Some dental practitioners envisage a future that remains almost entirely within the NHS, regardless of contractual changes. Others have a vision for a professional life that is mostly, or even entirely, independent of the NHS but retains some of the security of both patient attendance and finances through the development of a base of membership plan patients.
The quickest way to develop such a base is at the point of ‘going private’, but despite dissatisfaction with the level of care some dentists feel they can provide NHS patients making that move can feel like a step too far. There are a variety of reasons why this could be the case, many of which are specific to the individual and their circumstances. However, a common theme is a fear of losing too many patients to remain financially viable. For many
dentists, this fear is misplaced and
a simple viability assessment, such as those offered by the main patient membership plan providers, can often help provide the reassurance that acts as a springboard to creating an action plan that at some point in the future leads to the achievement of the vision.
However, what happens if the viability assessment suggests ‘going private’ is not the right course of action? Or what happens if you remain unconvinced by the facts and figures? What if you, as the practice owner, are happy but your
partners and associates are less confident? In many situations, the lack of viability is a factor of time, in that it takes time to build up the level of patient loyalty needed to survive the test of going private. As this can vary from practitioner to practitioner within a practice it is not uncommon to find a practice staging its move away from the NHS with the most well-established dentists leading the way, followed, usually over a period of years rather
than months, by others.
There are many examples from all over the UK of how this approach has been successful with the key learning being the importance of ensuring the whole practice team, in particular those on the front desk, feel comfortable explaining why some dentists feel the need to go private and others seem happy to remain in the NHS.
One other point to bear in mind is the composition of the patient base of those practitioners who seek to go private further down the line. For those
who are first to take the step, the aim is usually to earn the same income but to spend more time per patient through seeing fewer patients. That can mean other dentists have their patient lists swollen by those who migrate from the pioneers within the practice. This is not a problem so long as you allow for this when carrying out the viability assessment as you can be misled in to thinking you have more loyal patients than is the case in reality.
So, what about the situation where there are no dentists in the practice who have the circumstances or the will to convert from the NHS? Developing a membership plan base in such circumstances is not impossible but can certainly be challenging. Due in part to contractual requirements but largely because they are professionals, most dental practitioners have a single standard of care they apply consistently to all patients rather than an ‘NHS’ or ‘private’ standard they can switch between at ease. It therefore becomes hard for a patient to differentiate between the benefits of being cared for under a private membership plan and remaining on the NHS.
Practices that have successfully developed a membership plan base in this scenario have tended to focus on offering preferential appointment times exclusively for private patients such as early morning, late evening or even weekends. In some cases, it can be possible to run an appointment book which offers different length appointment times for private patients compared to NHS patients. A few practices have gone to the lengths of creating separate waiting rooms for private and NHS patients although most lack the space to accommodate such an approach. Still, others have differentiated between NHS and private care on the basis of the range of treatment options available, particularly those considered cosmetic. However, the reality is that managing the operational challenges such approaches create and remaining within the terms of the NHS contract, means the introduction of a membership plan as an NHS dentist will only lead to limited success.
For dentists with an established private ‘pay-as-you-go’ list, developing a membership plan base hinges on the ability of the patient to discern the additional benefits of being a member of the practice compared to their current arrangements. Old habits die hard so compelling reasons communicated in a credible way by the whole team will be required to move a substantial number of private fee-peritem patients on to a plan. Sometimes
those compelling reasons are financial; sometimes they are about a belief that the regular attendance encouraged by membership means a plan is the best way of packing a preventive approach for the patient.
Developing a significant membership plan base should be highly advantageous for both patients and dentists and the approach adopted to achieve this goal will vary from situation to situation. However, the first step should be to approach a plan provider who has the experience and support services to help explore what is possible and most appropriate for your individual circumstances.