How Much is That $23.50 Worth

Case #1
I recently received a bill from a health care provider that included $0.68 interest because I was charged interest on my balance while the office waited for my insurance to pay their portion. While the small interest charge certainly was not worth getting too worked up over, none the less it was irritating since I had offered to pay my portion at the end of the visit.

Case #2
A patient recently visited a dental office with a toothache. The tooth required a root canal, a build up and a crown. Since the office doesn't do root canals, she was referred to a local endodontist. As the patient left the operatory she mentioned that her husband is in need of dental work so she would "get him in."

Later that afternoon the patient called the office to explain that she was able to schedule an appointment with the endodontist for the next morning and wanted to take a copy of the x-ray with her. Unfortunately the policy was that if the x-rays were mailed, there would be no charge but if they were given to the patient there would be a duplication charge. Understandably the patient was unhappy. The husband, the potential patient, was noting less that "hot." The patient returned the next day for the x-ray, after a lengthy discussion, paid the $23.50 duplication fee and left. With her she took the revenue of the build up, crown and her husband's potential dental work. In financial terms, what would the return on investment have been on $23.50?

My father gave me good counsel, "Be careful not to trip over dollar bills to pick up dimes." Sometimes, I am afraid that as dentists we miss the big picture and trip over dimes at the cost of thousands of dollars.

Are your office policies customer friendly? Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes, can save you thousands. Call Dr. Brad Larsen, Vancouver/Portland consultant at DentistCEO for a free consultation today.