Building the platform is the virtual infrastructure required to run a dental support organization. It encompasses the key functional areas that support, drive, and monitor most of the business’s non-clinical functions. Without a DSO structure, all that is left are disjointed, independently run, and managed dental group.
HR Assistance for Dentists and DSOs
Human Resources is frequently overlooked as dental practices transition from solo or small groups to DSOs. Human resource managers are an expensive investment for any growing business. However, the company cannot effectively manage employee relations, employee performance, recruitment, hiring, benefits administration, pay scale management, or maintain a consistent onboarding process without a structured human resources department. Compliance with these critical functions becomes more stringent as the practice grows in size, and once the practice reaches 50 employees, the game changes completely when health insurance becomes mandatory. Using a PEO (professional employment organization) to build your HR platform is a cost-effective alternative to hiring a full-time Human Resources department.
Accounting and Finance for Dentists and Dental Service Organizations
When surveying entrepreneurial dentists who have successfully built and exited dental groups and DSOs, the first and most critical hire they made was consistently an experienced CFO. The platform’s accounting and finance functions are critical foundational areas in constructing infrastructure and gaining proper insight into company performance. It is critical to accurately depict a company’s financials when working with a bank or other capital sources to fund future growth. Many new groups or emerging DSOs struggle to identify trends in expenses from income statement statements if they do not use a single chart of accounts to compare month to month. To monitor performance, identify growth and savings opportunities, and highlight company performance in the best light for current and future investors, it is critical to fully understand the balance sheet and the income statement and monitor both of these areas professionally.
IT Assistance for Dentists and DSOs
The IT platform, which includes software, hardware, support, and other technology, is critical to a practice’s day-to-day operations. More than half of today’s groups and emerging DSOs use disparate practice management software systems. Dozens of software companies offer data aggregation and dashboard services to provide centralized and consolidated practice data.
Dentist Collections, Revenue Cycle, and Credentialing Assistance
Many emerging DSOs will begin to integrate Revenue Cycle Management as a platform service. All functions related to capturing, managing, and collecting patient revenue from individual dental practices are included. The credentialing, fee schedule management and insurance components are typically synchronized first.