Increase Your DSO Case Acceptance by Offering a Membership Plan and Improving Patient Communication

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Are you worried about getting your patients to accept recommended treatment? If so, you’re not alone. Case acceptance is an ongoing problem across the industry. Research has shown that average case acceptance is just 23%. That means 77% of patients are ignoring treatment recommendations and walking out the door, doing nothing!^[1] The situation is frustrating because your priority is to improve your patients’ oral health and well-being, yet they neglect your advice for needed treatment. So why is this happening?

Our research shows that patients turn down treatment primarily for two reasons. The first is that they do not have dental coverage.^[2] Without coverage patients feel like an outsider and worry about the cost of treatment. They stress when they are in the chair and feel exposed when you present treatment plans to them. The second reason is that they do not understand the true value of care.^[2] Patients will only remember 15% of the facts you provide to them, but they will remember 100% of how they feel^[3]. Unfortunately, most practices present treatment plans in a clinical way, overlooking the emotional component that resonates better with patients.

The good news is that you can easily remove these barriers and create a much better chance that your patients will accept your advice and the treatment they need.

Get patients to say “Yes” to more treatment

You can address these concerns and increase your case acceptance by offering a Membership Plan and by changing the way you talk to patients about treatment. A Membership Plan will increase patient loyalty and trust and make them feel financially savvy when accepting treatment. Improving communication will enable patients to understand the value of treatment and the impact it will have on their lives. Leverage both approaches, and you are on your way to creating a better patient experience, improving patient oral health, and increasing case acceptance.

Start by offering a Membership Plan

Membership Plans are dental care plans that you offer directly to your patients. Patients pay a subscription directly to your practice for preventive care and discounts off other treatment. Membership Plans eliminate the cost and hassle of a middleman enabling patients to get the oral care they need at an affordable price while enabling dentists to run a successful, profitable practice.

How Membership Plans increase case acceptance

A Membership Plan will naturally bring patients closer to your DSO. Much like the “membership club effect” created by popular subscriptions like Netflix and Amazon Prime, a Membership Plan subscription makes patients more committed to their oral care, more emotionally connected to your team, and more trustful of your advice. As a result, they are more loyal to your DSO, will visit more often, and accept more treatment. In fact, based on practices using the Kleer Platform, Members visit 2-3 times more and accept 50-75% more treatment than uninsured patients.

By offering a Membership Plan, your DSO can expect:

Healthier, happier, and more loyal patients
Increased patient visits
Increased case acceptance
Increased production

Better patient communication is also essential

In addition to offering a Membership Plan, practices can increase case acceptance by improving patient communication about why treatment is necessary and how it will improve a patient’s life. According to a recent Modern Dental Network article, it is very important to teach your team how to effectively communicate and discuss details about treatment^[4]. The key is to communicate the emotional value of the treatment rather than hit them with lots of dental terms and facts. You need to answer questions like: What effect will treatment have on the patient’s health? How will treatment improve how the patient feels? What negative consequences will result if they do not complete the treatment? A good idea is for practices to revisit their current case presentations and make sure their team is speaking in a language that patients understand and emotionally connect with. The discussion should be centered around how treatment will positively affect the patient’s life and, once that is done, how they can fit it into their budget using your Membership Plan.

A treatment coordinator can help

Employing a treatment coordinator specifically dedicated to working one-on-one with patients is another good way to increase case acceptance^[5]. The treatment coordinator can communicate with patients before and after their appointments. They can explain the recommended procedures, the effect the procedures will have on the patient’s life, budgeting options like a Membership Plan, and answer any questions the patient may have. Additionally, the treatment coordinator can conduct post-appointment follow up via phone or email if the patient does not accept treatment in the office.

Getting patients to say “Yes”

Getting patients to say “Yes” is just a matter of providing coverage that patients can afford and trust, communicating the benefits of treatment in a language patients understand and value, and, if possible, hiring a treatment coordinator to spend time with patients before and after appointments. By using a combination of these approaches, your DSO is sure to see greater patient loyalty, increased patient acceptance, and better performance outcomes.

Join the thousands of dentists already using the Kleer platform to increase case acceptance.

Improve case acceptance by offering a Membership Plan to your patients. Launch your Membership Plan powered by Kleer today!

About Kleer

Kleer is an advanced, cloud-based platform that enables dentists to easily design and manage their own Membership Plan and offer it directly to their patients. Kleer is turn-key and free to implement and includes everything a practice needs to create and manage a successful Membership Plan.

Dave Monahan is CEO of Kleer. Monahan’s advocation for subscription-based dental care led to the founding of Kleer in 2016 and phenomenal growth in Kleer dental practices and membership since its pilot launch in September 2017. For further questions about increasing case acceptance and Membership Plans powered by the Kleer platform, go to www.kleer.com or reach out Dave directly at: dave@kleer.com.

For more information on Kleer:

[1] Kesner, Michael. (August 18, 2014). How to help patients want what they need. Dental Economics. Retrieved from http://www.dentaleconomics.com/practice/article/16390466/how-to-help-patients-want-what-they-need

[2] Finch Brands, Dental Market Insights Report, October 2018

[3] Kesner, 2014

[4] Levin, Roger. (March 27 ,2017). 4 ways to tweak your case presentation to increase case acceptance. Modern Dental Network. Retrieved from http://practicemanagement.dentalproductsreport.com/article/4-ways-tweak-your-case-presentation-increase-case-acceptance

[5]McKenzie, Sally. (July 3, 2018). Is one of these common problems causing stress in your dental practice? DentistryIQ. Retrieved from https://www.dentistryiq.com/practice-management/practice-management-tips/article/16367680/is-one-of-these-common-problems-causing-stress-in-your-dental-practice

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