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Check Processing & Payments Information

Orthodontists: Top 3 Ways Check Processing Increases New Patients

Posted by Tom Lombardo | Thu, Jun 19, 2014 @ 01:00 PM

OrthodontistNationwide there used to be five buyers for your practice; now there are three. You used to get half your referrals from dentists; now you get a fifth fewer. You used to start 220 patients a year; now you start 200 – the first decline since studies began generating this statistic in 1983.

Knowing that 130 million Americans have no dental insurance of any kind, you used to let patients pay over the course of a 24-month treatment, but as treatment durations declined to 16-18 months they could not afford the larger payment – even though the total cost has come down. Some of your patients used to use pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts to manage the expense, but the Affordable Care Act effectively cut that in half. As if this isn’t enough of a threat to your business, now 34% of dentists in Canada offer orthodontics by sending impressions to Invisalign to get a custom series of aligners in the mail – often for half the price of wire braces.

Google “cost of orthodontics” to discover that the media tells your prospective patient two things: First, that they might be able to get cheap treatment at one of the sixty-five universities teaching orthodontics. And second, that you might be greedy because orthodontists earn more than the average CEO.

Payment has always been a challenge for your business, but since the Great Recession severely hit the middle class it’s a greater challenge now than perhaps ever before. Closing every prospective patient has never been more important or more difficult, and you need every tool available to help you meet the demand that comes your way.

And thankfully, demand remains strong. One reason is that while there are only 5,570 orthodontists in the U.S., a third of American adults don’t like their smile. Demand for adult orthodontics has skyrocketed 40% in recent years. Another reason was captured in a recent study of schoolchildren that found that fully 38% of boys and a whopping 55% of the girls want braces. A European study about those kids’ parents found that while wealthy children are actually less likely to need orthodontics, they are more likely to have them.

Dental Payment OptionsThus the ability to pay may determine whether an adult or child will become your patient.

Here are the top three ways check processing can close the deal for you:

  1. The Wall Street Journal, no less, suggests to grandparents that paying for their grandchildren’s braces can be an excellent way to transfer assets tax-free. Older people use checks more than any other demographic, but to accept them confidently you need a verification service. Depending on the one you use, verified checks might be guaranteed so even if they bounce (and these days grandpa makes a few more math mistakes than he used to), you still get paid.
  2. Most orthodontists offer prospective patients a nice discount if they pay in full up-front. If you do that, you might close more clients who want that discount if you can let them write two to four checks to be deposited over the course of the next thirty days. That way you can take the business now while letting your prospect match his payment to his cash flow. Depending on the service you choose, those too can be guaranteed
  3. And in both of these instances you want to be sure to get the relationship off to a smooth start by avoiding declines. Sometimes a cut-rate check processor looking at incorrect or outdated information will decline your prospect’s check erroneously. Few things can anger people more quickly than tendering a check they know is good only to be accused of trying to pass a bad one. Be sure you choose a company using advanced algorithms and a proper dataset to give you the highest approval ratio possible.

If you own a mature practice or if you’re just starting out, giving your prospects creative payment options may be one of the most critical revenue-generating differentiators you implement this year. Learn more here.

choosing check service

Topics: Dentists, Electronic Check Processing

Written by Tom Lombardo