In the last 3 years I have done very little work in the private dental field. I have been mostly working in a Primary Care Medical Practice: Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. With this said, I still consider human resources and many managerial aspects to be the same. Certainly, both are considered small businesses.
I think its crucial for Dentist to observe the private medical practice sector. Typically it is a precursor to what will happen to the dental field. For instance, private dental offices are becoming less and less.
Corporations are now assuming control and running their chains and/or franchises. They have an easier time because of their negotiating power do to patient size, and utilization of resources. There cost is less because as just stated vendors are willing to offer better rates for larger volume. Second, it is all about how many active patients you have on your roster, not necessarily how much each patient brings into your practice. The value is in the patient not in how much you are getting paid. Why is this a fact? Because, to different entities your patient is valued differently based on how they operate.
Example:
Lets say you are a Medicaid dental practice and for each preventive visit, which includes: cleaning, exam and x-rays you are getting paid ~$70.00. For a Federally Qualified Health Clinic (FQHC) the reimbursement will be roughly 2.5x as much. This means that if your practice is worth $1 million dollars to a prospective FQHC you may be worth closer to $2 million. The value is in the patient and your active roster not your reimbursement rate.
Ofcourse if you are selling your practice to another dentist than it is what it is. Unless, he/she has the ability to negotiate better rates with the Managed Medicaids.
In conclusion, grow your patient base as much as possible and as long as you are solvable keep on growing. Dont focus as much on dollar per patient.
Furman Dental Consulting 