The Converting to Private Practice Top Ten

The Converting to Private Practice Top Ten In the run up to Christmas, you were probably hit by a barrage of lists. Top ten films of the year. Top ten in the album chart. Top ten sporting personalities. Top ten Warburton KPIs. Top ten references from the evidence base for HTM01-05. Well, maybe not the last two, with the reference list being particularly tricky, unless the apparent reluctance to publish the evidence base has been overcome.

Sadly though, these two topics have almost certainly been preoccupying you more than is ideal during the festive period. In fact, they may have even led you to observe another tradition familiar at this time of year and make a New Year’s resolution to take back control of your practice and convert to private care. If that’s the case, then in keeping with the theme, here is a list of ten things to consider when converting…

1) Firstly, the importance of planning and preparation can not be underestimated. With the maelstrom of issues impacting on NHS dentistry at the moment, it would be easy to understand that some dental practitioners are reaching breaking point and making snap decisions. However, you may have spent years, decades even, building up your practice so this is too important a decision to rush.

2) All too often, the drivers for this type of change are entirely negative, as dentists try to move away from increasingly uncomfortable and painful circumstances. Whilst this is understandable, it is worth taking the time to also identify positive reasons for changing and yes, corny as it sounds, you need to create a vision of the practice you want to develop. This might simply be about maintaining your current quality of care. Or, in line with the exciting variety of business models now emerging in dentistry, you may want to specialise in a particular form of treatment or type of patient. Whilst all practices evolve, this needs some thought now, so you can, as business guru Stephen Covey puts it, “begin with the end in mind.”

3) The suitability of your current position to act as a springboard to achieving your goal also needs assessing. In part, this involves understanding the external influences on your patients such as NHS availability and local economic considerations. It is also about your current strengths and weaknesses. For example, whether you have seen your patient enough times to have built up the levels of emotional goodwill that will be needed if you test their loyalty with a move away from the NHS.

4) Along similar lines is the need to carry out a financial review of the practice. The primary purpose of such an exercise is to establish the appropriate hourly rate upon which the practice can base its private charges. However, the process itself may highlight issues with your overhead costs, which might benefit from further scrutiny before taking the conversion step.

5) A separate, but related point to consider at this stage, is the implication of conversion on your pension arrangements. For many, this feels like a major stumbling block, but with the right advice from an appropriate person, you can plan for the effect conversion has on your NHS pension and build in alternative arrangements to your calculation of the correct hourly rate.

6) The sixth point on the list is the need to engage your team in the planning stage and to allow them to develop a sense of belief in, and ownership of, the changes you would like to make. A common characteristic among successful conversions has been the consistent and positive response of all practice team members when quizzed by patients.

7) The next point is to consider the most appropriate way to let your patients know about the forthcoming changes. The tried and tested route for most practices is to send a mailshot to all your patients at the same time. There are now numerous examples of excellent conversion letters that have prompted the desired response from patients, so don’t completely reinvent the wheel, but do make sure the personality of you and your practice runs through the final wording.

8) An additional consideration is the marketing material you have within your practice. Is it consistent with the direction in which you are taking the practice and is it giving out the right messages to your patients? The time may not be right for a complete revamp of everything, from referral cards to welcome packs, but you don’t want to have available to patients, anything that might send out contradictory messages.

9) If all of the above seems a bit daunting, then my penultimate recommendation would be to seek the support of a plan provider. There are clear advantages to having patients consider themselves members of the practice such as increased loyalty and more regular attendance. And, by working with a well established plan provider on a conversion, you will benefit from their experience of tackling all the issues above in hundreds of different circumstances.

10) Finally, before you start, agree with your team how you are going to mark the achievement of what you set out to do in the first place! For some previous converters that involved champagne and for others, a “Wish I’d done it sooner” party! Whatever you decide, you will have earned the right to take a moment to reflect on your accomplishment and to enjoy the demonstration of your patient’s faith in you.

About the Author: Nigel Jones, Sales & Marketing Director

Nigel has worked in primary care for over 16 years. Recently returning to the dental industry from Virgin Healthcare, Nigel has helped over 400 dental practices successfully convert to private practice.

Company details: T: 01691 684135 F: 01691 684149 E: info@practiceplan.co.uk W: www.practiceplan.co.uk