Insurance is an important part of your office’s revenue cycle, but it does not need to overwhelm your daily routine. Effective insurance coordinators have set up systems and are constantly flexible with their learning. Manage your information and your claims to minimize delays and rejections. Teresa will show you how this could be you! This course is perfect for all team members who want to work together to get your claims paid! Experienced coders will benefit from the documentation and conversations section.

Attendees can expect:

• Guidelines to build an effective insurance system
• Tips to obtain reimbursement for your practice and your patients, including management of documentation/attachments
• Best practices for generating and reviewing reports
• Discussion of insurance trends including AI, plan designs and Medicare Advantage

Alternate titles: “The Acci-Dental Insurance Coordinator” or “Coding and Insurance Skills Workshop”

Format:  6 hours for a full day but a shorter 2 or 3-hour version is available

Advances in AI are impacting insurance claims, accounts receivable (AR) and more importantly, your patient relationships. Documentation not only helps with revenue but protects the office. We will explore ways to strengthen your clinical and carrier documentation so that your “clean claims” process quickly. Supporting information requirements will be discussed in detail with ways to incorporate current and upcoming AI processes.

Learning Objectives:

• Navigate evolving documentation requirements to stay ahead of industry changes
• Utilize AI-enhanced imaging to strengthen clinical notes and boost case acceptance
• Understand the AI claims process from the carrier-side

Format: 2 hours lecture or perfect for a webinar

Do you ever wish someone would have just told you about that strange rule? Or that employee management would be so complicated? Unexpected situations can test even the most experienced manager! Often, we manage by our very strong intuition but still make mistakes. Let’s discuss how to protect ourselves by staying ahead of the game. We will use lessons and examples from each other to make us all stronger business leaders!

Learning Objectives:

• Prepare for unexpected employee management issues
• Plan for both surprise and expected transition events
• Feel that you're not alone in the world of management!

Format:  2- or 3-hour session

Today’s practice leader doesn’t just manage collections. Cash flow, payment organization and forecasting are all key components of revenue cycle management (RCM). This class will explain why we need to think past sending statements and making collections calls so that we can stay cash flush and prepared for any challenges.

We’ll also discuss how to explain the importance of RCM to your team members so they can support you in your efforts.

Learning Objectives:

• Establish best practices for your collections process 
• Communicate the importance of RCM to the entire team
• Identify issues in RCM reports for quick resolutions

Format:  2- or 3-hour session

Receptionists, managers and assistants know that patients usually wait until the doctor leaves the room to ask the hardest questions! This course will help you to become more comfortable with discussing your patient’s treatment options. The ideal case presentation should relax the patient and not be a source of stress for you! A discussion on financial arrangements will help you to handle the money issues with a smile.

Learn:

• How to effectively communicate with your patients about their treatment needs
• Verbal skills to help you overcome the most common patient objections
• Why solid financial arrangements are essential to case acceptance

Format:  2 hour session or perfect for a webinar

This course is designed for doctors or managers with less than five years of management experience or for those desiring a refresher course on the basics of dental office management. Experienced dentists know clinical excellence alone does not spell success – managerial talent and leadership is needed as well.

Discussions will focus on situations that most managers encounter in their new roles. From hiring and firing to managing your practice’s revenue cycle – we’ll review basic systems that you will need to have in place.

Topics will include:

• Structuring an effective team
• Managing your practice for financial success
• Tips on insurance management
• Leadership and attitude as a manager

Format: 2- or 3-hour session

(alternate titles: What’s Your Practice’s Participation Position? or How to Make Smart Participation Decisions)

It is possible to be profitable in today’s insurance environment with efficiency and proper positioning. This interactive workshop will help you to decide your insurance participation and profitability comfort level. If you’ve ever wondered how to manage all these plans and networks then this is your course!

Learning Objectives:

• Discover your office’s true insurance position
• Assess and evaluate your practice metrics
• Understand the current insurance environment and plan for near-future changes
• Learn how you can best prepare for a surprise audit

For the workshop please bring these reports generated for a 12-month period:

• Procedure Code Report (which procedures were billed for and how often)
• Adjustment Report (detailed)
• New Patient Referral Sources
• Production/Collection (aged 30, 60, 90 days)

Co-presented with Kevin Henry, Editor-in-Chief of Dr. Bicuspid. 

We are happy to give this course if both of us are booked. 

Our industry is in a state of flux that rivals any other time in dental history. With changes in the insurance industry; group practices growing at astonishing rates; and patients becoming more and more knowledgeable and thrifty with their dollars; it can be a tough time to be a dentist or dental team member. However, it is possible to overcome obstacles and make this year the best your practice has ever seen.

In this fast-moving presentation, two industry experts will bring you their insights and help you understand what’s really happening in dentistry and what trends you should pay attention to … and which ones can be ignored. Using real data from the best sources available and exclusive survey results, Teresa Duncan and Kevin Henry will present information that simply can’t be found anywhere else.

 In this course, attendees will learn:

• Why shifting demographics of today’s dental patient and the next generation of dentists will affect your practice
• How ICD-10, Medicare Advantage and other regulatory issues will impact your business
• How group and multi-location practices are growing and changing dentistry’s landscape
• The impact of employment trends on our teams

Format: 2- or 3-hour session

Practice Leader Strategy Session

Let’s plan for our best year ever! This session will review key benchmarks and how you can meet AND exceed them. We’ll talk about your revenue cycle, marketing, patient flow and inventory management. Let’s check in on the regulatory areas of HIPAA, OSHA and state board issues. Don’t forget the fun topic of human resources! Come ready to roll up your sleeves and set some goals!

The Wild World of Dental Insurance

Are you stressed out with PPOs, leased networks, and patient objections? You are not alone. Managers and insurance coordinators face an increasingly complex insurance landscape. This discussion will help you prepare by explaining the why and how of these industry shifts. Offices that are aware of these changes before they are put into effect will weather the storm just fine. Will you be one of them?

We will also review ways to improve your insurance systems. How should you handle eligibility and benefit issues? What about denials and disallows? Let’s talk about ways to manage this very important part of your revenue cycle!

Format: 90-minute session