Solving the Patient Payment Dilemma: How to Turn a No into a Yes!

You're listening to The Phil Klein Dental Podcast from Viva Learning.com. Welcome to the show. I'm Dr. Phil Klein. The modern dental professional is better prepared to diagnose and execute complex cases today than ever before. Yet one major hurdle remains unchanged, the patient's financial ability to accept treatment. Today, we'll be discussing the flaws with financing and how practices are modernizing their approach with a new technology. that expands patient acceptance of extensive treatment, resulting in increased productivity and completion of cases that would otherwise not be treated. Our guest is Dr. Sam Shamardi, who practices full-time while teaching part-time at the Harvard Division of Periodontics. He lectures nationally and internationally on topics within periodontics and hearing loss in dentistry, and has published multiple articles. Before we get started, I would like to mention that Dr. Shamardi's webinar titled Solving the Patient Payment Dilemma, How to Turn a No into a Yes, is now available as an on -demand webinar on VivaLearning.com. Simply type in the search field Shamardi, S-H-A-M-A-R-D -I, and you'll see the webinar. It's an excellent program for every dental team member to watch. Dr. Shamardi, it's a pleasure to have you on Dental Talk. Thanks so much. Great to be here, Phil. Happy to be with you. Yeah, and you had a very successful webinar last night. You had a huge turnout and a lot of great information about getting those patients to say yes for case acceptance, which, listen, if they don't say yes, all the skills and things we've learned as clinicians are not going to be utilized, so they obviously have to accept the treatment plan. So what are some of the main factors limiting patient treatment acceptance? One is the obvious side from the patient standpoint of their own anxiety. We talked about how it's been shown, how important it is to build that densest patient relationship, that they really feel that they're involved with the actual, you know, discussion of what the options are, that they kind of feel like there's an inclusive environment instead of maybe more of an old school approach of us coming in and saying, you know, we're the doctor, here's how it's going to be, and you just have to take it. That's kind of a big factor. And then it's really balancing out the actual time for treatment. Obviously, certain treatments are a lot quicker than others, but those tend to have an impact on kind of what they want to do. And then, of course, the big elephant in the room is always talking about cost and factoring in all those things like insurance and the other options that are out there. So those tend to be a big thing from a patient standpoint. When you do a case presentation, just out of curiosity, The old days, we used to put a little bit of fear in the patient. Like if you don't do this, you're looking at losing your teeth in three years. Have you moved away from that? And are you more focused on getting the patient to enthusiastically say, you know, I really want this done instead of doing it the other way? Yeah, it's a great question. And I think there's a little bit of a mix of both because... I think it doesn't matter what generation we're in. No patient's really too enthusiastic about doing, you know, any of the treatment that we're talking about. But I definitely think there's been, on my end personally, an increase of getting the patient involved directly. And I think... of that is for the inclusion part that we just talked about and kind of making them feel like they have a say and they know everything that's going on and all the options, which is important, especially, truth be told, in the litigious society we live in, it's really important that we have all that stuff given up front. But I also think, and I think I mentioned this a little bit on the webinar, is I think it's really important as well to include them from kind of taking a little bit of ownership as well. often there's stuff that's out of our control whether it be wound healing or you know stuff that maybe didn't come back ideally from the lab or things that go on that really you know it's not in our hands whether or not we've done everything right or wrong. And a lot of times the patients want to always point the finger our way. But I think when you've kind of laid things out really well and had that discussion with them and involved them and kind of gone over those potential risks and possibilities, you know, if any of those unforeseen things pop up, you know, we could always go back and say, well, you know, you recall we were talking about this, you know, as a potential issue and this is something that could happen in the past. And they were there and they can kind of be like, you know, yeah, I remember talking about that. They may not be happy, but they at least feel like, you know what, we did have this discussion and I did know what I was getting into. So it becomes a little bit tougher for them to just kind of, you know, point the finger our way. So trust and communication are really key factors. You have to know how to communicate with the patient, but you also have to have that trust built in order for the patient to embrace what you're saying and engage with you. So what steps can a clinician take to improve trust and get a better process going with the communication? Yeah, so there's a couple things. I mean, you know, the first step sounds like the most obvious. And that first one is just, you know. get their phone call. As we discussed, there's a small difference between practices that have been found to be the most successful and those that are kind of more among the rest of the pack. And the big difference is the percentage of those who are actually receiving that patient phone call and scheduling the time and getting them in the chair. So that sounds like the obvious one, but one that we miss every now and then. So first, it's a matter of being attentive, getting them time. And getting them in and then once they're in it's just really Trying to again show that you have interest in their case uh you know showing that empathy again we talked about maybe some type of a connection with their background maybe you know you you you're from a similar town or you have similar interests or you know your your kids went to a similar school and just being able to form some of those connections uh tends to go a really long way and before you have to get into the nitty-gritty of the actual dental part if they feel that they they already have some of these common connections with you it obviously goes a long way to to helping you once you get to that that side of things yeah and i guess you have to play it by ear right because some patients are talkative and they like to talk about their kids and they want to be able to connect with the dentist and some patients have a little bit of a barrier there where they're just you know I just want you to be my dentist I got a busy life fix my teeth tell me what the reality is what do I need to have done so I guess you don't want to force a conversation about your kids going to the same school if you notice that the patient doesn't want that right so there's a certain amount of adaptability that has to take place during that first conversation absolutely you nailed it on the head it's definitely not a one one size fits all for each patient. And I think the good thing is that between, you know, your front desk staff, your assistant, the hygienist, people that have seen. patients over a period of time, even if it's their first visit, you tend to be able to get a little bit of a sense of kind of how they are and kind of how their approach and attitude is. So definitely you'll have some patients that are very cut and dry and, you know, hey, just tell us what I need to do. And you definitely, you know, cater to that. So it is a little bit of a give and take and feel-out process. I think just that overriding message, even if it is a cut and dry approach, it's kind of like we're just discussing in terms of just kind of matching what kind of... they're bringing in to kind of get on a similar level as them yeah so let's get into the economics here so you've connected with them you've built trust but the bottom line is economically it's not feasible for them to move forward with treatment it's a shame when that happens but it's reality so how are patient financing solutions impacting the dental industry today yeah so you know again that that seems to be the biggest uh biggest factor for all of us you know we can do all the work but if they don't have the means to do it then we're stuck so I think, you know, we're starting to see a gradual change, and I think that's going to kind of expand pretty quickly with some of these financing options out there. And one of them that I really highlighted was with our host Sunbit last night. We've been used to other type of traditional finance platforms that are out there, some that are more known than others. And I think there's always a little bit of limitations that we've all had to deal with based on the patient's kind of credit score, you know. how big of a risk or a liability that they're, you know, perceived to be. And, you know, unfortunately, what those stats have shown is that there's a good majority, almost two out of three patients who maybe want to do the work but are getting denied simply based off of, you know, their poor credit history or some other type of factor. So the worst thing is you even have a patient that wants to do the work but is still getting denied. With groups like Sunbit that come in and offer solutions to really be able to provide financing to that enormous group of that population that otherwise would get denied, on top of that is taking on the added responsibility of that risk. For a dental practice, that's always a big hesitation is, okay, we'll want to see what we can do, but... this credit history comes back to bite us and this patient goes MIA, well, now we're stuck with this big liability. And Sunbit's come in and said, rest at ease. We're taking on that responsibility ourselves. The practice doesn't have to stress about that. So it really becomes a win-win all around because the patients now that otherwise are getting denied or being given this financing that they were before. And really, there's no real downside. There's no risk for the practice to be apprehensive about. So it opens the door. both sides. And I think that's, you know, one avenue that we're really going to start to see a lot more of. So Sunbit changed the methodology in which they finance patients. There must be something different about it that's moving these patients into treatment. And it's a win for the patient. It's a win for the practice. So no one loses. Is that something that can absolutely exist today where you actually have a true win-win across the board? Yeah, I mean, it's a great question. And I'll be honest, I mean, the very first I heard of it, it almost gives you that sense of like, wow, this seems like it's almost too good to be true. The good thing with their system is that they kind of built their name and reputation, both in the automotive industry and veterinary medicine, among other fields. So, you know, they had a model that, you know, has been out there and that they've tested and proven. for quite a long time before they ever came into the dental space. So I think for us in the dental space, it definitely sounds a little bit too good to be true and something we're not used to because we're so used to the denial. But I think what makes them unique is they've done it and they've got that track record and now they're basically able to come in with that level of confidence and to take on that role for us. So again, on our end, if they're able to do this and the risk isn't on our end, then certainly it's definitely worth looking into and giving it a go. So what impact will these platforms have on patient care and practice productivity in general? Huge. I mean, if you think about it, the sheer amount of production and overall patient treatment that is not done as a simple result of patients getting denied this financing or simply just not having the money is really just so significant that now if you are able to come in and address that and provide that portion of the population, which really the numbers are showing up to 60 percent. again, of the patients who are applying for traditional financing. Only about 40 are getting approved, up to 60 are getting denied. That is, again, the majority of the people that are applying. So if you're able to capture a good portion of that 60% and then be able to move forward with treatment, again, what that is going to do for every practice across the board is obviously pretty significant. And I think it also helps take a little bit off the pressure and the stress and handicap we get from dental insurances. Because as we know, they cover so little. and they have so many stipulations and clauses in there that it's almost an impracticality. To have, again, this as an option there, it's definitely a game changer for us. I've heard from several key opinion leaders that I've interviewed on podcasts and talked to at dental shows and so forth, and they have mentioned Sunbit as an incredible solution to moving patients to the yes column and getting the work started. This, of course, helps with the patient who is typically looking to be treated as an emergency patient, you know, one tooth at a time. It kind of moves them into a different... category where now you can focus on their comprehensive treatment plan, which of course will provide us with more long-term predictable clinical success. Absolutely. I think the more we get exposed to this possibility, the more we're going to start recognizing different options. Like you said, an emergency patient, for example, it's going to open up doors that we haven't really thought about yet because again, it's never been an option before. You wrote a book also before we end this podcast. Tell us real quick about the book you wrote. Yeah, I wrote a book. I actually did that during the quarantine lockdown we had a couple years back. It's called The Financial Survival Guide for Dentists. And really, it was geared towards helping newer grads, earlier career professionals. The topic is learn everything that you wanted to know, but we were never taught in dental school. And really, the standpoint was we go through dental education. we learn how to do the dentistry but we don't ever learn anything about the actual business and you know look at all of our colleagues and universally our number one biggest complaint always is you know how do we run a business uh you know how do we do deal with savings and retirement and taxes and there's just all these questions that We weren't educated all those years of school and no real solution. So I wrote that to kind of help plug that hole and provide everybody a good foundation and really at least get people on their feet and rolling. Where could they get that book? Is that on Amazon? Yeah, they can get that on Amazon. It's available as a hardback or also as an e-book if they want to do Kindle. I think a lot of major publishers like Barnes & Noble, they have it if you order it as well, but Amazon's usually the go -to for it. What's the title one more time? The Financial Survival Guide for Dentists. Thanks so much for your input. Thanks for doing the webinar for us and the podcast and hope to work with you on future CE topics down the road. Thanks so much. My pleasure. Thanks so much for having me and appreciate your time and look forward to being back again.