This is the remarkable journey of Sprout Dental, a dental practice that weathered the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic and is now opening two new locations, thanks to fruitful revenue cycle management (RCM).
Sprout Dental is a private dental practice in Pennsylvania owned by Dr. Kady Schloesser. Before the pandemic, Sprout Dental was doing well, showing a steady stream of patients, revenue, and growth. Dr. Kady's passion for her profession was evident.
“The money was coming in. People were getting paid. We were growing. I thought we were fine, but…” — Dr. Kady
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and that’s where our story begins.
This case study will paint the picture of a full-circle moment where Sprout Dental profits from the RCM services of Dental Claim Support (DCS), then:
- Leaves DCS for another RCM service provider
- Leaves them for a third provider, and finally
- Returns to DCS — and stays
Sprout Dental’s round-trip journey took 2 years. You’ll cheer when you hear where they are now!
The unexpected strikes: The COVID-19 Pandemic hits Sprout Dental
“When COVID-19 hit, and with no patients to examine, I started examining our [accounts receivable]’. I was pretty floored by how poorly we were doing. I had no idea,” shares Dr. Kady.
And she was not the only one. According to the National Library of Medicine---
“Dental offices incurred significant financial losses of over 70% due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In May 2020, Sprout Dental wasn’t in the best shape. They had:
- A 90% outstanding accounts receivable (AR) insurance report for over 30 days
- No pre-authorizations on file
- Inaccurate patient and insurance information
- Timely denials due to slow submission and follow-ups on state plans from prior years
As a dental practice owner, Dr. Kady had reached a crossroads: She could either continue with hope the pandemic’s waning would somehow reverse her numbers, or she could be proactive in finding a solution.
Dr. Kady chose to explore the idea of partnering with experts who would handle segments of her revenue cycle. But she couldn’t help but wonder:
- Can I afford a vendor that will handle my revenue cycle management tasks?
- Am I comfortable with a remote team handling my patient records and finances?
Then in May 2020, she made the phone call to an RCM consultant at Dental Claim Support. Their conversation encouraged her to give DCS a try.
DCS to the rescue: Priority #1 — Shaping up the aging report and growing numbers
After Dr. Kady brought in DCS, our experts saw right away what they needed to do to help Sprout Dental, and they hit the ground running.
DCS improved Sprout Dental’s insurance aging report before timely filing denials made it impossible to collect what was owed.
After 7 months of hard work, Sprout Dental’s numbers were rejuvenated. By December 2020:
- DCS tripled — 3x! — their monthly insurance collections
- DCS reduced outstanding insurance AR for the 30-day mark from 90% to 23% — 67%
Things were turning around for Sprout Dental. Revenue was thriving, and their processes were finally streamlined. After a global pandemic impacting her business the way it did, this brought huge relief to Dr. Kady.
When your dental practice is financially healthy, you have more opportunities to grow and expand your business. It not only gives you breathing room, it also motivates you to keep improving.
With the help of DCS, Sprout Dental now had much healthier finances — but then…
Letting go of DCS: When trying to save money costs more than is saved
Shortly after her numbers improved, in December 2020, Dr. Kady terminated her agreement with DCS and stopped using our services.
Despite the profitable outcome we produced for Sprout Dental, Dr. Kady’s consultants encouraged her to save money by switching to a different RCM provider.
Related: 5 ways to cut dental practice expenses without lowering quality
This is when things got complicated for Sprout Dental.
Soon, all the financial progress DCS made for Sprout Dental was lost. The practice’s numbers were a mess—again.
Dr. Kady tried two different RCM providers after she let go of DCS, and her financials got worse and worse over the next 15 months.
By April 2022, Sprout Dental was facing:
- A $60,000 decrease in monthly insurance collections
- 8 months of improperly applied insurance payments
- Outdated patient ledgers
- An outstanding insurance aging report percentage of 74% — a 51% increase from the 23% when she left DCS
We don’t know what happened with the other RCM providers Sprout Dental worked with, but the numbers speak for themselves. Without dedicated and experienced RCM experts on your side, your collections will fall and your insurance aging report will skyrocket.
With the numbers staring her in the face, Dr. Kady realized she had it right with her first choice of RCM providers.
With the lack of results from her past two RCM providers dragging down her business, Dr. Kady made the decision to call DCS again.
The full-circle moment: Sprout Dental reunites with DCS and their numbers grow again
In April 2022, 15 months after Sprout Dental let DCS go, we were reunited. We were so excited about the opportunity to work with the Sprout team again.
And Dr. Kady was confident she made the right decision, explaining, “DCS takes accountability and doesn’t make excuses. They support a healthy, trusting relationship.”
In just one month, DCS rescued Sprout Dental’s numbers—again.
- DCS quadrupled — 4x! — monthly insurance collections, compared to the previous RCM provider
- Outstanding AR for the 30-day mark was reduced by 20%
- Collections totaling $800,000
What a difference a month can make when you work with the right people.
“DCS listens, cares, and is so self-motivated to do its best for my business. They go beyond that, though, helping us implement protocols and standards to streamline and maximize our business. They’re another set of eyes for our entire team, making sure that everyone is doing their job properly.” — Dr. Kady
And if you think one month makes a difference, what do you imagine 12 months can do?
One year after Dr. Kady rehired DCS, Sprout Dental was able to open two more locations, and is considering a fourth! And she uses the RCM services of DCS at each of them.
You can experience the same paradigm-shifting financial freedom as Sprout Dental
With DCS on their side, Sprout Dental was finally able to:
- Revive and optimize its revenue streams
- Streamline processes and reduce operational inefficiencies
- Restore its financial stability (and Dr. Kady’s confidence), and
- Expand to two, then three locations
Sometimes your first choice is your best choice, and it takes making wrong decisions to know when you’ve made the right one.
That’s exactly what happened with Sprout Dental and DCS. We’re proud to call them a successful, thriving customer of our RCM services for all of their locations.
“I waited too long because I felt so overwhelmed, and I was so busy and focused on success, I didn’t have time to recognize the failures. One call to DCS led to an analysis that led to a relationship that’s led to results. They’ve become partners, not providers.” — Dr. Kady Schloesser
Your success and growth are our priorities. Our RCM experts at DCS know how much your dental business means to you, and they will work to make sure it’s taken care of and profitable.
Take control of your own dental business’ growth like Sprout Dental did — schedule a call with one of our RCM experts.
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