April 2001
Scheduling for Success
If eyes are the window to the soul, then the appointment schedule could perhaps be described as the contact lenses of a dental practice.
Properly used and meticulously maintained, the schedule can be an unobtrusive aide in helping any practice keep a precise focus on its production, personnel, and patient care objectives.
Conversely, a poorly maintained or improperly managed schedule can obscure a practice's mission, lead to inconsistent productivity, and generate pangs of distress (spoken or otherwise) from all sectors of the office.
The way in which a staff schedules appointments and links time-arguably the dentist's most valuable commodity-to specific management objectives such as productivity goals can speak volumes about a practice's relative financial success, or lack of it. Moreover, how the doctor involves himself or herself in schedule and production management can significantly influence how efficiently the office runs and whether the practice reaches its financial targets.
Increasingly, automated and non-automated offices alike are coming to the realization that effective scheduling is not predicated on whether the daily appointment book is full, but whether appointments are kept and whether the value of the treatments performed daily will allow the practice to pay its bills and make a profit.
Failing to establish a daily production goal and reserving, or "pre-blocking," space in the schedule each day for procedures that will generate sufficient revenues to meet the practice's financial objectives are two of the more common problems consultants commonly find when analyzing the performance of dental offices.
The frequent result, consultants say, is a yo-yo pattern in monthly production totals, sometimes accompanied by cash flow problems within the practice as well as tension among staff. Employees need to know it's a business and that so much money has to be produced a day to pay their salaries and all of the practice's other bills.
Using a well-designed software program can greatly simplify the scheduling and pre-blocking processes while merging this information with other key practice data, but a majority of offices-including many that have computers-continue to schedule manually.
For these practices, pre-blocking and tracking production goals requires continuous staff involvement to be effective. To function in this environment without having the doctor resort to micromanagement, consultants advise practices to develop a detailed production plan. Keep the doctor busy and productive, that is the key.
Bob Kehoe
Dental Practice and Finance
Separating Fact from Fiction
Overview
Businesses that sell goods and services on credit must handle accounts receivable. Inevitably, those businesses granting credit must decide what to do with past-due accounts. While third-party debt collectors provide valuable services by collecting delinquent accounts and returning funds that would otherwise be passed on to consumers, professional debt collection businesses are often misunderstood. The American Collectors Association presents the following information to refute the myths about the collection industry and illustrate what the business is really about.
Myth: Collectors continually hassle people who cannot pay.
Fact: One of the first lessons a collector learns is that constant harassment of a consumer is both ineffective and illegal. Instead, collectors are trained to listen to what consumers say and determine if they actually have the resources to pay the past-due bill. They may have a job, assets or other sources of income that can be used to make payments. The wise collector will try to work with the consumer to find a mutually beneficial solution.
Myth: All collectors are the same.
Fact: There are differences between "in-house"
collectors and "third-party"
collection professionals. For one, the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act
(FDCPA), a federal law regulating collections, applies directly
to all third-party
collectors, but only under certain circumstances does it apply
to "in-house"
collectors who are employees of a creditor.
Myth: Tough, threatening collectors are the
most effective.
Fact: The most effective collectors are well-trained,
sophisticated professionals
who (1) understand what motivates a variety of people, (2) can
determine quickly
what will motivate a particular person and (3) are able to communicate
well with
others. The best collectors work with people to get the accounts
paid.
Myth: A collector will come to your door.
Fact: The image of the collector knocking at the door has been perpetuated by the popular media for years. From Marx Brothers movies in the 1930s to depression-era cartoons and even television and newspaper stories, collectors are shown knocking at the consumer's door. In reality, collectors rarely go to anyone's home or business to collect. It simply isn't efficient. Using telephones and modern technology, today's collector can make hundreds of contacts a day-many more than by going door-to-door.
Myth: Collectors force people into bankruptcy.
Fact: In reality, it would not make sense for a collector to encourage a consumer to file for bankruptcy. When people file for bankruptcy, their financial obligations to their creditors are usually wiped clean-and the credit grantor and collector receive very little. Collectors understand that people in financial trouble often need guidance in settling their accounts without expensive litigation, and often need the flexibility of alternative payment arrangements to work themselves out of financial trouble. A collector's business is to collect, but in practice, collecting often includes counseling.
Myth: The interests of collectors is consumer conflict.
Fact: Media coverage of the collection industry often pits collectors against consumers. In reality, collectors are usually the first people to engage consumers in problem-solving dialogue about their unpaid bills. Furthermore, the efforts of collectors keep the prices of goods and services from rising. There is no such thing as an unpaid bill. Through higher prices, consumers who do pay their bills end up paying for those who don't.
Myth: Economic doom means collection business boom.
Fact: Although more accounts are placed with professional collectors during a recession, those accounts are also less collectible. When people are unemployed and business is struggling, bills do not get paid. Furthermore, a prolonged recession with decreased buying power eventually translates into a contraction of accounts sent for collection. The bottom line: Collectors, like anyone else, prefer a healthy economy.
Myth: Collectors are a special breed of people.
Fact: Collectors come from all backgrounds with different experiences. Collectors often develop new traits and skills: quick-thinking, goal-oriented, problem solving and effective communication. Tact, persistence and an understanding of people's motivations are traits required of a good collector.
Myth: Collectors deal mainly with the destitute and the downtrodden.
Fact: In fact, many people with debt are people like you and me who happened to be unable to pay bills for a time for one reason or another. Although collectors know that they must treat each person as an individual and understand each person's specific situation, they do recognize certain categories of people who experience financial difficulties:
- Those who don't understand the advantages of paying their bills.
- People who have had a change in their lifestyle due to death, illness, job loss or some other unforeseen circumstance.
- Those who simply do not understand the complexities of buying on credit.
- People who promised to pay through credit agreements, broke their promises and look for ways to avoid payment.
- Credit criminals engaging in fraud.
October 2000, www.collector.com
ACA has compiled this information from a variety of industry sources in response to frequent questions regarding the credit and collections industry. Most sources are cited and every effort has been made to assure that the information is correct. If you have questions regarding this content and its use, please consult with your own legal counsel.
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