JOBS LOS ANGELES CLASSSIFIEDS

c. Divide "b" by 12 (months in a year) d. The figure from "c" above gives you the minimum number of new patients you should be getting on a monthly basis to maintain your practice's health. Note that this is just to keep you going. You would definitely need to exceed this number to add an associate.

Example: Dr. Smith has 1200 active charts. 20% of this is 240. 240 divided by 12 is 20. To maintain a healthy practice, Dr. Smith should be getting at least 20 new patients each month.

1. Keep in mind this formula assumes a couple of conditions exist: a) The new patients are fee-for-service.
2. b) The doctor has an acceptable skill level when it comes to treatment presentation and acceptance (which is reflected in production and collections). If you want an associate, I would recommend that you far exceed this 20% factor. This is where the "MGE New Patient Workshop" comes in handy – whether you want an associate or not. If you want more fee-for-service new patients to keep your practice healthy, to expand or to make it possible to add an associate the "New Patient Workshop" is the solution.
3. (This is Part One of a two part article on the subject of Dental Associates.)

Several times a week I field associate related questions from colleagues. These come from dentists who need one right away, as well as those just entertaining the idea for the future. The pros to adding an associate are obvious: more service for your patients, potentially more time off, someone to cover emergencies, etc. There are also plenty of cons: your patients may not like the new doctor, and you might worry about them making off with your patient base, etc. When discussing associates, thirteen years in private practice and close to as many as a trainer/consultant have taught me one hardbound rule: there is definitely a right and wrong way to go about this associate business.

If one or more associates are in your future plans (whether this is now or ten years from now), there are several things to consider:

1. When should you get an associate?

2. How would you structure compensation?

3. What's the best way to find one?