In this Second Opinion, hygienist Deborah Stewart and Dr. Michael W. Davis come together to examine what, in their view, contributes to the schism between the dental and hygiene professions. They offer practical solutions to both heal this schism and put the focus back on patient care. Read their column here.
Your practice handles denial of benefits issues every day. Sometimes, however, the insurance company's birthday rule complicates billing and leads to patient questions. In her latest Sheri's Solutions, Dr. Sheri Doniger details her practice's efforts to show patients the benefit of focusing on care, not costs.
Dentists working in a dental service organization are more satisfied with the amount of hours worked during a week, but less so with their income, compared with dentists working with dentist-owned-and-operated practices, according to a new brief by the ADA Health Policy Institute. Read more here.
What percentage of phone calls to your practice go to voicemail during business hours? The number of calls that go unanswered is probably higher than you think, writes Jay Geier, president of the Scheduling Institute. He offers six easy ways to decrease that number of unanswered calls and increase the number of new patients.
Next week, we'll bring you further coverage of recent ADA policy briefs, including one on the growth of large dental practices, and an interview with the new head of California's Denti-Cal dental Medicaid program. We'll also have our expanding lineup of columnists, clinical news, and practice growth material.
