Are you ready to close the year effectively and hit the ground running in January?

The end of the year is a critical time for dental practices to evaluate performance, address pending tasks, and prepare for a productive new year. By focusing on the right areas, such as insurance processes, patient accounts, and operational goals, you can ensure a smooth transition into the coming year. This guide outlines five key focal points to help your practice finish strong and start the new year on the right foot.

Table of contents

1. Plan year-end appointments and insurance verifications
2. Assess your fees
3. Prepare for CDT code changes
4. Streamline and finalize billing processes
5. Assess your team’s performance and set goals for the new year

1. Plan year-end appointments and insurance verifications

• Balance your schedule: If your schedule is slow, review your unscheduled treatment list and prioritize patients with overdue hygiene appointments or incomplete procedures. Patients whose benefits are about to expire are more likely to schedule, especially with a reminder about the importance of using remaining benefits. If you have little to no appointments available, keep a running cancellation list easily accessible. When an appointment slot opens up, call a patient who wants to get in and offer them the available time. 

• Hours of operation and emergencies: Communicate your holiday hours, emergency policies, and scheduling availability clearly. This not only improves patient experience but also reduces stress on your staff by preventing last-minute schedule adjustments. Partner up with other dentists in your area if possible for overflow. If you plan to be closed for an extended amount of time, ensure your office voicemail and website direct patients to alternative places they can be seen for emergent situations. 

• Prep date versus seat date: For restorative procedures, like crowns, it’s important to determine whether insurance carriers consider the preparation date or seat date for billing. Incorrect coding can delay payments or cause compliance issues, so ensure your billing team stays informed. Always bill prep and seat dates by the date treatments were rendered, and do not alter them to reflect the following year. This may be tempting for the sake of the patient’s finances, but this is improper billing and should never be done. For more information about this, watch our webinar about coding best practices. 

• Insurance verifications and updates: Verify insurance eligibility and benefits for the upcoming year, focusing on deductibles, maximums, and changes to coverage percentages. Update your practice management system to reflect these details, reducing delays in claims processing in January. Avoid patients receiving surprise bills by ensuring you have reflected their accurate benefits remaining in your software. 

2. Assess your fees

• Office fees: Ensure office fees are competitive in your area and align with your costs. Consider factors such as local market averages, practice overhead costs, material and equipment expenses, competitor pricing, and your practice area's cost of living. You can also review fee schedules from state dental associations to ensure your prices align with industry standards.

• PPO fee schedules and renegotiation: If you’re in-network with PPOs, review your fee schedules annually to ensure they align with your costs and the value of services provided. If your current reimbursement rates are too low, plan to renegotiate contracts at the beginning of the new year. This can be a complex process, so consider using a PPO negotiation service to simplify the task and improve outcomes.

3. Prepare for CDT code changes

CDT codes are a crucial part of dental insurance billing and are updated every year. Familiarity with the upcoming changes is essential to avoid claim denials and ensure smooth operations. 

Steps to stay compliant

• Review the new CDT codes using official ADA updates and publications. 
• Update your practice management and billing software to reflect these changes.
• Train your team on the new codes to ensure proper documentation and claim submission.

Why this matters

Accurate coding not only ensures compliance but also speeds up reimbursement processes, reducing the risk of delays caused by denials. Being proactive in understanding CDT updates prepares your practice for success in the following year.

4. Streamline and finalize billing processes

• Balance patient ledgers: Patient account ledgers can become cluttered with charges, payments, and credits over the course of the year. Take extra time to address outstanding balances by sending reminders or offering payment plans. Apply existing credits to upcoming appointments or issue refunds for unused amounts, being mindful of state compliance laws relevant to your practice area. Resolve lingering accounts, aiming for a zero-dollar balance going into the new year.

• Bill all dental claims before year-end: Submitting all outstanding claims by the end of December ensures you start the new year with a clean slate. This also gives you a clear picture of your accounts receivable and helps maintain a strong cash flow.

• Deposit all dental insurance payments: Whether insurance payments come via EFT or paper check, make sure all outstanding funds are deposited and reconciled. A strong accounts receivable balance at year-end reflects financial health and ensures no payments slip through the cracks.

• Analyze dental claim denial trends: Use year-end to review denial trends and corrected claims submitted over the past 12 months. Identify recurring issues, such as missing documentation or coding errors, and address them to improve efficiency in the revenue cycle. If you aren’t collecting 98% or more of what you bill to insurance, watch our webinar, “You produced it, why aren't you collecting it?”

5. Assess your team’s performance and set goals for the new year

• Evaluate whether your team is adequately staffed to handle current and future demands: Is your team consistently meeting deadlines for claims submissions, insurance verifications, and patient follow-ups? Is your team supported by an adequate volume and quality of training and continuing education?

• Identifying burnout: The busy year-end season can take an extra toll on your staff, but burnout is a risk throughout the year. Look for signs such as decreased productivity, higher absenteeism, or reduced morale. Support your team by encouraging breaks, fostering open communication, and clear and transparent operating procedures. For more support in diagnosing burnout, watch our podcast episode focused on burnout in dentistry. 

• Setting goals for the upcoming year: Use your insights from your year-end review to set actionable goals for the following year. Examples include reducing accounts receivable by a specific percentage, increasing revenue with elevated patient treatment case acceptance, and achieving team alignment through more focused meetings or team building events.

Year-end reflection is a valuable opportunity to address lingering challenges, streamline operations, and position your dental practice for a successful new year. By focusing on financial performance, CDT code updates, billing workflows, and staffing, you can ensure a smooth transition. Strategic planning and thoughtful adjustments now will pay off in greater efficiency, profitability, and team satisfaction in the year ahead.