While the majority of dental practices track new patient flow, few go one step further and ask themselves what every new patient is actually worth. And yet, it can be a crucial diagnostic tool for assessing the overall health of the practice.
As far as dental practice metrics go, Average Production Per New Patient, or APNP, is one of the most telling. Helping to connect case acceptance and clinical philosophy with the effectiveness of marketing and overall patient experience into a single number, it can tell practice owners a lot about their business.
With good foundational bookkeeping for dentists in Miami, and assistance from a dental accounting firm, practices can use APNP to learn more about the overall health of their business.
Let’s take a more detailed look at APNP:
APNP as a reflection of diagnosis and care
It’s entirely possible for two identical practices to bring in exactly the same number of new patients, but usually, the one that has a treatment philosophy that is more comprehensive and long-term, will experience higher APNP. That isn’t to say that the practice overtreats, but more that it’s thorough, and helps patients understand their needs in full.
Outcomes driven by case acceptance
Without case acceptance, even if the clinical diagnosis is strong, APNP will stall. For those patients who choose not to move forward with the recommended treatment, the following causes are usually at the root:
- The treatment wasn’t presented to the patient in the right way
- The financial arrangements weren’t made clear or presented transparently to the patient
- There wasn’t enough trust built up during the visit between dentist and patient
By improving these areas, practices can increase APNP without having had spent a dime on marketing.
Attracting the right patients
If your APNP is low, it could mean that your marketing efforts weren’t hitting the mark:
- You focused too much on prices
- You targeted patients in need of emergency or limited care
- Your advertised services didn’t match patient expectations
Those practices who perform well month-after-month, focus on attracting patients who place a value on dental care that is comprehensive, rather than visits that feel more transactional.
Knowing how much you can spend acquiring each new patient
APNP is a fantastically effective tool for making financial decisions like this, and can indicate:
- How much can be spent to acquire a new patient
- Which are the most effective marketing channels
- Whether your existing efforts are providing a solid ROI
Marketing should be looked at as an investment, not just something that you do because you know you have to.
Viewing the practice through the eyes of a patient
It isn’t always something clinical or financial that puts constraints on your APNP, oftentimes it’s something more experiential.
It can be very helpful to try and view your practice through the eyes of a patient, and do the following to get a real sense of what their experience might be like:
- Sit and wait in the reception area
- Listen to calls being made and received
- Watch how front desk communication is being handled
- Experience the handoff to the clinical team
Even the smallest of friction points in a patients experience when at a practice, can take a heavy toll on case acceptance. While working with experts in accounting and tax planning for dentist cannot fix this, it can certainly help you monitor APNP and use the data it provides you with for the greater good of the business.
More than just another metric, Average Production Per New Patient is an incredibly useful diagnostic tool that can help practices align their philosophy, marketing and patient experience to attract the right patients; not necessarily more of them.
