Dentists: Ignoring your collections percentage is like throwing money away

Dentists should get paid for the work they do. It’s a simple and important concept, but a difficult one to implement, according to this year’s Dental Economics/Levin Group annual practice survey.

The collections percentage for all general practices was a disappointing 91%. That means for every $100,000 in production, a practice is losing $9,000.

For an office generating $700,000 in total production, the owner would be out $63,000. There’s a lot you can do with that kind of money, such as buy a needed piece of equipment, upgrade your management software, pay down practice debt, or take home more income. I’m sure you could think of a few others.

Downward trend

What makes the 91% figure even more disconcerting is that it dropped 3 percentage points from last year’s survey mark of 94%. If dentists maintain such a low collections percentage over their careers, they could easily be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s why, when dentists become new consulting clients at Levin Group, we make improving collections a top priority.

If you want to increase your revenue, start by looking at your collections. Even an increase of a few percentage points could yield thousands of dollars in additional revenue each year.

Need a Speaker for Your Next Event? Arrange for Dr. Levin to present a seminar to your study club or association. A leading expert in practice management and marketing, he’s also one of the most dynamic speakers in dentistry. For details, contact our Seminar Events Manager Rebecca Luwisher at [email protected] or 443-471-3202.

Roger P. Levin, DDS, is chairman and CEO of Levin Group, a leading dental management consulting firm that is dedicated to improving the lives of dentists through a diverse portfolio of lifetime services and solutions.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the DentistryIQ–Apex360 weekly newsletter. You can subscribe here.

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