- This is the Becker's Healthcare Podcast, created
by the team of Becker's Healthcare,
a multimedia company devoted to the people
who power us healthcare.
Four new 15 minute episodes are released daily containing
industry news analysis and thought leadership.
From powerful healthcare decision makers Support our show
by leaving it a five star rating and review on Apple Podcast
or other platforms you use.
It's a chance to tell us what you like about the show
and act on your feedback.
Thanks for listening. Now here's the episode.
- This is Gracelyn Keller
with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast,
and we are live at the business
and operations of AASC in the future
of dentistry round table.
This morning, I'm sitting down with Richard Hewitt,
who is the CEO of Beachside Dental Consultants.
So Richard, thanks so much for joining me this morning.
And I would love to start our conversation off
with introducing yourself
and telling us a little bit about your background.
- Yeah, thank you Gracely. Uh, it's great to be here.
I guess the, the easiest way
to introduce myself is since we're in Chicago,
I actually literally graduated from dental school right down
the street here at Northwestern in the eighties.
And, uh, at that time, the, uh, interest rate,
the prime interest rate was 18.5%.
So I looked into alternatives to private practice,
which most of my colleagues were doing,
and I did a, uh, direct, uh, commission
to the Air Force for three years.
And when I got out of the, uh, the Air Force,
I went directly, did a scratch start in my hometown
in southern Maine.
And then, uh, about
after nine years of that kind of weather, I decided
that Florida was probably a better place
for me to practice in.
And, uh, my wife and I moved down to Florida
and I set up a practice there, bought an existing practice
and merged several practices,
and eventually, uh, sold my practice in 2008,
and that's when I started doing my
consulting work full-time.
- Very nice. Well, thanks so much
for joining me this morning.
Um, and I'd love to start with what the biggest issues are
that you're following in dental,
- There are several issues,
but I think, uh, the ones
that always keep popping up is the, uh, the, uh, one
of the biggest right now is the reimbursement issue
with dental insurances, uh, both from a patient point
of view and from the insurance company's point of view
and the provider point of view.
In other words, uh, you know, it's a, it's a delicate dance.
Uh, inflation has been eroding, uh, you know,
is increasing the overhead in a dental office
and it's eroding the, uh, profits that a dental,
dental office is
because they have to spend more money towards, uh,
administration and also supplies, et cetera.
Wages have gone up quite a bit
and it's also a, a tight dental workforce right now.
A lot of people competing for a tremendous small amount
of people competing for AS uh, a large amount of jobs.
- Absolutely. And what are you specifically most excited
about, and then what makes you nervous?
Um, as we look at what we're watching in this space,
- Okay, uh, what am I actually exciting about is actually
the merging of different kinds of technology.
I think that there's a tremendous amount
of kinds of technologies.
The key will be for somebody to come up
with an integrated solution for that
'cause it's just too much for any office, whether it's small
or large, to, uh, have all these types of technologies
and none of them talk to each other
so much like anything else in the business world.
Uh, if you can get, if a company come in
and merge that kind of technology into one seamless path,
then it's gonna be, it's gonna profit, uh,
that particular office
and any group that would use utilize that technology.
What keeps me up, I think is, uh, I think actually
the world events right now, you, you can't ignore it.
Uh, if we slip into a recession, traditionally, uh,
dental offices are on the trailing edge of the,
uh, a, a downturn.
In other words, as long as people have their jobs
and they have their dental benefits, they will continue
to go to the dentist.
Uh, but if you have a significant layoff, uh, then, then
dentistry gets caught up on the other end where it,
it's a little slower for them
to come back into dental offices.
So you do see a drop off after a sustained, uh, recession.
- 100%. Um,
and my final question for you today is,
what will the most effective healthcare leaders need
to be successful in the next two to three years?
- I think the vision has to be for dental leaders.
I think the vision is, is they have to be one step ahead
of problems that are coming.
Uh, the worst thing that could happen is we have the,
we have the benefit in dentistry to be able to see
what medicine is doing and to course adjust
before as they head through.
It's always been like that.
It's been like that since I was an ear, an early dentist
where you could see what your medical counterparts were
doing, what they were struggling with.
And dentistry had the advantage of saying, well,
that's coming our way too.
And you can actually course correct.
So if our leaders are smart, they'll see where the, where,
where the medical world is going
and say, well, this is coming to dentistry soon also.
- Wonderful. Well, Richard, thank you so much
for taking the time to join me this morning.
Again, we are live at the business and operations of ASC
and the Future of Dentistry Roundtable,
and this is the Becker's Healthcare Podcast.
- It's so important for leaders at the top of organizations
to keep learning, stay sharp, grow their networks
to help our audience better do this in a more simplified,
personalized, and meaningful way.
Becker's Healthcare has launched my BHC,
it's your trusted Becker's healthcare experience
and more with content, connections, events
and learning opportunities, join the community free
of charge@www.my dot becker's hospital review.com
and we'll see you there.