Introduction

There are five production statistics that every practice should understand. These five statistics indicate the practice’s overall health:

• Total production

• Production per day

• Production per hour

• Production per provider

• Production per new patient

If all five of these statistics are in the practice’s target range as established by the owner(s), then collections become the next most important factor. A practice with sufficient production can begin to focus on ensuring that they collect all money owed to the practice and methodologies for achieving this will be outlined in this course.

Many dentists focus on production as the most important metric in the practice. And it is. However, production alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Dentists can’t “spend” production to cover practice expenses. The amount the practice actually collects is the more practical measurement of practice success. The collection process in most dental practices has improved immensely over the last 30 years. In the past, dental practices felt comfortable in regularly billing patients for treatment because patients generally felt a greater responsibility to pay their bills or were more financially able to do so. Today, the collections process is very different.

For a dentist to succeed today, it takes more than excellent skills and a strong commitment to patient care. The new, less forgiving dental economy demands that practices take a more businesslike approach to their financial affairs, most urgently in regard to receiving payment for services provided to patients. A dentist may have an enviable reputation for clinical performance, and the practice may be busy, but neither will bring success if fees are not collected in a timely fashion.