Why do dentists rely on specialized client services for billing and sometimes for other aspects of patient interaction?
There are some specific challenges in this part of the medical industry that make dental billing systems so incredibly important for the doctors who work day in and day out, maintaining their patients’ oral health.
Let’s talk about three of these in the context of why it makes sense to get the best third-party dental billing services on board at a practice.
Deductibles
Every dental shop has to work out how a dental insurance plan’s deductible applies to care and treatment.
This can be more difficult to do, for example, if the insurance company isn’t clear about specifications, or if care and treatment options don’t conform to a simple and transparent model where you can plug in dental costs and get what you expect from the insurance company payouts.
Patients may also balk at paying high deductibles if they are covered by some sort of dental insurance plan.
Allowed Amounts
This one can be a nightmare for both the dental office and the patient…
In short, insurance companies will only pay the allowed amounts for contracted services.
That often translates into some massive confusion at the counter, because the dental clerical staff ran the patient’s insurance through the system, and the insurance may have only paid something like 40% to 50% of care.
Then it falls to all of the involved parties to figure out why only a certain portion was covered.
Dental practices have to know how they stand with allowed amounts, and pass that information on to the customer prior to treatment or care. Otherwise, you’re just asking for trouble.
Diagnostic and Evaluated Services
Dental x-rays can do a good job of catching incipient dental problems before they develop further. With that in mind, x-ray machines are a common sight at a dental office, and a common investment for these professionals.
The problem is that while there are often clear costs for x-rays, there are different types of x-rays that apply. It’s not uncommon for patients to get more than one type of x-ray, or choose a particular type of x-ray because of what’s covered. It’s also not uncommon for a patient to get x-rays without a good idea of how they are covered, and then be unpleasantly surprised afterward.
These three issues are just part of why it makes sense to have third-party dental billing partners in place at a practice. Talk to Dynamic Dental Solutions about how to innovate at your dental office.
