Dentistry is one of the most critical specializations of the healthcare sector. Oral health is indispensable, and regular maintenance is a must for everyone. Multiple procedures to treat different ailments of the teeth are also a part of dental care. And some of these procedures could be expensive to undergo. While many patients are very particular about their oral health, many others back out the moment they get to know about the costs. Now, a patient opting out of treatment is not good news for your practice. And this is why patient financing is important to improve your revenue.

What is patient financing

A lot of dental clinics focus on multiple things to attract more patients and ensure new referrals. They spend thousands of dollars to buy more advanced equipment, including high-end technology and consulting rooms, train staff to deal with patients better, etc. While all of these are extremely important, most of these clinics ignore another key aspect that can make a major difference — patient financing. 

For a very long time, payments for any treatment were mostly made through cash or insurance. However, times are changing, and considering the volatile economic situations, not many patients prefer to pay through cash at one go. And paying for an expensive treatment through cash may not be feasible for everyone. Now, the more the number of patients backtracking due to the high cost of treatment, the worse it is for your practice. Patient financing is just the thing you need here. 

Types of patient financing

You can include treatment packages and plans to lessen your patient’s out-of-pocket expenses. Packages customized for specific cases and installment payment options without any clauses make it even better for patients. Another popular choice is including third-party lenders. They pay you on behalf of the patients, who, in turn, repay the loan along with interest. In this case, the patient doesn’t have to pay immediately for the treatment, and hence they don’t turn away, while you don’t have to do the following up. Now, isn’t this double good news for your practice! Insurance and credit card payment options are preferable options too.

Help patients understand financing 

Just offering patient financing is not enough to attract or retain patients. You also need to help them understand the options better. A lot of patients are not aware of their insurance coverage or don’t get the idea of installment. Having a well-trained customer service team or training your existing support staff to answer patient queries and handhold them through the financing process are add-ons for the betterment of your practice.

Optimizing patient financing options can make a huge difference in the revenue of your practice. It will deter patients from not undergoing important but expensive treatments and eventually benefit your practice.