Cliff's Notes

Wake Up! Its Tomorrow & You’re Out of Time!

Cliff’s Notes for October 31, 2010

 

….. E-Blast…..

 

Cliff Marsh, Henry Schein ……Cell: 201-321-7494……Fax: 201-262-2210…..E-mail: cliff.marsh@henryschein.com

http://www.cliffsnotesblog.wordpress.com

 

 

“Procrastination is the thief of time.”

Joseph Heller

 

 

 

In This Issue

· Wake Up, Its Tomorrow & You’re Out of Time!

This may be the most important concept to think about before the NY Show. Where is dentistry going? And will you be there!

·What Are You Waiting For? It’s Like Getting Free Money!

·It’s Time to Up-Grade Software! The NHII is coming!

·Product Review – The Sidekick by Hu-Friedy!

 

 

 

Wake Up, Its Tomorrow & You’re Out of Time…………………………………………

Wow! Wake up its tomorrow! I’ve been doing this a long time and every now and then I get smacked upside the head because something was out in front of me and I didn’t see it. If you were born after 1964, this will directly affect your future and if you were born before 1964, this will affect the equity you have in your practice.

 

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the Grass Roots Dental Study Club in Denville, NJ. It was probably the best club meeting I have attended. The debate and the interaction was priceless and in the end, there were no arguments, just lively discussion. The speaker was Kerry Straine, a nationally renowned behavioral analyst & dental management guru. He promotes hygiene and preventive dentistry like most practice management consultants, but on this special evening, I learned from Kerry exactly why and it was something I never heard anyone talk about before. I always said that hygiene drives a practice. It’s through routine exams that you find necessary restorative work. I still believe that, however, there is the long range, evolutionary effect on the restorative side of the equation.

 

As I look back over the years, the writing has been on the wall but I guess like most people I didn’t read it through. 15 years ago, Johnson & Johnson had the hottest line of restorative and preventive products. Adaptic Composite, Dispersalloy Amalgam, Nupro Prophy Paste, Delton Pit & Fissure Sealant were among the innovative developments created by J&J that helped revolutionize the dental industry. At a peak point in sales, J&J made a bold move, they sold off their office based dental product line and retained only the toothbrushes and floss. Why?

 

J&J studied the market by reviewing the percentage of claims being submitted to insurance companies over a 5 year period. Their research found a steadily increasing number of hygiene claims. Although all claims were rising as more dentistry was being done, Hygiene was increasing at a noticeably faster pace. Restorative products were beginning to flood the market and J&J felt that the cost of maintaining market share for their product line was not worth the investment of time and resources. They realized that restorative dentistry was going to peak and what goes up must come down. Their focus needed to be on consumer based preventive product that could be marketed through professional offices. As I listened to Kerry speak, it became apparent that J&J had their act together 20 years ago. They drew a bulls eye on the future and were proactive in redirecting their efforts because dentistry is curing tooth decay. Preventive medicine will be King.

 

As Kerry pointed out, “think about it, the “Greatest Generation” was the men & women that fought World War II. Today, they are passing away at a rate of over 1,000/day. Who’s next? How about the Baby Boomers”. Restorative dentistry has a bright future with this generation. Implants are already adding to a vast arsenal of procedures designed to reconstruct the oral cavity as well as diagnose, treat and prevent . However, that gives you about a 20-30 year run that will probably level off in about 10 to 15 years. So what’s next? Generation X.

 

My 2 sons are part of Generation X. They have few if any dental issues. They visit our dentist every 6 months and brush/floss twice a day. They will most likely have their natural teeth for the rest of their lives. Of course, there are a lot of kids in urban and very rural areas that don’t have the same advantages, but oral health is catching up to the population. That’s why preventive dentistry is so very important to your practice and a good hygiene/perio program will keep future patients in the chair. For those of us born before 1964, the equity that is built up in the practice will be greatly enhanced by preventive programs.

 

So, how do you get there? It all starts with a comprehensive practice analysis. You have to know where you are today and establish a baseline to measure growth and financial performance. A great starting point is a DPAT report. DPAT stands for “Digital Practice Analysis Tool”. This is a 30+ page report that uses production data from your practice management software and relates it to the local fee schedules and ADA production averages. The DPAT requires information from national agencies so there is a licensing fee of about $100.00, but it can be the single most important document you have.

 

The DPAT is designed to accurately display, in black & white, what your practice is doing and not what you think it is doing. It provides information that raises questions. Once you know the questions, you can formulate solutions. The DPAT provides a lot of power for a financial advisor and should be requested every year to measure performance. For more information on the DPAT, please feel free to contact me at any time.

 

Most people can’t create their fortune by themselves. You need to speak to consultants and advisors. The more information you have, the better you can make informed decisions. Most people are pretty smart, but as Jimmie Hendrix once said “A smart man speaks but a wise man listens.

 

 

It’s Like Getting Free Money, with Viridian Power…………………………………….

Why are you still paying the power company? NJ & NY, along with 4 other states, have deregulated the sale of energy (electric). By switching your billing to go through an energy re-seller, you will save up to 30% on your electric bill. Gas has not yet been deregulated. There are several companies and the prices vary by a few cents, but Viridian Power is the only one I’ve seen that does not require any contract or commitment and no sign-up or cancelation fees. It’s clean and takes a few minutes on-line. When I switched, I got a letter of conformation from PSE&G. PSE&G is still sending me the bill, I still pay them, they are still responsible for all the same things they were, it just costs less. Also, by federal law, they need to inform you, on the bill, how much you saved by out-sourcing.

 

How do they do it? The Public Utilities, just like Viridian bid on power at auctions. Public Utilities bid on 12 month lots while Viridian bids monthly and can obtain power and reduced prices. Viridian can take advantage of dips in the energy market and the utilities can’t.

 

Viridian is also a Green Certified Energy Supplier.

 

http://viridian.com/cliffsnotes/default.aspx

 

 

It’s Time to Up-Grade Your Software! (Because you are out of time!)………………

January 1, 2015 is only 4 years away. Those of us that have had kids go through High School know how fast 4 years can go by. You need to evaluate your software and your network infrastructure to prepare for the NHII (National Health Information Infrastructure). Medical records will have to be in digital formats and accessible to the national data base.

 

For a limited time (ends 12/20/10) you can get Up-graded to Dentrix from any software for only $6995.00 + almost $5,000.00 in free extras.

Included in the “Trade-In Bundle”

·Dentrix G4

·Guru 4.0 Patient Education System (including the iPad version)

·Kiosk for Dentrix (1-year website manager subscription)

·Apple iPad (WiFi)

(Package Value $11,989.00)

 

http://www.dentrix.com

 

 

Product Review:

The Sidekick by Hu-Friedy……………………………………………………………….

The Sidekick is one of those little products that you don’t buy because it costs a few hundred dollars. However, your expensive hygiene instruments will be sharpened correctly and last twice as long. At $30+ per instrument, the Sidekick pays for its self it 90 days. Now, you can get a Sidekick with your choice of 5 Hu-Friedy EverEdge Scalers ($200.00 Value). Watch this presentation and let me know what you think.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaImHlPzs8E  

 

 

 

Happy Halloween………………………………………………………………………….

Today is Halloween. The real name is All Hollow’s Eve and it is a celebration on the night before All Saints Day. Have fun, be safe and enjoy the day..

 

Cliff Marsh

Henry Schein Dental

P.O. Box 663, 45 Rt. 46 East, Suite 605

Pine Brook, NJ 07058

tel. 201-321-7494

fax.201-262-2210

e-mail. cliff.marsh@henryschein.com 

 www.cliffsnotesblog.wordpress.com 

October 31, 2010 - Posted by Cliff's Notes Blog | Uncategorized