When you’re comparing the costs of different dental RCM service providers, there are a few things to seriously take into consideration before making your decision.
Dental revenue cycle management (RCM) is the process for collecting payment from patients and/or insurance companies, beginning when a patient schedules their treatment at your dental practice, and ending with their final payment.
Your revenue cycle entails several steps that require expert handling to be completed correctly and efficiently if you’re to receive the maximum payout in the minimum time.
If your revenue cycle is riddled with errors and inefficiencies, you’ll see dips and gaps in your cash flow.
To combat those operational challenges, many dental professionals turn to RCM services, where the complex and routine processes are managed by trained, experienced specialists using today’s technology.
It’s important to choose a provider that fits within your budget, but it’s just as important to think of RCM services as an investment that will deliver higher cash flow. The prices for these revenue-collecting services range so significantly that you may be unsure what’s worth paying for.
This article gives you 4 things to think about when you compare the cost of dental RCM services: quality, technology, features, and reliability.
Key takeaways about the cost of dental RCM services:
- More expensive does not always mean better quality
- You can learn a lot about a dental RCM company based on your experience with their sales team
- It’s worth investing in solutions that result in higher cash flow
Now, let’s talk about those 4 things you’ll want to consider when comparing the costs of RCM services…
1. Quality of the dental RCM company’s staff
Obviously, you want an RCM company that delivers high-quality services. This means you shouldn’t choose the least expensive dental RCM company you find just because of its low costs.
If the cost feels too good to be true, you could be right. Maybe you found a great deal, but do your due diligence to make sure the provider is capable of caring for your cash flow.
For example, Sprout Dental worked with us saw notable improvements — monthly collections tripled in just 7 months! But they were swayed by a consultant to find a cheaper RCM provider.
They left us for a less expensive company, and started losing tens of thousands of dollars to insurance claims every month. They then switched to yet another provider, but got similar results.
After more than a year, Sprout Dental returned to DCS, and we were able to collect $800,000 in insurance claims for them within 30 days — that’s nearly a million dollars the other RCM companies missed. We don’t want to imagine how much revenue was lost to timely filing in the 15 months they worked with those other companies!
Moral of this story? Generally, you really do get what you pay for — and in this case, paying a bit more resulted in collecting a lot more.
You can read more about Sprout Dental and their success with DCS in our case study.
When you’re assessing the quality of an RCM company, it’s worth paying more for someone who will get results, right? Well, during your initial phone calls with a sales representative, consider asking how they hire and train their RCM experts — the people who will work directly with your team and handle your income. 
Your goal is to work with a dedicated, seasoned expert in dental RCM. You could ask:
- What are their minimum qualifications?
- What is their training process like?
- Will I be assigned a specialist or passed around to whoever is available?
- What is your company’s turnover rate for account managers and specialists?
Their answers will help you determine the quality of the company and the people you’ll be working with.
Related: DCS Innovations: Account Specialists spearhead collaborative strategies with dental teams
2. Use of modern technology and automation
Let’s be real: The dental industry is not always super quick to use the latest technology. That’s not necessarily a negative thing, but bringing on today’s tools and modern automations will positively impact the efficiency of your dental business.
For routine and repetitive processes, the speed, accuracy, and convenience of today’s technology often outshines work done by human hands.
When comparing the cost of RCM companies, consider whether they have invested in modern technology and automations. If they have, and it appears that’s why they’re charging more, remember that this technology will help your dental business succeed even faster with more ease.
Automated RCM services can remove a huge task load off of your administrative team — tasks that are typically tedious and time-consuming — and free them to provide a better patient experience.
DCS is a revenue management company that offers these AI-assisted and digital solutions ahead of the dental industry’s curve, takes advantage of cutting-edge resources, and uses those resources to get you more consistent cash flow.
Read more: 3 workflow automations for your dental office: Take control of your revenue cycle
You don’t want to choose a company that’s not up-to-date with technological and industry changes. You want a modern industry leader to transform your revenue cycle into a model of effective operations. Furthermore, you want a team of forward thinkers handling how you collect from both patients and insurance claims, not someone tied to obsolete processes.
3. Number of services and features offered
The more services the RCM company offers in a package, the higher the price might be — especially if you want end-to-end RCM services that support you from patient scheduling to patient collections.
So you have two things to think about:
- What services do you need?
- What services are offered by each of the RCM companies you’re considering?
You might not need an RCM company’s entire suite of services; you might only need one or two. Fewer services will obviously lower your cost, but compare the features offered with each service. They will vary among companies, and you’ll want the most bang for your buck.
It’s also important to consider how — and how well — these services and their features will integrate with your current practice management software (PMS). A few questions to ask yourself:
- Will my team have to completely overhaul how they complete RCM related tasks?
- Does the RCM company have an onboarding process that includes training and integration tips?
- Does the RCM company offer multiple services that work well together?
Typically, RCM companies will list their services and features on their website, like here at DCS, you’ll find that our services are compatible with most PMS, from Carestream Dental to WinOMS.
4. Tenure and reliability of the company
Another factor to consider when comparing the cost of RCM companies is the tenure and reputation of the company.
How long has the company been in business? Newer companies are often going through a lot of changes that could impact the quality of the results they deliver, while a bigger, older company could have lost its human touch and rely on outdated technology.
These are both things to take note of when researching RCM companies online, and also during any sales conversations. For example, DCS was founded in 2012, and continuously improves its processes and methods. 
You can also ask the RCM provider how long customer tend to stay with them:
- Do they have several long-standing customer relationships?
- What do those customers say about why they’ve stayed?
Enduring customer relationships is a positive sign that could outweigh a higher cost you might have been hesitant about.
Read more: A Decade with DCS: Dental case studies from our Big 10 Client Club
You should also consider the reputation of the RCM company. Most people these days make decisions based on Google reviews — we recommend reading as many as you can! This will tell you a lot about your peers’ experience with each provider.
If there are dozens of reviews and the majority are positive, then you are likely looking at a reputable, reliable company.
Balance your priorities along with your budget: Choose the best RCM provider for your dental business
To recap, here are 4 things to consider when comparing the cost of RCM providers:
- Quality of the dental RCM company’s staff
- Use of modern technology and automation
- Number of services and features offered
- Tenure and reliability of the company
It’s important to balance your budget with what your dental business needs — and it’s worth spending a bit more money for an RCM company who will help you collect a lot more money.
RCM services are an investment with a clearly measurable return. That doesn’t mean you need to choose the most expensive RCM service company option, but you do need to bring on a high quality, reputable company that will deliver efficient processes, maximum revenue, and consistent cash flow.
Remember that DCS offers end-to-end revenue cycle management services with discounted service bundles, and we’ve been serving dental businesses of all types and sizes since 2012.
Our RCM experts will transform your workflows while increasing your bottom line: Book a free 30-minute consultation with an RCM expert today.
Related Posts
Dental billing resources