Imcisor Newsletter, by Alain Laroche
Business Intelligence for Dental Specialists
For the past decade or so, the global dental market has been going through a period of fundamental change and upheaval, spurred in part by rapid technology advances and in part by a jittery world economy. Dental specialists have been impacted the most by the sea change sweeping the industry. In the following article, we look at how a targeted business intelligence approach may help them to turn back the tide.
The dental landscape has undergone fundamental change since the beginning of the 2000s. One of the major driving forces has been the global deployment of new technologies – from guided surgery, to digital impressioning, in-lab laser manufacturing, and 3D printing – which has revolutionized the traditional dental workflow and caused a paradigm shift in the relationships between general dentists, specialists and laboratories.
A second major force for change was the sudden economic downturn that occurred at the end of the first decade of the new century. As the economy contracted, an increasing number of people found themselves out of a job and without the comprehensive list of benefits, including dental, that came with it. Many had to make some tough choices based on their changed financial situation, including postponing non-urgent dental treatments. Meanwhile, universities continued to graduate general dentists and specialists at the same rate as before.
Challenging the status quo
In light of this new economic reality, general dentists (GPs) started to think about how to reshape their business, including doing more in-house. They took specialized courses to learn procedures that they used to send to specialists and combined these new clinical skills with the purchase of new and easy-to-use equipment. Many also expanded their practices to include a “travelling specialist”. These are typically dental specialists who have many years of education and debt to pay back, but not enough equity to start a practice of their own. Instead, these specialists make a very good living working out of established GPs’ offices, often travelling from one practice to another during the course of a week.
The impact on traditional specialists is beginning to be felt. Many have seen a decline in business over the past few years – some to an alarming extent. Even though a lot of practices are still very busy, the vast majority of specialists are concerned about the future. Surprisingly, only a few of them are actually changing the way they do business. More often than not, this is because they are still able to turn out a profit under the traditional model and will tend to focus on what they know best, i.e., the clinical part of their practice, rather than on the business of running it.
Understanding the dynamics
We all know that a specialist would not tackle a complex procedure without the development of a comprehensive treatment plan, elaborated after x-rays, analyses and discussions with other dental colleagues, general dentists, lab technicians and other specialists. Yet, the other part of the practice, the business part, lacks this level of comprehensive analysis and planning.
Where to start? For one, specialists need to understand the dynamics of their dealings with their general dentists. Very few of them spend the necessary time on data analysis. Large and medium-size companies have been mining data for years now to gain a competitive edge, and smaller companies are starting to see the value of data analytics now too. Data analytics allows you to spot trends, understand what works and what doesn’t. It shows you where you should be spending your time and where you should direct your efforts. The danger is that without the right framework for understanding and using the information you’ve gathered, you just end up with a mass of reports piling up on your desk.
Targeted approach
The answer lies in a proper and targeted Business Intelligence approach. This involves capturing and analyzing data to extract the key information, putting together actions to take advantage of positive trends, and then properly measuring those actions to understand their overall impact. “Today more than ever, professionals are being asked to argue their cases and make their decisions based on data,” Phil Simon, author of the book “The Visual Organization”, said in a Forbes article (March 10, 2014). Another article from the New York Times published on August 17, 2014 stated: “Data is merely the raw material of knowledge (…) The big problem is going to be the ability of humans to use, analyze and make sense of the data”.
Our own internal research also confirms that specialists do not want to have a bunch of reports on their desk; they need a business partner who will guide and help them with the process. Very few practices have the luxury of a full-time business manager in-house, in which case they can look to external resources, such as Imcisor, to provide the cost-effective business support they need.
In the “good old days”, a dental specialist was able to develop a solid practice by being a good clinician. But the game has changed. Traditional specialists will have to learn to ride these waves of change and morph into business people, something that is not natural to many and something that is still not taught in dental schools. Business intelligence is not a magic formula. It is a way of working. It is a step toward embracing changes and looking at ways to stay ahead of the pack. At Imcisor, business intelligence combines data analytics and business guidance in a service that helps dental specialists to have a better understanding of their customers and dynamics, monitor results and make decisions that are based on facts and which will help them grow their business and improve their efficiencies
Alain Laroche is CEO and co-founder of Imcisor. He has many years of management experience in the health care and dental industries in North America and Europe.