO industry, how the industry is evolving and what other types of dental organizations can learn from DSOs. In this episode we ask - 04:14 Why has the DSO industry been so dynamic and quickly evolving? - 07:44 What trends do you see happening right now with group practices? - 10:58 What challenges are group practices facing right now? - 17:09 Where are you seeing DSOs have the most success today? - 20:42 What should organizations in other areas of dentistry be learning from DSOs? Resources - Learn more from Kim and Bill at www.groupdentistrynow.com - Download the free eBook "Keys to a Successful Multiple Location Practice" This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. The Dentrix Enterprise practice management system from Henry Schein One gives large dental groups and DSOs the ability to achieve greater profitability and efficiency as they grow. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive

A conversation with Gina Cancilla, RCM manager with The Smilist, a growing DSO operating in the New York and New Jersey areas. Gina shares her experiences of over 10 years of managing revenue cycle management for medical and dental organizations. In this episode we ask - 03:46 How is the current climate affecting you as a DSO? - 05:27 What is the biggest RCM challenge the practice facing? - 09:20 What has been working with your RCM, and where are you seeing successes? - 10:37 What are three best practices that organizations should be doing to improve their RCM? This episode is sponsored by Dentrix Enterprise. Dentrix Enterprise helps dental organizations create economies of scale and lowers expenses with integrated revenue cycle management tools for managing insurance claims, payments and revenue generation. Learn more at dentrixenterprise.com/dentaldeepdive