June 13, 2014
It's 3 p.m. School is out, and the afternoon rush begins. The phone is ringing, and the scheduling coordinator is telling the caller on the other end of the line, “Sure, we can get you right in to clip that poking wire. Yes, 3:30 would be fine. No problem.”
Now, the practice has twice the number of patients scheduled; regularly scheduled patients will be kept waiting, and the staff will be working late again. Time for the “3 p.m. shuffle.” Does this sound like your typical day in the orthodontic fairy tale? Have you ever considered how much a repair or special extra visit costs the practice?
Some orthodontic practices estimate about $200 or more for staff time, equipment, etc. That probably doesn’t sound like too much for one case, but what if you have several every day? Those costs can quickly add up and dig into your profits. But it’s not just the cost that is eating away at your practice’s profitability;
those extra visits take up productive chairtime, too. When you consider both factors, your profit ratio really starts to take a dive.
The question is: What can be done to alleviate the cost of these unscheduled visits that some doctors think is just part of being in an orthodontic practice?
See the full story here.
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