Matt Muscolo, Senior Vice President, General Manager of Dental Practices at CareCredit, a Synchrony Solution
Nearly every industry was impacted by the pandemic and Great Resignation, and is now struggling to return business operations to normal.
The dental industry is no different, with challenges including rising costs, staffing issues, technological advancements and overall economicuncertainty keeping dentists on their toes.
Fortunately, the DSO market is resilient. According to Fortune Business Insights, the DSO industry is actually on the fast track for growth, with a valued dental market size at 36.08 billion in 2022, which is expected to grow to 65.23 billion by 2030, and the DSO/group practices segment is predicted to have the fastest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over 2023-2030.
To take advantage of this growth and navigate the ever-changing economic landscape, let’s look at the top challenges facing DSOs today and some of the proven strategies to solve them.
Recruiting and Retaining Staff
Having an effective employee retainment strategy can be a helpful way to balance out the many costs that come with running a business, such as hiring and training, employee burnout, lost morale and lost productivity.
Gallup estimates voluntary employee turnover costs U.S. businesses a total of a trillion dollars every year. Turnover of just one employee can result in losses ranging from one half to double that employee's annual salary. That adds up to a surprisingly costly challenge for many DSOs, with 66% of dentists listing staffing among the top 3 challenges facing their dental practice.
Just like today’s consumer, care professionals have options in this highly competitive labor market. For DSOs, it’s important to build a compelling workplace that attracts candidates and keeps employees happy and productive. According to Forbes, an important part of recruitment is the benefits offered to both prospective and current employees, and perks such as a positive work culture, customizable physical and mental health benefits, and a flexible work environment all help in attracting and retaining employees.
Healthcare Affordability, Consumers & the Digital Age
In the last 20 years, dental care costs have risen in tandem with general healthcare costs and the responsibility of those costs have increasingly transitioned away from payers to patients. This is a result of many factors, including higher out-of-pocket costs, the rising popularity of high-deductible healthcare plans, and traditional health plans covering less.
When patients are unable to afford the dental care they want or need, dentists are impacted, too –with delayed time to payment and shrinking patient pools. At the same time, payers are reducing reimbursements as the cost of doing business rises. Some providers are even reporting insurers are ignoring rulings to pay providers or pay them in full. The complex, and often unpredictable, nature of insurance coverage and reimbursement negatively impacts cash flow and leads to an increased administrative workload for DSOs.
DSOs can work through some of these challenges by integrating more technology into their healthcare processes and shifting to digital platforms, from providing telehealth appointments to offering digital payments and financing solutions.
Results from our CareCredit sponsored study with CWH Advisors, entitled PatientPay 2022, found more than half of survey respondents use financial and healthcare apps multiple times per week. Among younger patients, 75% reported that they have used new person-to-person or digital payments to pay healthcare bills.
When it comes to paying for healthcare, DSOs can offer convenient ways to access payment options and make digital payments reliably, empowering patients to pay over time in a way that works for them and their families. In fact, our PatientPay 2022 study showed more than 60% of providers are looking to make greater use of external patient financing solutions.
Technological integration and automated processes can even ease the administrative workload for dentists and clinical staff. As a result, dentists are increasingly looking to external support to maintain financial operations, while ensuring patients are getting the experience they want and financial support they need.
Selecting a Strong Financing Partner for a Better Patient Financial Experience
For DSOs looking to adopt these strategies, partnering with a third-party financial services provider like Synchrony is key. Synchrony, a leader in consumer lending for more than 90 years, has also been a leading financial solutions provider in the dental space with its CareCredit health and wellness credit card for more than 35 years.
CareCredit is accepted in 80% of dental practices across the country and is a convenient, reliable solution that offers financing options for qualified consumers. CareCredit is integrated in many of the top dental practice management software and patient engagement solutions available today, making it easy for dental teams to offer to patients and for patients to apply.
Many dental procedures are considered elective, leaving the costs of dental care almost entirely on patients to cover. With CareCredit, financing options help patients move forward with elective and planned non-elective care, without delay. Plus, when a patient uses CareCredit to cover a service, providers receive payment in full within two business days, guaranteed.
Upon applying, a credit decision is made within minutes and if approved, patients can use their account to pay the dentist right away. CareCredit has a wide range of financing options available, from 6 to 60 months, depending on the purchase amount with no down payment required. Additionally, patients can use the CareCredit payment calculator to help estimate their monthly payments based on the amount of care financed and the financing option selected.
As consumers continue to assume a greater share of their dental care bills and margins narrow, we will continue helping DSOs solve their top financial challenges while positioning their organizations for long-term, sustainable growth.