Do you, or should you, charge separately for Initial Records? What about the high cost of Scanning or X-ray equipment…does that matter? This pearl might help you to figure it out.
The only advantage of charging separately for initial records (typically $300) is that it can be used as a bargaining chip to get the new patient to commit to treatment at the exam by telling them that if they sign up today that you will wave the extra records fee.
The only advantage to not charging (at all) for initial records is that you can automatically take them as part of the initial exam and have all of the information you need to convince them to start (and it makes for a more impressive exam). And you can still use the “inferred” $300 records fee as a bargaining chip by reducing the fee by $300 should they sign up today.
Whether using plaster models or 3-D scanned models, they all have a cost. The up front cost of a scanner (about $20,000) and 3-D printer (about $30,000) can be high, but if you divide that $50,000 cost by the number of patients (say 2,500) it comes out to about $20/per patient—a set of plaster models costs about $70 form an outside lab.
A hidden cost, whether plaster or scanned/printed is staff time. Each team member (TC, DA, RT) generates about $5.00/minute in production every minute of the day. Assume that a scan and 3-D print takes 50 minutes of staff time ($250) and plaster model impression and processing takes 20 minutes ($100) of staff time. Thus, it costs about $270 for the scanning approach and about $170 for the plaster model approach; a $100 increase or a small 2% increase in a $5,000 Tx fee—not really something to be concerned with…just increase your Tx fee by $100.
The real decision-maker is the up front digital scan cost vs. the plaster models cost. This up front cost might motivate you to charge more for records up front—if so, a $100 increase in your separate records fee or $100 Tx fee initial payment is probably the way to go. If you start 200/patients per year you will get back $20,000 the first year (if you start 400 patients you get back $40,000).
For those of you with a digital Cat-scan x-ray, that cost upwards of $200,000. For at least a 10-year lifetime, it can handle at least 4,000 patients or an extra $50/patient—again, not a major increase, but the up front costs are substantial. A client of mine turned his Cat-scan into a service for his referring dentists and oral surgeons and recouped his total costs in about 4 years.
If you want to provide a New Patient Experience that distracts patients from your records fee, the “The Ultimate New Patient Experience Kit” can help.
