Let’s go through a few things a dental membership plan can do for a practice. Then, you can decide the answer to the question, “Do dental membership plans really make dentists more money?”.
Offer consistent and recurring revenue
When you enroll patients into your practice’s dental membership plan, you’ll be signing them up for automatic monthly or annual payments. That means for those patients, your income is no longer tied directly to scheduled appointments. Instead it’s based on more consistent and recurring payments you can bank on.
Lead to more restorative treatments
When patients are paying a subscription for your services, they’re more likely to come in for their appointments. This equates to more cleanings scheduled.
Patients that visit regularly are more likely to schedule other recommended appointments. You might find your book filled with more fillings (or cosmetic consultations!).
In addition, practicing dentist and DentalHQ Founder Dr. Brett Wells estimates that as many as 50% of his patients are more likely to approve treatment upon diagnosis if they are already enrolled in his dental membership plan.
Save time (And time is money!)
Typically, your front office team spends hours of their week collecting payments from patients and insurance companies. But with a membership plan, less time is needed for these tasks. It also frees up time to allow you and your team to focus on other things.
Create new ways to build revenue
When your team has more time and energy, they’ll have breathing room to focus on how the practice might be more effective and efficient in all areas. You’ll also be surprised at how quickly marketing programs can begin to take shape.
Having a dental membership plan itself can make a huge impact on efficiency and marketing creativity. This is especially true when it’s paired with a software platform that automates much of the process (like DentalHQ).
So, do dental membership plans really make dentists more money? With a plan in place, a dentist can bring in more recurring revenue, increase appointment consistency (thus retain more revenue), and schedule a greater number of major procedures. That sounds like a resounding “yes.”