Dental Sleep Medicine Insider November DSM Insider | Page 12

LESIA CRAWFORD
IMPROVE CASE ACCEPTANCE
IN A WORLD OF $7,000 DEDUCTIBLES
r. Stacey Layman and I
D
have been working togeth-
er for over 13 years. First, I
was her office manager, 8
years ago we started GoGo
Billing, and just recently
we have opened a dental
sleep practice called Go To
Sleep in Phoenix, AZ. Every
day, I have the pleasure of
coaching GoGo Billing of-
fices regarding talk tracks
regarding fees, insurance
coverage, and case presen-
tation, until recently, it had
been a couple of years since
I actually presented oral ap-
pliance therapy to a real live
patient.
While Dr. Layman and I
awaited our patient’s arriv-
al, I did a quick Instant Eli-
gibility Check with our DS3
software. The patient had a
$7000 out-of-network de-
ductible with ZERO, ZILCH,
ZIP, NADA, NONE of it met and
an in-network deductible of
$2500 that HAD been met. I
knew the plan would not al-
low for in-network benefits
so I was prepared to discuss
finances and began prepar-
ing the financial agreement.
Dr. Layman heatedly in-
quired, “Why is this patient
even on my schedule? He
will have to pay! He should
just come in for a consult
when I am not here.”
This, my friends, is reason
#247 why my doctor does not
pick up the phone to make
appointments and certain-
ly should not be allowed to
discuss fees. We can delve
into the countless reasons
I am not allowed to assist
with impressions or work
the blood pressure cuff, but
I will save those stories for
the campfire and sum it up
with some simple advice: Do
what you do best and focus
on your strengths and core
competencies.
I digressed. Please forgive
me. Reigning the article back
in, let’s talk about 3 tips that
can help you when present-
ing treatment and financial
arrangements to the patient
I mentioned above:
Tip #1
When the phone rings with
a potential patient on the
line, the goals are to gather
the necessary information,
engage the patient in the
excitement of a solution for
their problem, and sched-
ule the appointment. Start
setting the expectation that
if they are lucky and a good
candidate, they will get to
have impressions that day.
Tip #2
Find out the patient’s ba-
sic benefit information, in
and out-of-network de-
ductibles and %’s of DME
coverage. With DS3 use the
Instant Eligibility Check
feature, send it to your bill-
ing company, or call the
insurance company if you