1 00:00:00,490 --> 00:00:01,070 Hi everyone, 2 00:00:01,070 --> 00:00:04,190 and thank you for tuning into the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. 3 00:00:04,410 --> 00:00:08,110 I'm Brian Zimmerman, a v p client Content Strategy with Becker's Healthcare. 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,310 Today I'm pleased to be joined by Lance Haffey, 5 00:00:11,490 --> 00:00:16,070 senior director of Industry Marketing Healthcare Principle at RingCentral Lance. 6 00:00:16,130 --> 00:00:17,350 So thank you so much for being here. 7 00:00:18,050 --> 00:00:19,710 Hey, thanks, Brian. Great to join you. 8 00:00:21,180 --> 00:00:23,880 So, so let's dive in here and just to get started, I'm, I, I, 9 00:00:23,940 --> 00:00:28,200 I'm hoping you can share a bit about yourself, your role in organization. So, 10 00:00:28,220 --> 00:00:30,720 so folks listening to this can really appreciate your perspective. 11 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:36,810 I've led healthcare industry practices at four major communications 12 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:38,050 focused vendors, 13 00:00:38,470 --> 00:00:43,170 and where I focus on how communications and collaboration solutions can really 14 00:00:43,170 --> 00:00:47,690 have an impact and improve overall health service delivery and the overall 15 00:00:47,690 --> 00:00:48,770 patient experience. 16 00:00:49,350 --> 00:00:53,690 And currently as the leader within RingCentral's healthcare practice, uh, 17 00:00:53,690 --> 00:00:57,010 as you mentioned, I direct all industry marketing and go to market strategy, 18 00:00:57,390 --> 00:01:01,850 but I also partner with our vertical industry solutions product team to always 19 00:01:01,910 --> 00:01:06,250 be delivering new healthcare product innovations to the healthcare market. 20 00:01:06,510 --> 00:01:08,410 And I also work very closely, um, 21 00:01:08,590 --> 00:01:12,050 on sales enablement with our extended teams there as well. 22 00:01:13,750 --> 00:01:17,870 Excellent. Well, great to have you on the podcast. I really wanna focus here on, 23 00:01:17,870 --> 00:01:19,910 on some of the challenges DSOs are seeing here, 24 00:01:20,190 --> 00:01:24,070 specifically around reimbursements, rate rates, sort of being stagnant, 25 00:01:24,070 --> 00:01:28,950 obviously, um, despite rising operating costs in dentistry. So Lance, 26 00:01:28,950 --> 00:01:33,390 in your work with DSOs, how are you really seeing this, this trend manifest and, 27 00:01:33,410 --> 00:01:36,230 and how are leaders navigating these challenges? 28 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:42,380 So I think that static revenue and rising operational 29 00:01:42,490 --> 00:01:46,660 cost impacts all healthcare providers, including DSOs. It's, 30 00:01:46,810 --> 00:01:51,180 it's certainly a priority for our D ss O clients and where I'm seeing those 31 00:01:51,180 --> 00:01:52,820 leaders navigate, you know, 32 00:01:52,820 --> 00:01:57,780 this kind of persistent challenges focusing on where they can better optimize 33 00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:02,500 revenue cycles and specifically how can they improve some very 34 00:02:02,980 --> 00:02:05,140 directed KPIs like referral churn, 35 00:02:05,910 --> 00:02:10,100 where can they speed AR collections or where can they help 36 00:02:10,450 --> 00:02:14,980 improve new patient appointment conversions? And I believe by, 37 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,100 you know, improving and focusing on just these three, 38 00:02:18,150 --> 00:02:20,260 along with many other KPIs, uh, 39 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,260 the DSOs can expand their current revenue performance 40 00:02:25,250 --> 00:02:28,950 by just simply having a better, uh, healthier revenue chain. 41 00:02:29,130 --> 00:02:31,190 And then I think that really helps combat the, 42 00:02:31,690 --> 00:02:35,990 the stagnant reimbursement levels and also the increasing operational cost. 43 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,500 And then can you talk a little bit more about sort of the role of, of, 44 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,780 of technology in, in navigating these challenges and, 45 00:02:44,780 --> 00:02:47,860 and really addressing these sort of lagging reimbursements? And, 46 00:02:47,860 --> 00:02:51,980 and I'm curious here too, if you can ground, uh, your, your response with some, 47 00:02:51,980 --> 00:02:54,460 with some examples, getting a little specific here. 48 00:02:54,970 --> 00:02:57,140 Yeah, absolutely. So, uh, 49 00:02:57,190 --> 00:03:00,800 let's stay within the revenue cycle workflows that I just highlighted, 50 00:03:01,100 --> 00:03:05,640 and even more specifically, let's just use a K P I of referral churn as, 51 00:03:05,820 --> 00:03:09,720 as an example to discuss. So all of healthcare, 52 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:10,840 including DSOs, 53 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:15,360 a majority of referrals are faxed and based, uh, 54 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,240 probably about 56% if you just look at industry averages, unfortunately, 55 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,360 about 46% of those faxed referrals, 56 00:03:22,390 --> 00:03:24,920 they fail to convert to appointments. 57 00:03:24,940 --> 00:03:27,040 So that's a huge missed revenue opportunity, 58 00:03:27,540 --> 00:03:32,080 and that would certainly help offset static reimbursements by 59 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,600 leveraging some, some pretty basic communication technologies. 60 00:03:35,780 --> 00:03:40,000 Our G S O clients have definitely improved referral conversions. 61 00:03:40,140 --> 00:03:41,960 So I'll give you an example. 62 00:03:42,180 --> 00:03:46,280 So to create aircover for incoming fax referrals, 63 00:03:46,810 --> 00:03:50,440 first they assign a dedicated phone extension for just referrals, 64 00:03:51,060 --> 00:03:55,040 and then all incoming fax referrals, whether digital or not, 65 00:03:55,660 --> 00:03:57,000 are managed, uh, 66 00:03:57,190 --> 00:04:02,120 digitally through EFAs and come in just through that primary extension. 67 00:04:02,700 --> 00:04:07,560 And then that also allows them to assign rules-based notifications of incoming 68 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,520 referrals across different teams. 69 00:04:09,580 --> 00:04:13,720 And this can be done via S m Ss on their mobile devices. 70 00:04:14,460 --> 00:04:19,000 It can be done as a voice notification of an incoming referral, uh, 71 00:04:19,060 --> 00:04:19,893 or call. 72 00:04:20,260 --> 00:04:24,280 And by just creating that air cover and that immediate notification of an 73 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:26,880 incoming referral facts, uh, 74 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,320 the teams are just ready and can take action against it. 75 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:34,000 And so that's gonna dramatically improve the response times to time sensitive 76 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:35,073 referrals. 77 00:04:35,180 --> 00:04:38,600 And it's definitely had a significant impact on increasing referral to 78 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:43,120 appointment, uh, conversion rates. So if we, uh, uh, you know, 79 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,200 if we have time, I'll, I'll also address, um, you know, 80 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,240 another metric here and that is appointment conversion. 81 00:04:49,580 --> 00:04:54,120 So this is where AI can really be quite convenient for 82 00:04:54,590 --> 00:04:56,680 DSOs as well, artificial intelligence. 83 00:04:56,860 --> 00:05:01,240 So another area is just simply missed calls and 84 00:05:01,390 --> 00:05:04,040 whether it's a referral or whether it's just a, uh, 85 00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:06,640 an existing or a new patient looking to schedule, again, 86 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,080 it's very time sensitive. So by using ai, 87 00:05:10,460 --> 00:05:15,400 our D s O clients can capture all of the missed calls that they didn't have an 88 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,240 opportunity to get to through ai. 89 00:05:18,330 --> 00:05:22,680 Those calls are automatically routed to an outbound queue 90 00:05:23,340 --> 00:05:24,800 for immediate callback, 91 00:05:25,100 --> 00:05:29,600 and when the prospective patient takes that call off hook, 92 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,640 it immediately connects a representative from the practice. 93 00:05:33,220 --> 00:05:37,720 So we've had clients that have actually recouped up to 20% of their missed calls 94 00:05:37,820 --> 00:05:39,960 and converted them to new patient appointments. 95 00:05:40,420 --> 00:05:44,120 So I think if you look at the technologies I've highlighted SS m s messaging, 96 00:05:44,740 --> 00:05:48,840 EAC using AI to do some intuitive call routing, 97 00:05:49,550 --> 00:05:51,240 it's not particularly complicated, 98 00:05:51,300 --> 00:05:56,160 but it has a real significant impact on just improving revenue capture. 99 00:05:56,790 --> 00:05:57,600 Yeah. 100 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:02,010 Yeah. And I, I think it's really easy to conceptualize, um, sort of the, 101 00:06:02,010 --> 00:06:05,770 the impact something like, you know, referral to appointment conversion rate, 102 00:06:05,830 --> 00:06:09,850 how, how that can really help improve that revenue capture there. But I, I, 103 00:06:09,950 --> 00:06:12,970 I'm wondering if we can also just go a little bit deeper here and talk more 104 00:06:12,970 --> 00:06:17,730 about really how the, how these technologies can improve R O I. Right. 105 00:06:18,030 --> 00:06:20,530 Uh, just I imagine leaders, you know, listening to this, 106 00:06:20,530 --> 00:06:23,530 leaders working in the dental practice space, um, 107 00:06:23,530 --> 00:06:27,890 with expenses outpacing revenue, really being able to, to, to, 108 00:06:27,950 --> 00:06:32,210 to show that R R O I to codify it, um, is, is very important for these folks. 109 00:06:32,270 --> 00:06:35,610 So are there any best practices you can come to mind when it comes to, 110 00:06:35,710 --> 00:06:38,930 to r o i showing r o I or, or anything you have to say about this? 111 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:40,730 Yeah, absolutely. So let, 112 00:06:40,740 --> 00:06:45,090 let's start with where I think a lot of practices focus probably too much. 113 00:06:45,230 --> 00:06:46,040 And they, 114 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,610 they tend to look at T C O or total cost of ownership when they make an 115 00:06:50,610 --> 00:06:54,970 investment in technology. And I think that's just a carryover practice. Uh, 116 00:06:54,970 --> 00:06:58,930 that's longstanding it, you know, if you buy a certain piece of technology, 117 00:06:59,070 --> 00:07:03,410 how many procedures do you need to run through it for, uh, 118 00:07:03,550 --> 00:07:07,250 it to be paid for, et cetera? And, and it's a, it's a solid metric, 119 00:07:07,310 --> 00:07:10,850 but T c o as a metric doesn't really 120 00:07:12,130 --> 00:07:16,050 represent a direct operational improvement, especially on the revenue side. 121 00:07:16,110 --> 00:07:20,490 And that's where focusing more on a return on investment measurement is, 122 00:07:20,630 --> 00:07:24,610 is much more focused and measurable, and the outcome means more. 123 00:07:25,150 --> 00:07:27,970 So let's stay in our example of referral churn, 124 00:07:28,910 --> 00:07:30,250 and let's just use some, 125 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,930 some industry averages and let's look at the K P I and then really how that can 126 00:07:34,950 --> 00:07:38,730 map to a return on investment. So roughly, 127 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:44,290 this is an industry average across a, a, a different complexion of providers, 128 00:07:44,290 --> 00:07:47,010 but typically 20% of a patient, uh, 129 00:07:47,570 --> 00:07:51,930 practice rev patient practice revenue is based on referrals. 130 00:07:52,470 --> 00:07:52,750 Uh, 131 00:07:52,750 --> 00:07:56,450 and then you basically just multiply that against your total patient revenue. 132 00:07:57,310 --> 00:07:59,370 And that's, that's the, you know, 133 00:07:59,370 --> 00:08:04,260 that's the area that's the key K P I that you're trying to improve. Um, 134 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:05,030 as I mentioned, 135 00:08:05,030 --> 00:08:09,780 56% of referrals are faxed and 45% of them fail to 136 00:08:09,780 --> 00:08:12,300 convert. So that's the lost revenue to be improved. 137 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,500 And I think another best practice is, is make the improvement attainable. 138 00:08:18,380 --> 00:08:22,740 R o i in healthcare is about making small incremental changes to a really big 139 00:08:22,740 --> 00:08:25,420 problem. And then just by sheer volume, 140 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,780 it actually nets out a pretty aggressive return on investment. 141 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,980 So let's say we just want to improve, uh, the, the conversion failure rate, 142 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,740 uh, by 10%. Um, so let's, 143 00:08:37,740 --> 00:08:42,220 let's improve off of 45% of those that aren't converting by 10%. 144 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:44,620 So that's the gain or the return. 145 00:08:45,330 --> 00:08:48,540 Then you're just simply doing an R O I calculation at that point. 146 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:50,460 So you're taking the return, 147 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,740 you're minusing the investment in some of the technologies that I've mentioned, 148 00:08:55,220 --> 00:08:56,880 you divide it back by the investment, 149 00:08:56,990 --> 00:08:59,560 then you multiply it by a hundred and you're gonna see, you know, 150 00:08:59,560 --> 00:09:02,680 generally a double if not triple digit return on investment. 151 00:09:03,260 --> 00:09:06,160 And I think that's really where practices should focus. 152 00:09:06,230 --> 00:09:08,400 They have all the data there. Um, 153 00:09:08,470 --> 00:09:12,720 it's not complex to look at where are we now, where can we be? 154 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:14,560 And then they just simply need to measure it. 155 00:09:15,020 --> 00:09:18,280 You're not only showing the value of that technology investment, 156 00:09:18,460 --> 00:09:22,880 but you're showing material revenue improvement as a result of 157 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,480 leveraging it to improve overall, uh, 158 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,200 operational performance and some key KPIs. So that, 159 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,800 that's what I'd recommend is focus more on, on, uh, 160 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:33,800 R O I versus T C O. 161 00:09:35,410 --> 00:09:39,510 Uh, yeah. And as you mentioned, this isn't necessarily super complex, but a, a, 162 00:09:39,630 --> 00:09:42,870 a small tweak, a a small improvement or, um, uh, 163 00:09:42,870 --> 00:09:47,030 operationally can yield big results down the road. Um, uh, but, 164 00:09:47,030 --> 00:09:48,230 but I'm also curious, you know, we, we, 165 00:09:48,230 --> 00:09:51,550 we've talked about sort of how these improvements, 166 00:09:51,620 --> 00:09:55,190 operational improvements can sort of, um, yield benefits for, 167 00:09:55,210 --> 00:09:57,350 for these organizations. But, uh, you know, 168 00:09:57,470 --> 00:10:00,710 I imagine a lot of folks out there exploring new potential revenue sources, 169 00:10:00,710 --> 00:10:03,790 revenue streams. What opportunities are, 170 00:10:03,850 --> 00:10:06,510 are you seeing d ss o leaders sort of leveraging or, or, 171 00:10:06,510 --> 00:10:08,670 or taking advantage of and or, 172 00:10:08,690 --> 00:10:12,670 or maybe even what do you see potential opportunities coming on the horizon? 173 00:10:14,810 --> 00:10:19,580 Yeah, I, I observe, I think most of our D s O clients exercising, 174 00:10:20,340 --> 00:10:24,140 I think what are pretty common approaches from something as simple as offering, 175 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:25,580 you know, fluoride treatments, 176 00:10:26,510 --> 00:10:30,940 maybe really pushing night guards to help those patients with inclusion 177 00:10:31,270 --> 00:10:35,180 management, um, needs, um, to, you know, 178 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,300 really stepping it up and, and offering, you know, 179 00:10:38,300 --> 00:10:42,300 higher value services, if you will, like veneers and, 180 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:47,300 and things of that nature. So I think most of the, our client practices are, 181 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:51,820 are leveraging those types of things. Now, I represent technology, 182 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,580 so one, one area that I would focus on away from pure, uh, 183 00:10:56,580 --> 00:10:59,220 dental service organic expansion, 184 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:04,780 and that's the area I'm always very interested to see where Teledentistry, uh, 185 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,980 can continue to support virtual consults. 186 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,340 And I see some of our clients be pretty creative with it, 187 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,700 so they use it to make connections and introductions between general 188 00:11:17,130 --> 00:11:21,980 dentistry practices and other specialists where a patient may be in the 189 00:11:21,980 --> 00:11:25,500 chair and they're going to have some fairly significant, uh, 190 00:11:25,890 --> 00:11:29,500 oral surgery where they're gonna be operated on, and they, 191 00:11:29,500 --> 00:11:33,500 they make a soft introduction via video to those specialists just so that 192 00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:36,940 specialist can kind of walk them through, you know, what, what it's, 193 00:11:37,010 --> 00:11:40,580 what the experience will be like, you know, both, uh, pre, during and, 194 00:11:40,580 --> 00:11:45,460 and post-treatment. I've also started to see some of our, uh, 195 00:11:45,940 --> 00:11:50,940 practices look at leveraging dentists to actually supervise satellite 196 00:11:50,940 --> 00:11:54,880 clinics where the clinics are just providing, you know, general cleaning and, 197 00:11:54,940 --> 00:11:59,840 and hygiene type of services that don't necessarily require an onsite 198 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:01,160 professional dentist, 199 00:12:01,260 --> 00:12:05,320 but they can certainly supervise and leverage teledentistry for that. 200 00:12:05,940 --> 00:12:08,480 And it's not huge reimbursement. I know there's some, 201 00:12:08,550 --> 00:12:11,840 some dental codes that pay anywhere from, you know, 202 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:15,680 maybe around 13 to up to maybe $20. But it's, 203 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:20,000 it's a volume type of scenario, just like all dental services are. 204 00:12:20,060 --> 00:12:23,120 But this is where I see, you know, we, you know, 205 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,600 when we compare to other provider environments, 206 00:12:26,420 --> 00:12:31,050 we're seeing remote ICUs outside of the, the core acute hospital. 207 00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:36,130 We're seeing hospital at home models where a much higher acute level of care is 208 00:12:36,130 --> 00:12:40,090 being delivered. So I think it's very possible to continue to see the, 209 00:12:40,110 --> 00:12:44,050 the use of video to enhance, you know, preventative check-in, 210 00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:49,210 maybe non-emergency type dental interventions via teledentistry, that, 211 00:12:49,210 --> 00:12:50,770 that excites me. And I, 212 00:12:50,970 --> 00:12:55,930 I think that'll continue to be part of a communication channel that is leveraged 213 00:12:56,230 --> 00:12:57,770 in the D ss O space. 214 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:02,570 Yeah. And, and thinking about that, it, it, it sounds like it's really a way to, 215 00:13:02,590 --> 00:13:05,130 to thinking about tho those dental specialists or, or, 216 00:13:05,130 --> 00:13:08,890 or dentists sort of working or helping to supervise some of these remote 217 00:13:09,250 --> 00:13:13,170 locations, really expanding the, the influence of, of dental talent of, of, 218 00:13:13,230 --> 00:13:16,690 of these dentists ability to meet the demand that's out there. Am I, 219 00:13:16,690 --> 00:13:17,970 am I reading that correctly, Lance? 220 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:20,690 Yeah, I think it's about creating, uh, uh, 221 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,730 it's about creating scale and it's about creating scale where you can be 222 00:13:25,090 --> 00:13:25,710 reimbursed for it. 223 00:13:25,710 --> 00:13:29,170 And I think that's where you can organically grow practice revenues, 224 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,210 even if it's just a, a minor service line. Uh, 225 00:13:33,270 --> 00:13:35,970 it can definitely make a difference and, and help again, 226 00:13:35,970 --> 00:13:40,610 address the legging reimbursements and increasing operational cost. So I, 227 00:13:40,690 --> 00:13:42,530 I think it's definitely, um, you know, 228 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,370 it's being used today and I think you'll continue to see that particular 229 00:13:46,370 --> 00:13:47,730 modality used even more. 230 00:13:49,010 --> 00:13:52,330 Excellent. Well, uh, it, it's been a pleasure having you on the podcast, Lance. 231 00:13:52,750 --> 00:13:55,730 Is is there anything else our, our listeners should know about, 232 00:13:55,730 --> 00:13:56,650 about this issue? 233 00:13:57,940 --> 00:14:01,840 So I was thinking that really when you think about lagging reimbursements, 234 00:14:02,220 --> 00:14:05,760 if you think about increasing operational costs, these, these are, 235 00:14:06,010 --> 00:14:10,240 these are variables that are really hard to control and manage. 236 00:14:10,300 --> 00:14:13,600 You really just have to work around them creatively. 237 00:14:14,380 --> 00:14:18,320 And then if you really look at what is at the heart of, of, uh, 238 00:14:18,410 --> 00:14:19,960 generating patient revenue, 239 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:25,960 I would just encourage everyone to always think the best solution to 240 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,920 lagging reimbursements is always to be focusing on the patient experience and 241 00:14:29,940 --> 00:14:32,640 how to streamline how they engage with your practice. 242 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,520 'cause the greatest and probably most controllable way to improve financial 243 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,200 performance is really just, 244 00:14:38,260 --> 00:14:42,480 is simple as maintaining high patient satisfaction levels, 245 00:14:42,970 --> 00:14:47,640 which is gonna lower patient churn and will also increase referrals. 246 00:14:47,780 --> 00:14:50,840 And so it's not necessarily a free approach, 247 00:14:51,060 --> 00:14:54,560 but I think it's probably one that most practices can manage to, 248 00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:56,880 and I think if you focus on that, uh, 249 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:01,760 I think that overall you'll have a healthier revenue cycle and a, 250 00:15:01,780 --> 00:15:03,360 and a growing, thriving practice. 251 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,890 Yeah. Lance, I, I really appreciate you coming on and, and really sharing some, 252 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,090 some actionable advice, some tactical steps folks can, can take out there to, 253 00:15:13,110 --> 00:15:15,370 to address the challenge of, of lagging reimbursement. 254 00:15:15,370 --> 00:15:17,450 Thank you so much for taking the time and coming on today. 255 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,130 Yeah, thank you very much, Brian. 256 00:15:19,130 --> 00:15:21,130 Appreciate the opportunity to visit with your audience. 257 00:15:21,870 --> 00:15:25,210 Of course. And I, I'd also like to thank our, our sponsor, RingCentral. 258 00:15:25,740 --> 00:15:27,650 Thank you so much everyone for tuning in. 259 00:15:27,870 --> 00:15:31,690 You can listen to more podcasts from Beck's Healthcare by visiting our podcast 260 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:32,250 page.