Richard Scarborough talks to Jonathan Allsopp about the impact using patient finance has had on his business…
Providing patient finance can enable more of your patients to go ahead with the treatment they want and/or need.
It could also make a big difference to the day-to-day running of your practice. Particularly if your provider has options such as an online treatment finance portal enabling applications to be completed on any device, in the practice or at home.
Below, Jonathan Allsopp, Principal Dentist and Specialist Orthodontist at Allsopp Smiles in Walsall, shares his experience of using patient finance and the difference it’s made to his practice:
Jonathan: ‘In the society we work and live in, people expect to have the option of paying monthly for a service or product. Whether you’re buying a fridge, big screen TV or a dental implant, consumers will be expecting a choice of payment options as standard.
It’s the modern approach, and, in my opinion, if you’re not offering patient finance you’re operating in the Dark Ages.
In a nutshell, providing finance has enabled more of our patients to say ‘yes’ to the treatment we provide.
We’ve found that it’s opened up doors for many patients who wouldn’t be able to proceed with treatment otherwise.
By using Medenta patient finance, we feel we can offer a more comprehensive, ideal treatment plan that gives them the flexibility to break the payment down into monthly instalments. This makes it more affordable for patients.
Through offering finance, we have some patients deciding to go ahead with treatment on the day, rather than going home to think about it or needing time to save up.
We’ve also seen a difference in terms of patients going ahead with different kinds of treatments, and choosing to have a more comprehensive treatment plan or more than one treatment.
The patients really love having this as an option, so it’s another extra service we’re providing that they value.
Rather than the patient paying each time they come into the practice for treatment, we receive the payment upfront from Medenta which we then use to reinvest in staff, equipment, etc.
So, from a business point of view, it has liberated the cash flow which has allowed us to grow and keep developing the practice.
It isn’t our responsibility to collect fees from the patient either – which I found very attractive. Once they have signed up to patient finance, that responsibility belongs to Medenta.
With no need to chase debts, it has helped to free up time in the team, making us more efficient as a whole. It has really changed the way we work as a practice.
Offering patient finance has facilitated the whole bigger picture of our practice developing, enlarging and improving. My drive is still constantly in that direction, and it offers the support I need to keep pushing forward.’
About Richard
Richard Scarborough is the Head of Medenta, a long-established provider of patient finance. Medenta has been supporting dental practices for over 15 years with finance solutions that help patients to say ‘yes’ to the treatment they want. Offering some of the lowest subsidy rates in the market, Medenta is one of the few providers that offers its practices a comprehensive support wrap-around service, which includes an online patient application portal and an e-learning suite containing a range of learning modules, many of which come with vCPD and have been tailored specifically to the dental industry.
If you’re interested in learning how Medenta can help you to improve your patient experience, give us a call on: 01691 684175, or visit: www.medenta.com
Medenta Finance Limited is a credit broker and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Medenta Finance Limited (Registered in Scotland No SC276679) Registered address: 50 Lothian Road, Festival Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9WJ. Tel: 01691 684175.