Solutions & Audit
A dental practice’s fee schedule may not get much attention between the demands of a full clinical schedule. Meanwhile, the procedure codes, production reports, and insurance schedules already in your practice management system contain information worth examining together. Reviewing them can help you see how your standard fees are organized and which procedures make up your production.
I help practices organize those reports for a more useful discussion about their fees and production. Rather than assume a particular fee change is appropriate, we start with what your own numbers show. Complimentary Practice & Fee Analysis is available to qualifying Patterson customers based on their existing or anticipated level of partnership. Eligibility is reviewed upon request.
Your master fee schedule shows standard office charges by procedure code. The production summary adds frequency, unit counts, and gross production over the past 12 months. Provider information helps put those numbers in context, and optional contracted insurance schedules offer another point of comparison.
Looking at the reports side by side can highlight frequently performed procedures and show where standard fees and contracted schedules differ. The same figures may raise different questions for a solo practice, a larger provider team, or an office preparing for an ownership transition. That’s why the reports are reviewed in the context of the practice using them.
To prepare for the review, gather the following information from your practice management system. The insurance schedules are optional; the other reports provide the core picture of current fees and production.
An itemized list of your active procedure codes and standard office fees, typically called your office fee schedule or Fee Schedule 1.
A report covering the past 12 months of procedure code frequency, unit counts, and gross production by CDT code. This helps show which services account for activity in your practice.
Copies of your primary contracted insurance fee schedules can provide additional context when comparing standard office fees with contracted reimbursement amounts.
A brief summary of active producing dentists and hygienists helps put the reports in the context of the people and clinical workflows behind them.
01
Start with the list of reports needed from your practice management system, including which items are optional.
02
Collect the requested information and upload it securely using the confidential form below.
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Discuss the information in a confidential walkthrough, focusing on the questions and next steps relevant to your practice.
If you’re unsure which report to pull, reach out before submitting the information. I’m happy to clarify what’s being requested so your team isn’t spending time gathering the wrong data.
You might be reviewing fees after several years without a detailed look, trying to understand which procedures account for more of your production, or preparing for a practice ownership change. A review gives you a way to consider those questions with the relevant reports in front of you, rather than relying on impressions from an especially busy month.
The review gives your team information to consider as you make decisions about your fee schedule. If questions about equipment or supply processes come up along the way, I can also connect you with the appropriate Patterson resources for those separate needs.
Practice Consulting
Share your fee schedule and production reports, and we’ll review them together to see where your fees stand. Complete the form below to request your complimentary analysis. All information and files shared are held in strict confidence.
