Maximizing Treatment Plan Case Acceptance

Achieving maximum case acceptance is one of the primary goals for every dental practice. Without a consistent, predictable and substantial number of patients accepting treatment, you will have open chair time.

Why do patients accept or deny treatment? The factors are numerous, and often difficult to determine. Contrary to common belief, money is not the number one reason patients do not accept treatment. Many patients accept or deny treatment based on emotional issues we may not even be aware of. One of our goals is to find out which emotional issue–fear, vanity, pain avoidance, etc.—is motivating each patient.

We do know that following certain guidelines and practices have demonstrated a higher acceptance rate. Our goal is to list as many of the factors that impact case acceptance as possible, while focusing on a core structure that has worked in most practices. That core structure includes how we present a diagnosis and treatment plan to a patient, along with the financial obligations of the treatment.

But even the best core structure model depends on how well events leading up to the presentation are handled. These pre-requisite, preparatory events need to be in place and optimized before treatment is even discussed. Patients must see and feel your total commitment to their very best care. They are actually making up their mind about treatment even in advance of knowing what the treatment may be. These preparatory events begin this Section I of Maximizing Case Acceptance.

Okay—Be Honest and Objective Now

Often, dental owners lose objectivity when it comes to their own practice’s presentation. To assist you in that effort, we have objectified certain items to help you honestly appraise activities that might be affecting not only case acceptance, but overall patient satisfaction.

With the following survey questionnaire we recommend yourself, staff, and even trusted friends and patients (where applicable) give their rating for each question. If you give yourself a positive answer for any question, ask yourself if you can actually write down the policy, definition, or protocol for that topic. If you can not, you may really not have the level of commitment, and/or consistency, that you would desire.

You may want to answer the survey one time, before reading the references, and a second time, after you have read the referenced material. Note how your scores compare.

Please answer the following questions with the closest appropriate rating:

To identify the area(s) that are adversely affecting your treatment case acceptance, please answer the following questions:

1) Have you and your team established—and can write—a clear Standard of Care for each clinical condition and procedure? yes / no

2) Can your team clearly communicate the features, advantages, and benefits of all of your clinical procedures? yes / no

3) Do you have a standard, consistent protocol for your diagnostic procedure? yes / no

4) Is your diagnostic discussion and your treatment plan discussion presented at the same time to your patients? yes / no

5) Are you fully using all the visual aids available during your diagnosis and presentation? yes / no

6) Have you and your staff demonstrated trust and acceptance with the patient from the onset? yes / no

7) Do you have the person who is going to present the treatment plan fees in the operatory with you during the tx diag and presentation? yes / no

8) Do you and your team have a methodical, planned presentation dialogue that has been rehearsed for each patient, prior to your tx presentation? yes / no

9) Are you getting case acceptance before you leave the operatory? yes / no

10) Have you and your team reviewed all the impacts that a patient will have during their new patient experience; do you rate yourself a “10” at each impact? yes / no

Download Survey Get Acrobat Reader

Practices that answer “yes” to most of these questions have a much higher rate of case acceptance. This is the goal: getting your practice to begin implementing and fine-tuning the items that allow you to answer “yes” to these survey questions. This section, Maximizing Treatment Plan Case Acceptance, will show you how to get to that result.

Your Standard of Care Ensures Your Diagnosis is Complete

A Standard of Care is a prescribed solution for a given condition. Standards of care are used in courts of law to determine if the proper care and treatment have been given to a patient. “Proper Care and Treatment,” in this case, have been established by dental boards and peer review. In dentistry, Standard of Care means, “Proper Care and Treatment.“ You may determine the standards of care in your own practice, but they should be able to meet or exceed any board levels of performance.

For treatment case acceptance, establishing a standard of care is important for several reasons:

First, you and your team will be able to instruct any patient that you are prescribing their treatment in accordance to not just any standard, but a Standard of Care that meets or exceeds most measurements of care. Let the patient know there is a standard, and you are not lowering the standards in any case.

Second, your entire team should be educated as to what your practice standards are for each and any treatment procedure in your practice. A staff meeting should be held where a hand-out sheet is distributed to each staff member. The discussion should be: Why you prescribe the treatment you do; what other, sub-standard treatments are; why yours work better for the patient for your practice.

(NOTE: There is a FAB training program that follows this chapter that trains the staff in how to communicate the Standard of Care in your office to patients, using the F=Feature, A=Advantage, B=Benefit method of presenting to patients. Not just in case presentation, but virtually everything you ask a patient to comply with, should be presented using the FAB method. You will see it detailed for training in other chapters.)

Third, and most important reason for establishing a Standard of Care for treating every possible dental condition have been mentioned above: to ensure the optimal treatment is planned for all patients. And finally, these standards will keep you in compliance with professional standards.

Many practices allow the patient—and/or the insurance company—to dictate the treatment to be performed. This is often substandard treatment.

Your High Standards of Care Reward You Financially

The applying of standards of care also financially rewards the dental office for adhering to a higher and more complete level of care. Ironically, sometimes it is because there are additional fees related to higher and more complete levels of care that practitioners shy away from presenting them to patients. They are afraid of seeming money motivated, and of patient rejection. And if the dentist does provide added services, they hesitate to charge for them if they are not covered by insurance plans.

Not charging a patient for a higher level of care is the dental owner’s prerogative. But it should be for the right reason, and should not always be the dentist’s first reaction. More importantly, the dentist should never subtract the higher, or added care, from the written treatment plan. It is important that the patient understand every procedure you are undertaking, whether you charge for it or not. In fact, it will be a trust builder and help you achieve overall greater case acceptance if you show you are not charging for certain procedures. But the patient must know the added free value and benefit they are getting.

Again, staying with your pre-determined Standard of Care treatment procedures will protect you from any claim of insufficient treatment and care. You stay with your Standard whether or not you charge for it.

After all your hard work, don’t you deserve to be compensated for everything you do?

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