8 Most Recent Articles
Written By: Peter Gopal, Ph.d.

1	To Improve Collections in Your Dental Practice, Manage Patient Expectations Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 2010-02-09 | - Word Count: 596 | Viewed: 30 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 4.00 Many patients come into a dental practice with the notion that insurance will cover everything. This needs to be set straight during their first visit. In fact, the word "insurance" is a misnomer. What the patient has is really a dental benefit plan, which could cover all or a portion of their treatment. The coverage is never guaranteed, and there are dozens of ways in which payment could be denied even for a preventive exam and cleaning visit...
2	Maintain Your Dental Practice Profits by Dealing Effectively with Patients Who Chronically Break Appointments Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 2010-02-02 | - Word Count: 503 | Viewed: 53 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 4.00 Appointment cancels; broken appointments, and no-shows are a source of endless frustration in any dental practice. Although the vast majority of patients keep their appointments, about 10% of patients cause 80% of that frustration. Developing a protocol for handling this group of patients is essential to avoid lost revenue of anywhere from $150 (minimally) to $700 per day, depending upon the procedure. Follow the four steps below to slow the daily losses.
3	Fewer Broken Appointments Mean a More Profitable Dental Practice Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 2010-01-26 | - Word Count: 608 | Viewed: 59 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 2.00 On a daily basis, a dentist and staff probably spend more time discussing and dealing with the topic of appointment cancels, broken appointments, and no-shows than any other subject. It is a source of endless frustration. Downtime is also the biggest single source of lost revenue.
4	PPO Vs Fee for Service Dental Practices: How to Make This Crucial Decision Wisely Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 2010-01-19 | - Word Count: 532 | Viewed: 51 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 4.00 Our experience is that in an ideal situation, every dentist would like to have a FFS practice, but not all dentists are suited to running a FFS practice. To make a better decision about PPO participation, compare the characteristics of a successful heavy PPO practice with those of a FFS practice.
5	Improve the Profitability of Your Dental Practice by Increasing Staff Productivity Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 2009-12-08 | - Word Count: 582 | Viewed: 87 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 0.00 Payroll costs at many dental offices are high, and doctors are at a loss for ways to bring this under control. Across-the-board salary cuts are not the answer, as that will only result in turnover, and you may end up losing some of your best people. The key culprit is usually low staff productivity.
6	Is Your Dental Practice Controlling Costs Effectively? Profitability Benchmarks for Dentists Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 2009-12-01 | - Word Count: 664 | Viewed: 161 | Votes: 2 | Rating: 2.50 Overhead is taking a bigger bite out of a doctor's compensation. According to the ADA, the average practice has a profitability of 32.7%. That falls short of what it can be. At many dental practices, high overhead is a persistent problem that goes undiagnosed and unresolved.
7	Dental Practice Staff Management -- Turning a Difficult Employee into a Star Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 2009-10-22 | - Word Count: 552 | Viewed: 119 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 4.00 It takes both courage and management skill to deal with a difficult employee in your dental practice. It is never easy to confront an employee with regard to performance issues. Yet, by developing this vital management skill, you can potentially add upwards of $40,000 to the gross receipts of your practice. That's for a solo practitioner with 3-6 employees.
8	Nine Policies That Greatly Improve Collections in Your Dental Practice Written by: Peter Gopal, Ph.D. | Distributed: 0000-00-00 | - Word Count: 609 | Viewed: 27 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 5.00 Many dental offices lose between $10,000 and $50,000 annually, year after year, due to deficiencies in Accounts Receivable management. Sadly, some of them don't even know how much money they are leaving on the table. With a systematic process for collecting monies that are owed, a practice can drastically reduce the revenues that remain uncollected. Sound - and profitable - collections begin with the following policies.