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Cost-benefit analysis ahead of 2016

Louisa Buckingham of Patient Plan Direct explains why practices should consider performing cost-benefit analysis ahead of 2016.

The dental industry continues to become an ever more competitive industry with a generation of tech savvy and business-minded dentists. More than ever, dental practices are looking to differentiate themselves, create competitive edge, provide a unique patient experience and embrace digital dentistry all whilst endeavouring to generate healthy profits and deliver the best in patient care.

A cost-benefit analysis is the exercise of evaluating a planned or existing action by determining what net value it will have for your practice. A cost-benefit analysis finds, quantifies, and adds all the positive factors; the benefits. Then it identifies, quantifies, and subtracts all the negatives; the costs. Should the benefits derived from the action outweigh the costs of implementing that action, then the action should be taken and vice versa.

As practices increasingly seek to cut costs and improve productivity and care, cost-benefit analysis has become a valuable tool for evaluating a wide range of business decisions and opportunities for dental practices; the prospect of a move away from the NHS, which consumables supplier to work with, which plan provider to work with in administering and developing the practice’s private dental plans.  

When undertaking this review you should ask yourself questions such as; what value does this opportunity/action represent? What other alternatives do I have and how do they compare? When did I last review this area of my business?

Take for example, dental plan administration. It’s alarming how many dental practices aren’t aware of the fees they pay to their plan provider and nor do many assess what value these fees represent.

Many plan providers profess to offer a range of additional ‘non-plan’ related services, hospitality and support alongside core plan administration. This ‘optional’ access to additional elements of service aside from plan development is rolled in to the fee structures charged by some plan providers. Many practices don’t actually utilise these additional elements, effectively paying for something they don’t fully leverage and therefore not seeing value.

When performing a cost-benefit analysis in relation to working with a plan provider you should make a list of what the provider delivers; the benefits. For example; How many times a year do you see your representative? Do you fully utilise additional services such as regulatory advice, ‘key client’ forums, or clinical events? This should then be compared to the costs of the service and also weighed up against other provider propositions in the market.

Patient Plan Direct is a dental payment plan provider working with practices across the UK, recognised for its cost effective (£1 per patient per month) approach to support and administration, as well as its innovative web-based management platform. Patient Plan Direct support practice with; New payment plan launches, NHS to Private conversions and Plan provider transfers

Tel: 08448486888

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Web: www.patientplandirect.co.uk

A recent video from Denplan, the UK’s leading dental payment plan provider, has highlighted the staggering sugar content of festive drinks found in many of the popular high street coffee chains – including a specialist hot chocolate that contains up to 24 teaspoons of sugar. If these drinks are accompanied by cakes or other sweet treats, the amount of sugar consumed can double.

“While most people will probably be aware that their festive drink contains some levels of sugar, they might not be aware of the sheer quantity,” says Henry Clover, Deputy Chief Dental Officer at Denplan. “Many of the festive coffees, lattes and hot chocolates that we looked at across a range of high street coffee chains contained, on average, around 12 to 18 teaspoons of sugar in their largest portion sizes. One caramel fudge hot chocolate from a popular coffee chain even contained a shocking 24 teaspoons of sugar – that’s the equivalent to around two and a half cans of cola.

“As a one-off treat, a sugary festive drink won’t do you any harm, but if you get into the habit of frequently consuming high levels of sugar, this may cause tooth decay. Every time we eat or drink something sugary, bacteria in our mouths produce acids that can cause tooth decay. A high sugar diet is also linked to other health problems such as obesity and diabetes.”

The vast amounts of sugar found in high street coffee chain beverages is especially concerning in light of guidelines from the World Health Organisation published earlier this year*. The WHO suggests that adults should consume no more than 12 teaspoons of ‘free’ sugars a day, but should really be aiming for six. ‘Free’ sugars refer to sugar that is added to foods and drinks, as well as things like honey and fruit juices.

In addition, research conducted earlier this year by YouGov on behalf Denplan** also suggests that consumers would welcome knowing more about the levels of sugar found in their food and drinks, and would even like to see an overall reduction in sugar content. The survey revealed that only a third of UK adults (35%) think that retailers and food companies do enough to inform them of how much sugar is in food and drinks. Of those who disagreed that retailers and food companies do enough, 73% said retailers and food companies should reduce the overall sugar content in food and drinks.

So what are the healthier options for a festive beverage this Christmas?

“It’s certainly not all doom and gloom for the Yuletide season – it’s all about being informed and enjoying things in moderation,” says Henry. “Opting for a peppermint tea or an Americano coffee or plain latte with sugar-free syrup can warm you up without the added sugar.

“If you do decide to sample a speciality coffee during the festive period, make sure you’re aware of the sugar content before you order, and try to drink this as part of a balanced meal.”

*Source: World Health Organization, March 2015 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/

**Denplan/YouGov Survey February 2015. The survey was carried out online. Total sample size was 5,315 adults.

About Denplan

Denplan is the UK’s leading dental payment plan specialist, with more than 6,500 member dentists nationwide caring for approximately 1.7 million registered patients. Established in 1986 by two dentists who pioneered the concept of dental payment plans, Denplan has been at the heart of dental care for nearly 30 years and today the company is owned by Simplyhealth. Denplan has a wide range of dental plans for adults and children, enabling

patients to budget for their private dental care by spreading the cost through a fixed monthly fee. We support regular attendance and preventive care, reducing the need for clinical intervention and helping patients to maintain healthy teeth and gums for life. For further information visit www.denplan.co.uk. For oral health tips and advice visit www.myteeth.co.uk. Patient enquiries telephone: 0800 401 402   Dentist enquiries telephone: 0800 328 3223
 

·         Denplan Care: all routine and restorative care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Denplan Essentials: routine care only + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Plans for Children: routine and other agreed care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Membership Plan: registered with the dentist + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Denplan Emergency: worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover only

·         Company Dental Plans: company funded, voluntary and flexible benefit schemes
 

Denplan also provides a range of professional services for its member dentists and their practice teams, including the Denplan Quality Programme, Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme and Denplan Training, plus regulatory advice, business and marketing consultancy services and networking opportunities.

For more information about Denplan:

Sara Elliott

Denplan Press Office

Tel: 01962 828 194

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About Simplyhealth

We have been helping people with their health for over 140 years. Our roots are in the hospital funds set up during the Victorian era to help working people save for their medical care, and we still follow mutual values today. With no shareholders, our profits go back into supporting our customers and healthcare charitable causes, donating over £1 million each year. Last year, we donated £1.4 million.

In 2011, we acquired Denplan Limited, the UK’s leading dental payment plan specialist. Simplyhealth has 1,391 employees based across our offices in Andover, Manchester, Leeds and Denplan in Winchester. We serve our 3.5 million customers through cash plans, dental plans, Denplan and pet health plans. Simplyhealth has Independent Living Centres which provide daily living and mobility products, including powerchairs, mobility scooters and wheelchairs, in Andover, Bristol, Burnham, Droitwich, Kenilworth, Leeds, Northfield, Norwich, Sutton Coldfield, Telford, Willenhall and Wolverhampton.

Simplyhealth is a trading name of Simplyhealth Access, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

For further information:

http://newsroom.simplyhealth.co.uk/

This post was stimulated by my re-reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book “David & Goliath”. In it he examines the underdog in several circumstances and how they have managed to overcome the odds to become victorious.

Initially I was looking to draw analogies between the “corporate” large and chain practices and the small, independent practice. My idea was to show that a good little ‘un can beat a big ‘un every time. The idea grew on me so I have expanded the remit.

Quite often when I listen to owners of small dental practices I am reminded of the children’s ‘swing song’ that starts, “Nobody loves us, everybody hates us, think I’ll go and eat worms”. Certainly when one looks at the plethora of legislation, political interference and change in consumer expectations one can understand this attitude. Yet it is those changes or rather the practices’ response to them that can make success more likely.

Let’s look at the David and Goliath of the title. David was smaller, poorly equipped and had no experience of battle. Goliath on the other hand was battle hardened and massive in terms of both physical size and equipment. But we know the result, one slingshot brought the giant to defeat.

Perhaps with these two protagonists we saw a hint of the first guerrilla war. History shows that a larger organisation doesn’t approve of small groups. Michael Collins and his flying columns had learned lessons from TE Lawrence (of Arabia) whose methods, although successful, were frowned upon by the British authorities.

The Davids of Dentistry are used to being the smaller person, indeed one of the reasons for successful small practices is that the owner will put in hours outside the “9 to 5” for repairs, maintenance and upkeep. These hours are never allocated in year end accounts. The successful Davids are light on their feet, flexible and adaptable, they know their terrain and where they can operate to best advantage.

The Goliaths have capital, resources and are “business savvy”, whatever that means. They can absorb wasted efforts, tolerate inefficiencies of staff and materials and, above all, can take a long view.

The negative for the Davids is that they can get stuck in a rut of reacting to circumstances and their campaigns are short term. Financial survival is usually at the top of their agenda meaning that they tend not to consider a long term strategy. In order to survive they need, in the words of Alastor Moody, constant vigilance, this becomes wearisome with time and contributes to their eventual burn out.

On the downside for Goliaths is their rigidity and lack of conventionality as their bean counter driven businesses seek to impose an external model onto a personal service. A surfeit of management levels and often unsympathetic HR practices mean that their teams operate at less than optimum efficiency.

The important thing for Davids has been to avoid the  temptation to take on the Goliaths at their own game and terrain because they will surely lose. With market changes it becomes more and more difficult in the post Shipman world for David to remain profitable. The battlefield has morphed too, the big armies of Goliath have taken a lot of the easy low ground of the NHS contracts and can use their clout and experience to bid for more.

Davids must choose their battles, battlegrounds and to time their campaigns with care. They need to learn not only from Goliaths’ mistakes but also from their successes and ensure that they are strong where their opponents are weak. In addition they must look at all the Davids in other professions and industries for inspiration.

Can Goliath learn? Of course he can. To my knowledge nobody has devised a franchise operation in Dentistry that reflects the unique elements of the profession, rewards the franchisee and gives them a sense of freedom. Not yet but with imagination it could work if done properly.

The pattern of post-war Britain has been about smaller companies being absorbed by larger ones. Is it possible for the independents to stay small and free of involvement? Perhaps the model for freedom is one of small managed groups of practices? Here much of the tiresome “grunt” work is centralised. It is this work that, in my experience, ultimately leads to owners losing their resilience, their final fatigue and despair. This sees with them reluctantly selling to a Goliath or to another increasingly cash-strapped David to perpetuate the battle. This group model leaves the clinicians and customer facing team members to do what they are good at with support coming from dedicated and probably off site back office.

All wars eventually end with talks and compromise. The challenge for the different Davids is to find someone with whom you can share a philosophy of business and agree a way forward to keep your places on the battlefield of dentistry. This way the strengths, efficiencies and independence of you Davids can be continued.