Illuminate Your Practice’s Health with These 7 KPIs

We all want to set goals that will see us in a better place in the future, but how do you know where you stand with those goals? The answer is simple: numbers. Team members often associate numbers with a positive or negative, but numbers are neither; they are. As Kirk would say, “Numbers have no emotion.” What they do have, however, is the ability to evaluate the efficiencies of your practice and identify areas of opportunity. 

But how do you know what numbers to track? To help you with that problem, here is a list of the top seven KPIs that will help your practice become healthier:

1. Gross Production

This is your output potential, which means looking at everything posted to your ledger and determining what you produce in a day. A big part of this—and a shoutout to Ariel Juday for this tip—is charging your full fee. This is important even if you’re 100% PPO because you need to see the true amount in your ledger. Additionally, if you ever end up dropping PPOs, you don’t want your patients to think you’ve raised your fees and now don’t take their insurance.

2. Write-Off Percentage

The more specific you can be about your write-off categories, the better. For example, break it down by company instead of having an insurance write-off. That way, it gives you more information about what fees you’re receiving, which helps you make better decisions. It’s not just PPOs; look at your senior discounts, warranty work, or any other elective work. This allows you to make informed decisions about the dentistry you are giving away.

3. Net Production

You can calculate this KPI by subtracting your write-offs from your gross production. It’s your revenue potential and what you base your collections on. When I talk about collection percentage next, this is what you should be collecting 100% of.

4. Collections Percentage

As I just mentioned, your collection percentage is the percentage of your net production that you collect. You want this to be 100%, but it’s often lower than expected, especially when you’re not diligently tracking it. This area requires a team effort to improve because so many people play a role in the process.

5. New Patient Re-appointment Percentage

Dentists like to talk about their number of new patients, but that data doesn’t mean much unless you know how many people are coming back. This is why the re-appointment percentage is much more critical. I want to be more specific and add hygiene to this number because hygiene appointments are an excellent opportunity to talk to new patients and build value for your practice. You’ve invested so much into getting these patients into your practice, so you want to close the loop and ensure they leave with an appointment or two.

6. Diagnostic Percentage

Tracking this KPI means looking at the number of your exams and measuring how many result in new diagnoses. It’s essential because it acts as a barometer that tells you how many of your patients are leaving with treatment plans and helps you predict the capacity of your future schedule. It can indicate that you’re right on, conservative, watching too much, or having a backup in your hygiene department.

7. Treatment Acceptance Percentage

This can vary from software to software, but in Dental Intel, it’s measured in two ways:

• People. How many treatment plans were presented versus how many were accepted?
• Treatment dollars. Of those treatment plans, there was X amount of dollars, and this is the amount that was accepted.

By looking at both of these numbers, you can determine where there are any areas of opportunity. 

The Reasoning Behind Them

The reasoning behind tracking these KPIs is not just tracking random numbers or seeing how much money we can make—it’s about diagnosing your business. Kirk says: “What gets measured improves, but what gets measured and reported on improves exponentially.” If you want to know what’s going on in your practice and start creating meaningful change, you’ve got to start tracking these KPIs and focusing on them as a team. And when you’ve got the numbers to where you want them, you can also celebrate as a team!

Remember, you’re not alone in this journey. Contact Gina to learn more about ACT Dental, or reach out to schedule a call! Our team of fantastic coaches is ready to help you improve your practice’s health and help you build a Better Practice and a Better Life!

Join us at our To The Top Study Club next spring as we help you learn to take control of your practice and boost its efficiency in our From Data to Dollars: Navigating the Numbers Game sessions on April 19, 2024, and April 26, 2024! 

Identifying and tracking your KPIs is only half the battle, so tune in next time and learn how to transform them from red flags to green lights!

Robyn Theisen is a Lead Practice Coach at ACT Dental