1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,980 Hey there, dental professionals and industry enthusiasts. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,000 Picture this. It's October, and you're in the 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:07,779 middle of one of the most transformative 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,880 experiences of your career. You're at the Becker's 5 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:13,359 fall future of dentistry roundtable in the vibrant 6 00:00:13,359 --> 00:00:16,094 city of Chicago, fresh off an incredible 3 7 00:00:16,094 --> 00:00:19,154 days at the Hyatt Regency. Imagine yourself inspired 8 00:00:19,295 --> 00:00:22,974 and invigorated after attending captivating keynote sessions by 9 00:00:22,974 --> 00:00:25,695 none other than the legendary boxing world champion 10 00:00:25,695 --> 00:00:29,535 and CEO, Lila Elite, and the extraordinary professional 11 00:00:29,535 --> 00:00:32,899 basketball player, Caitlin Clark. See yourself engaged in 12 00:00:32,899 --> 00:00:36,260 lively discussions, exchanging ideas, and collecting a stack 13 00:00:36,260 --> 00:00:39,060 of business cards from fellow dental experts and 14 00:00:39,060 --> 00:00:42,200 potential partners. You've networked with over 350 15 00:00:42,579 --> 00:00:45,140 attendees and learned from more than 80 speakers 16 00:00:45,140 --> 00:00:47,524 who are at the forefront of dental innovation. 17 00:00:48,385 --> 00:00:51,585 You sat in on educational sessions exploring topics 18 00:00:51,585 --> 00:00:53,984 that elevate dental care as a critical element 19 00:00:53,984 --> 00:00:57,024 of whole person health. You've witnessed firsthand how 20 00:00:57,024 --> 00:00:58,965 digital technology is revolutionizing 21 00:00:59,424 --> 00:01:00,530 patient outcomes 22 00:01:00,909 --> 00:01:04,209 and how both large DSOs and independent practices 23 00:01:04,349 --> 00:01:05,170 are flourishing. 24 00:01:05,469 --> 00:01:07,709 Get ready to transform your career and don't 25 00:01:07,709 --> 00:01:10,609 miss out on this incredible opportunity. The Becker's 26 00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:13,569 fall future of dentistry roundtable is from October 27 00:01:13,745 --> 00:01:16,004 30th to November 1, 2024. 28 00:01:16,465 --> 00:01:18,645 Get registered by going to beckersdental.com 29 00:01:20,145 --> 00:01:21,924 and clicking on the events page. 30 00:01:22,385 --> 00:01:25,105 Welcome everyone to the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. 31 00:01:25,105 --> 00:01:27,540 I'm Moriah Muhammad, writer and moderator with Becker's 32 00:01:27,540 --> 00:01:29,140 Healthcare. And I'm thrilled to have with me 33 00:01:29,140 --> 00:01:31,939 today, Chaim Habib, founder and CEO at Hudson 34 00:01:31,939 --> 00:01:34,659 Dental. Chaim, welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast. 35 00:01:34,659 --> 00:01:36,020 We're very excited to have you join us 36 00:01:36,020 --> 00:01:37,620 today. To get a start, would you mind 37 00:01:37,620 --> 00:01:39,460 please introducing yourself and telling us a bit 38 00:01:39,460 --> 00:01:40,359 about your background? 39 00:01:41,375 --> 00:01:43,215 Yeah. Thank you, Maria. Thank you for having 40 00:01:43,215 --> 00:01:45,935 me. So, my name is Chaim Haviv. As 41 00:01:45,935 --> 00:01:48,275 you said, CEO and founder of Hudson Dental. 42 00:01:48,494 --> 00:01:50,655 We are a DSO based in New York, 43 00:01:50,655 --> 00:01:52,494 operating in the Tri State, New York, New 44 00:01:52,494 --> 00:01:53,474 Jersey, and Connecticut. 45 00:01:54,990 --> 00:01:58,030 Before this, I was in financial roles. I 46 00:01:58,030 --> 00:02:00,189 was with JPMorgan. I was with Ernst and 47 00:02:00,189 --> 00:02:01,010 Young, and, 48 00:02:01,549 --> 00:02:03,870 I have an MBA from Yale University. So 49 00:02:03,870 --> 00:02:05,549 I'm more on the finance side of things, 50 00:02:05,549 --> 00:02:06,049 but 51 00:02:06,350 --> 00:02:07,790 I've been doing it for a few years 52 00:02:07,790 --> 00:02:10,534 now. Super exciting. Great industry. So happy to 53 00:02:10,534 --> 00:02:11,114 be here. 54 00:02:12,294 --> 00:02:14,294 Yes. Yes. Of course. So very excited to 55 00:02:14,294 --> 00:02:15,754 talk, with you today. 56 00:02:16,294 --> 00:02:18,534 And for the first very question that I 57 00:02:18,534 --> 00:02:19,894 have for you, what are some of the 58 00:02:19,894 --> 00:02:22,394 biggest issues you're following at Dental this year? 59 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:25,340 Sure. Wow. So many. 60 00:02:25,959 --> 00:02:28,840 So many. So I think, you know, without 61 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:29,340 any, 62 00:02:30,759 --> 00:02:32,919 specific order, first thing I would say is 63 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:34,219 reimbursement and pricing. 64 00:02:35,319 --> 00:02:36,860 We are seeing more insurances 65 00:02:37,735 --> 00:02:40,555 are finding ways to what they call optimize 66 00:02:41,335 --> 00:02:43,974 their payments. They use AI, they use other 67 00:02:43,974 --> 00:02:45,575 tools and a lot of times we are 68 00:02:45,575 --> 00:02:46,395 seeing rejection 69 00:02:46,694 --> 00:02:48,395 for insurance claims that, 70 00:02:49,335 --> 00:02:51,575 should be approved and they end up being 71 00:02:51,575 --> 00:02:52,075 approved. 72 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,280 But they're just making our lives harder a 73 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:56,739 little bit on the reimbursement. 74 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:58,180 Certain treatments 75 00:02:58,719 --> 00:03:01,219 are not being paid or not being covered 76 00:03:01,759 --> 00:03:04,080 is all being delayed, as I said. So 77 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,020 that's that's making dental offices, 78 00:03:07,724 --> 00:03:09,185 continuously look at, 79 00:03:09,724 --> 00:03:11,025 becoming fee for service 80 00:03:11,485 --> 00:03:12,865 or staying in network 81 00:03:13,245 --> 00:03:15,084 and that's something we're causing to think about. 82 00:03:15,084 --> 00:03:16,544 Second thing, market consolidation, 83 00:03:18,044 --> 00:03:20,844 say 2 things about this year. The interested 84 00:03:20,844 --> 00:03:22,830 environment, which has been high for the past 85 00:03:22,830 --> 00:03:24,129 year, year and a half, 86 00:03:24,830 --> 00:03:27,550 now could be easing. So definitely following that 87 00:03:27,550 --> 00:03:29,310 and see how the market is doing given 88 00:03:29,310 --> 00:03:32,030 that. On the patient side, we're not seeing 89 00:03:32,030 --> 00:03:34,189 a big impact. We're definitely seeing patients still 90 00:03:34,189 --> 00:03:36,210 coming in and getting their treatment. 91 00:03:36,855 --> 00:03:37,594 On consolidation 92 00:03:38,615 --> 00:03:40,235 and acquisitions, there is some 93 00:03:41,094 --> 00:03:41,594 definitely 94 00:03:42,455 --> 00:03:43,355 changes and 95 00:03:43,814 --> 00:03:46,135 some seller expectations that are not aligned with 96 00:03:46,135 --> 00:03:48,534 what buyers want, but we think that's going 97 00:03:48,534 --> 00:03:49,754 to change as the interest 98 00:03:50,455 --> 00:03:51,514 rates come down. 99 00:03:52,750 --> 00:03:54,769 And 13 is recruiting and retention, 100 00:03:55,229 --> 00:03:58,449 that's always true, finding talent, keeping talent. 101 00:03:59,069 --> 00:03:59,569 Cybersecurity, 102 00:04:00,590 --> 00:04:02,349 we just saw what happened with a car 103 00:04:02,349 --> 00:04:02,849 strike 104 00:04:03,469 --> 00:04:04,530 event in 105 00:04:04,830 --> 00:04:07,314 all over the world, what happened from a 106 00:04:07,314 --> 00:04:08,295 cyber issue, 107 00:04:08,754 --> 00:04:11,075 that's something we are tracking, making sure we 108 00:04:11,075 --> 00:04:11,735 are protected 109 00:04:12,275 --> 00:04:14,694 in our practice and protecting our patients' information. 110 00:04:15,555 --> 00:04:16,295 New technology, 111 00:04:17,314 --> 00:04:18,615 AI, robotics, 112 00:04:18,995 --> 00:04:20,134 something we're tracking, 113 00:04:20,970 --> 00:04:22,650 And the last 2 I'm going to mention 114 00:04:22,650 --> 00:04:25,449 is controlling the cost of dental business, doing 115 00:04:25,449 --> 00:04:27,230 business in them is becoming increasingly 116 00:04:28,170 --> 00:04:28,910 more expensive, 117 00:04:29,370 --> 00:04:31,770 and then the government regulations and how they 118 00:04:31,770 --> 00:04:32,750 affect our business. 119 00:04:34,045 --> 00:04:36,764 Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. I think reimbursement is definitely 120 00:04:36,764 --> 00:04:39,165 something that everyone is focusing on for the 121 00:04:39,165 --> 00:04:41,425 exact same reasons that you've mentioned, of course. 122 00:04:41,644 --> 00:04:44,125 Is there anything that's making you excited or 123 00:04:44,125 --> 00:04:46,204 anything that's making you nervous, whether it's something 124 00:04:46,204 --> 00:04:47,949 that, you know, is being done at Hudson 125 00:04:47,949 --> 00:04:50,110 Dental or just anything else that you're seeing 126 00:04:50,110 --> 00:04:50,769 in the news? 127 00:04:51,870 --> 00:04:54,129 Yeah. Definitely. So let's start from, 128 00:04:54,909 --> 00:04:56,930 the exciting stuff. So definitely, 129 00:04:57,789 --> 00:04:58,610 new technologies 130 00:04:58,990 --> 00:05:01,009 that are changing the face of the industry. 131 00:05:01,095 --> 00:05:03,035 If you look at AI for diagnosis, 132 00:05:04,535 --> 00:05:07,654 helping the doctors diagnose more and seeing exactly 133 00:05:07,654 --> 00:05:08,634 what's going on, 134 00:05:09,014 --> 00:05:11,175 both on the imaging front and when the 135 00:05:11,175 --> 00:05:13,595 patient is in the chair. 3 d printing, 136 00:05:13,819 --> 00:05:16,379 which we use in our locations and enables 137 00:05:16,379 --> 00:05:19,519 us to do more in less time, delivering 138 00:05:19,579 --> 00:05:22,479 better patient care same day, many times. 139 00:05:22,860 --> 00:05:25,259 And other technology innovations for then on down, 140 00:05:25,259 --> 00:05:27,120 there are many, I just mentioned one, 141 00:05:27,704 --> 00:05:29,084 you were seeing some 142 00:05:29,464 --> 00:05:31,404 innovations coming from Stanford University, 143 00:05:33,144 --> 00:05:35,944 with a robot's dental assistant. So instead of 144 00:05:35,944 --> 00:05:38,264 having a dental assistant or you can have 145 00:05:38,264 --> 00:05:39,404 1 and they supervise 146 00:05:39,949 --> 00:05:42,050 all the dental assistants. So very exciting. 147 00:05:42,430 --> 00:05:44,129 2nd thing that's exciting is consolidation 148 00:05:44,669 --> 00:05:45,169 and 149 00:05:45,709 --> 00:05:46,769 retiring dentists, 150 00:05:47,389 --> 00:05:48,050 or the baby 151 00:05:48,430 --> 00:05:50,050 baby boomer generation and retiring, 152 00:05:50,669 --> 00:05:53,069 opening space for new dentists to come in 153 00:05:53,069 --> 00:05:54,529 and either own their practices. 154 00:05:55,035 --> 00:05:56,475 Or if they don't want to, they can 155 00:05:56,475 --> 00:05:57,774 work with someone like, 156 00:05:58,314 --> 00:06:01,115 like a DSO like us or someone, similar 157 00:06:01,115 --> 00:06:01,774 to us and, 158 00:06:02,955 --> 00:06:03,455 participate 159 00:06:04,074 --> 00:06:07,139 in the ownership without taking the toll of 160 00:06:07,220 --> 00:06:09,860 actually buying the location themselves. So that's exciting 161 00:06:09,860 --> 00:06:11,480 and definitely something we're seeing. 162 00:06:11,860 --> 00:06:14,900 2 quick things that make me 3, makes 163 00:06:14,900 --> 00:06:16,040 me a little bit nervous. 164 00:06:16,340 --> 00:06:19,300 Obviously, talent that we talked about. Getting the 165 00:06:19,300 --> 00:06:21,460 right talent, maintaining the right talent, it's always 166 00:06:21,460 --> 00:06:22,120 a challenge, 167 00:06:22,425 --> 00:06:22,925 becoming 168 00:06:23,384 --> 00:06:24,365 even more challenging. 169 00:06:25,384 --> 00:06:28,584 Cyber, as we mentioned, becoming even more challenging 170 00:06:28,584 --> 00:06:30,584 every day. And the last thing that we 171 00:06:30,584 --> 00:06:31,644 said, insurance. 172 00:06:32,024 --> 00:06:35,004 AI optimizing cost of insurance forms 173 00:06:35,639 --> 00:06:35,879 and, 174 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,000 procedures that are not being covered. Those are 175 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:39,660 the main 176 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,120 few things that, you know, would make someone 177 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:42,779 like me, 178 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,199 being a little bit nervous, but we handle 179 00:06:46,199 --> 00:06:47,579 everything we need to handle. 180 00:06:48,904 --> 00:06:50,584 Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing that 181 00:06:50,584 --> 00:06:52,584 information. And, Chaim, the the last thing I 182 00:06:52,584 --> 00:06:54,504 really wanted to ask you before I let 183 00:06:54,504 --> 00:06:56,345 you go is, what would the most effective 184 00:06:56,345 --> 00:06:58,105 health care leaders need in order to be 185 00:06:58,105 --> 00:07:00,024 successful in the next 2 to 3 years, 186 00:07:00,024 --> 00:07:00,925 would you say? 187 00:07:01,789 --> 00:07:02,930 Great question. So 188 00:07:03,310 --> 00:07:05,310 as I mentioned, all of the things I've 189 00:07:05,310 --> 00:07:07,789 mentioned before, the talent, the cyber, the insurance 190 00:07:07,789 --> 00:07:08,289 reimbursement, 191 00:07:08,669 --> 00:07:08,990 and, 192 00:07:09,870 --> 00:07:10,849 government regulations, 193 00:07:11,789 --> 00:07:12,689 market consolidation, 194 00:07:13,470 --> 00:07:13,970 reimbursement, 195 00:07:15,069 --> 00:07:17,514 looking at your payers and understanding, do you 196 00:07:17,514 --> 00:07:18,714 want to be free for service? Do you 197 00:07:18,714 --> 00:07:20,414 want to be in insurance? Which insurances? 198 00:07:20,794 --> 00:07:22,474 All of that, just staying on top of 199 00:07:22,474 --> 00:07:23,694 everything I mentioned 200 00:07:24,474 --> 00:07:27,115 is something we do day in, day out 201 00:07:27,115 --> 00:07:29,435 and definitely you need to be on top 202 00:07:29,435 --> 00:07:30,414 of all of them. 203 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:31,620 It's not a 204 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,620 one man thing. It definitely requires a village, 205 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:37,680 but it's something you need to be very 206 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,680 mindful of. So that's the first thing. The 207 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,180 second thing I would add is to be 208 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:42,740 adaptable 209 00:07:43,404 --> 00:07:45,584 and nimble. The market is changing 210 00:07:45,884 --> 00:07:46,785 both on, 211 00:07:47,324 --> 00:07:48,225 as we mentioned, 212 00:07:48,925 --> 00:07:51,404 the talent front keeps changing all the time. 213 00:07:51,404 --> 00:07:52,144 We've had 214 00:07:52,524 --> 00:07:55,564 a very big shortage of hygienist 2, 3 215 00:07:55,564 --> 00:07:56,305 years ago 216 00:07:56,810 --> 00:07:59,150 with people retirement or hygienist retirement, 217 00:07:59,930 --> 00:08:02,189 where was that was bigger than usual. 218 00:08:02,650 --> 00:08:05,449 Now we're seeing classes of former dental assistants 219 00:08:05,449 --> 00:08:08,970 going into hygiene school. Graduating now, that's changing 220 00:08:08,970 --> 00:08:11,454 the dynamics on hygiene, just one example. So 221 00:08:11,454 --> 00:08:13,154 being adaptable, being nimble, 222 00:08:13,854 --> 00:08:14,675 data driven, 223 00:08:15,055 --> 00:08:17,055 be data driven, that's the 13 I would 224 00:08:17,055 --> 00:08:17,555 mention. 225 00:08:18,014 --> 00:08:19,774 And you need to be able to make 226 00:08:19,774 --> 00:08:22,894 decisions based on data, that's always important, but 227 00:08:22,894 --> 00:08:23,394 it's 228 00:08:23,759 --> 00:08:26,500 becoming more and more important as the case 229 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:27,699 of doing business 230 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,639 is becoming faster and faster with all the 231 00:08:30,639 --> 00:08:32,659 innovation. So always use data. 232 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:34,259 A hunch is good. 233 00:08:34,959 --> 00:08:36,419 Totally fine to start. 234 00:08:38,034 --> 00:08:39,794 Start looking at something because you have a 235 00:08:39,794 --> 00:08:41,095 hand, something is happening. 236 00:08:41,715 --> 00:08:43,235 But then use the data to make the 237 00:08:43,235 --> 00:08:45,154 decision. Never make the decision just on a 238 00:08:45,154 --> 00:08:46,914 hand or just on and I see it 239 00:08:46,914 --> 00:08:48,674 all the time. I have office managers come 240 00:08:48,674 --> 00:08:49,955 to me and say, we feel that this 241 00:08:49,955 --> 00:08:50,615 is happening. 242 00:08:50,990 --> 00:08:52,750 We feel this is not going well. And 243 00:08:52,750 --> 00:08:54,669 I say, well, that's great. Let's look at 244 00:08:54,669 --> 00:08:57,069 the data. And the 4th thing I would 245 00:08:57,069 --> 00:08:58,289 mention is 246 00:08:58,669 --> 00:09:00,129 to leverage new technologies. 247 00:09:00,990 --> 00:09:03,629 Again, very easy for us as human beings 248 00:09:03,629 --> 00:09:03,709 to 249 00:09:04,509 --> 00:09:05,855 I I don't know if there's this change, 250 00:09:05,855 --> 00:09:07,475 but definitely if we're comfortable 251 00:09:07,855 --> 00:09:09,394 and we know what we're doing, 252 00:09:09,934 --> 00:09:10,915 we don't want 253 00:09:11,294 --> 00:09:14,274 to invest the time in another AI technology 254 00:09:14,415 --> 00:09:15,235 or another 255 00:09:15,934 --> 00:09:18,415 service that's gonna maybe handset the phone better, 256 00:09:18,415 --> 00:09:19,955 maybe not. We're not sure. 257 00:09:20,490 --> 00:09:21,389 Maybe be 258 00:09:22,090 --> 00:09:25,049 more efficient, maybe not, or invest some require 259 00:09:25,049 --> 00:09:28,090 some time investment upfront, both monetarily and time 260 00:09:28,090 --> 00:09:30,570 wise. And oftentimes we say, you know what, 261 00:09:30,570 --> 00:09:32,190 I'm just good the way I am. 262 00:09:32,565 --> 00:09:34,085 I don't think that's the right way to 263 00:09:34,085 --> 00:09:35,705 go longer term to be successful. 264 00:09:36,245 --> 00:09:38,325 You have to be open to those new 265 00:09:38,325 --> 00:09:40,904 technologies and you have to invest the time 266 00:09:41,044 --> 00:09:41,544 upfront 267 00:09:41,845 --> 00:09:43,945 and oftentimes the money upfront 268 00:09:44,804 --> 00:09:46,804 to adopt them. Not everything would be a 269 00:09:46,804 --> 00:09:47,304 success, 270 00:09:47,829 --> 00:09:50,789 but 80% or 70%, which would be a 271 00:09:50,789 --> 00:09:53,110 success, is going to make up for much 272 00:09:53,110 --> 00:09:55,589 more than the time and money you invested 273 00:09:55,589 --> 00:09:57,829 in the other innovations or the other projects 274 00:09:57,829 --> 00:09:58,970 that are not successful. 275 00:10:00,154 --> 00:10:01,595 Got it. Got it. Thank you so much 276 00:10:01,595 --> 00:10:03,835 for sharing those, the final thoughts. I'm this 277 00:10:03,835 --> 00:10:06,075 has definitely been an informative discussion. So again, 278 00:10:06,075 --> 00:10:07,835 I want, wanna thank you so much for 279 00:10:07,835 --> 00:10:09,835 coming back on Becker's Healthcare, and I look 280 00:10:09,835 --> 00:10:11,695 forward to connecting with you again soon. 281 00:10:12,681 --> 00:10:14,201 Thank you very much for having me. I 282 00:10:14,201 --> 00:10:16,221 look forward, for next time.