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Being clear on the value of services offered by your practice and openly communicating the price to clients is key to fee confidence. By Frank Leggett
Business advisers agree that as highly skilled practitioners, dentists should be confident the fees they charge reflect the real-world value of the work patients receive. Further, when dental professionals clearly communicate pricing, it not only builds trust but demonstrates capability and competence.
According to the Financial Advice Association Australia, fee confidence is defined as, ‘the alignment between what you charge and what you believe about your own professional worth.’
“If you believe you’re offering a level of service that’s valuable and worth what you’re charging, you should stand proud and stand by your fees,” business coach Rebecca VanZutphen says. She runs Staged Dental Coaching, a company providing hands-on support, training and mentorship for dental owners and teams.
She believes fee confidence and patient experience are directly linked. “The experience and the outcomes should clearly make the patient feel they are getting value for money. Value also comes from the industry as a whole. What we’re doing as a community of healthcare professionals adds value to going to the dentist.”
Confidence and communication
The first step towards fee confidence is charging the correct amount. “The best solution is to figure out how much your practice costs to run per hour,” VanZutphen advises. “Once you know what it costs to keep the lights on and run the business per hour, you can charge appropriately.”
Fee confidence is about being positive in what you are offering and communicating that fact to the patient. Value is imparted during a consult when the dentist explains treatment options, outcomes and long-term benefits. It can be especially worthwhile to mention the cost of treatment at that time.
Ensuring all fees and charges are transparent sets realistic expectations for clients and avoids misunderstandings. This, in turn, aids in client retention.
“We’ve had a few—very few—patient complaints about fees over the years,” Dr Thea Pabustan, co-owner of Dental Couture located in Sunbury on the outskirts of Melbourne, says. “Whenever it happens, it’s because information was not communicated clearly. We actively avoid any surprises or hidden costs. We don’t make a big announcement about a fee increase but it’s factored in to all our quotes. We have an up-to-date price list on our website that can be downloaded. Transparency is key to having confidence in what you charge.”
Having fee confidence backs the patient experience that the whole team provides. “Everyone needs to be confident—not just the owner of the business but every person on staff,” VanZutphen says.
Review regularly
Assessing fees should be an annual task that’s analysed diligently. Letting this process slip means the percentage rise in fees can be so great that it becomes a bitter pill for patients to swallow.
“By reviewing our fees regularly, the increases are always in small incremental jumps,” Dr Pabustan says. “The new fees are a lot easier for patients to accept rather than one large increase.”
At Dental Couture, fees are positioned within the experience the patient has from the moment they walk in the door.
“We keep it simple and transparent,” Dr Pabustan says. “The updated fees are reflected in the treatment plans that patients receive and are clearly stated on our website. There should be no surprises when the patient receives the bill.”
The right time
Once the decision has been made to increase fees, it’s important to get the timing right.
“The two most common times practices choose to review and implement any fee increases are 1 January and 1 July,” VanZutphen says. “Not every review will result in a change but having those scheduled assessment times means fees are being considered thoughtfully and proactively.”
On 1 January this year, Dr Pabustan and her business partner raised their fees.
“We review our fees annually but don’t automatically increase them,” Dr Pabustan says. “Our decision to raise fees this year was based on inflation, material costs and technology we’re using. We also compare our prices with other local practices.”
Making it easy
While it’s important to have confidence in your fees, the reality is that dentistry can be expensive. Making it easier to pay a bill by offering a flexible payment plan or interest-free option is popular with clients.
“We want to look after our clients so we’ve liaised with payment planning companies that are interest-free,” Dr Pabustan says. “We have a few different plans available. We also offer in-house payment plans. These have been very popular; most of our larger, more complex treatments are invoiced through a payment plan.”
Having these types of financial plans available not only helps with fee confidence but also make a range of treatments more accessible.
“By allowing patients to pay off treatment interest-free over time, people can receive essential dental care,” VanZutphen says. “Patients access the treatment they need and the practice is able to sustain the standard of care it has pride in delivering.”
