This article was originally published on Group Dentistry Now on December 21, 2020.
In today’s world, every company is a data company… including your business!
Anyone who runs a dental business with growth in mind should use data to make the most important decisions for the future of their organization, but many don’t know where to start.
Data-driven businesses will divert millions in revenue from their less data-savvy competitions. According to the 2019 Forrester’s survey of mid-to-big size companies, 58% of participants had appointed a chief data officer (CDO) to lead data initiatives in their organization. In fact, 62% said they had already seen measurable results from their data investments, and 31% considered themselves “data-driven.”
Are you?
For years, dental organizations have been collecting and analyzing data to gain strategic advantages, but this is no longer enough. Today, DSOs could easily leverage their massive datasets to identify new opportunities, discover hidden ones, and optimize operations to drive revenue and growth. To gain a competitive advantage, DSOs will need to pursue a new approach to data that gives their team what they need, when and where they need it, in a format that delivers actionable insights – not merely information or data presented in a boring spreadsheet.
When it comes to data analytics, a new and innovative approach is vital if DSOs are to survive and thrive in today’s competitive dental market.
If there’s any question as to why a data analytics platform is important, here’s a quick look at how some of the biggest and fastest-growing DSO leaders are already using their data and dental dashboard to improve their business outcomes.
Cost Savings
Keith Miller, President, and CEO of Partnerships for Dentists (P4D) believes that DSOs can save millions of dollars on software and IT costs just by using a dental data analytics platform.
Keith’s previous DSO spent millions on business intelligence and IT costs, and he was eager to find a way to reduce these expenditures when he started Partnerships for Dentists.
A dental dashboard like Jarvis Analytics enabled him to see all of the provider data in one place and helped streamline P4D’s business intelligence efforts.
Efficiency and Productivity Gains
Fred Ward, CEO of Marquee Dental Partners, uses a dental dashboard to collect data from all of its practice partners in order to establish performance/production standards and help providers find ways to improve their production.
One provider, a dentist in Nashville, took pride in the number of fluoride treatments he believed his hygiene department was doing. However, based on data in Fred’s dental dashboard, the hygienists were applying one fluoride treatment per day compared to the Marquee’s partner average of seven per day. After Fred relayed this information to the dentist, the practice was able to take action and fluoride treatments increased dramatically.
A Driver for Practice and Clinical Excellence
Dr. Nathan Kupperman, owner and CFO of NAK Dental Group, uses a dental analytics platform to monitor all of NAK’s practices in real-time. He can log in each morning to see daily schedules and also look to see if providers are under-booked for the month relative to his metric. He can then make sure they increase appointments based on the KPIs he set in his dental dashboard.
Dr. Rodney Alles, Partner & Chief of Clinical Affairs at DECA Dental, equips all of DECA’s providers with a dental dashboard. With a platform like Jarvis Analytics, they’re able to measure and ensure unparalleled clinical standards across all providers and all locations. For patients, this translates into the same exceptional care irrespective of which DECA practice they visit.
Better Decision-Making
Tom Clark, CEO of Dentive, uses a dental dashboard not only to operate their day-to-day business but also for the due diligence process when acquiring new practices. He’s able to use the platform for due diligence to see how a provider is performing based on metrics and benchmarks he’s set up for his existing practices.
Other fast-growing DSOs like Marquee Dental and MB2 Dental are also finding great success using a platform like Jarvis Analytics for due diligence when acquiring new practices at the pre-diligence phase.
Anywhere, Anytime Accessible Analytics
Santosh Patel, President, and Co-Founder at Complete Specialty Solutions, a leading provider of turn-key in-house specialty solutions for DSOs and independent offices, uses Jarvis Analytics to access data from multiple clinics that operate on different practice management systems and uncover hidden opportunities to optimize ortho treatment plans. With Jarvis Analytics, he is able to see all the data and all the clinical KPIs in real-time all in one place.
4 Reasons You Need A Dental Dashboard NOW
While data analytics plays a critical role in a DSO’s pursuit of excellence, it is just a means to an end. A DSO must simultaneously implement a data strategy that is purpose-driven and focused on big-picture goals.
Successful dental dashboard initiatives start with a data-driven culture, cross-practice alignment around the vision, a laser focus on clinical & operational KPIs, to drive revenue, improve clinical outcomes, and fuel your growth.
Here are the four reasons why you need a dental dashboard for your dental business today to avoid being left behind in today’s highly competitive dental market:
1- Your competitors are using data to differentiate and be more competitive
The benefits of data-driven insights were once thought only to be achieved by massive organizations. However, thanks to advances in technology, the ability to make data more accessible, faster, cheaper, and relevant to all is now within many businesses’ grasp, including dental businesses. And as organizations seize this opportunity, they’re leaving their competitors behind.
In a recent study by The Aberdeen Group, 45% of respondents cited “Competitive pressures require becoming more data-driven” as the top pressure driving their need for better, more comprehensive, and more relevant analytics.
2- Your team needs better business intelligence to reach its goals
Competition isn’t the only pressure driving an evolved approach to data analytics: your own team, practices, and providers are demanding a more seamless, relevant data experience.
People working for dental businesses—from regional managers to front office staff—want access to the data, but they need actionable data to make their jobs easier and achieve better outcomes. The average dental business staff was not hired to perform data analysis. Few business users have either the time or the training necessary to sift through reams of data to extrapolate the insights they need. Instead, they need data analytics in context, where they work, with a framework of why the insight is important and how it can be used.
Business users who have access to insights at the point of decision responded that they were more satisfied with the relevance of analytics to their job roles, the access to the data they need to support decisions, and the sophistication of the analytical capabilities.
3- Advances in dashboards revolutionizing the ways DSOs manage, measure, and automate every aspect of their business
Business intelligence (BI) and data dashboards have become mainstream in business technologies. Today’s BI-powered data platforms can analyze millions of bytes of data from multiple sources, both internal and third-party, at a fraction of the time that humans would require, with an even greater degree of accuracy. Instead of evaluating mountains of data and drawing their own conclusions, business users can now access actionable data insights and recommendations that drive informed and better operational and clinical outcomes.
But systems of insight can do more than present data-driven recommendations for next actions. Advances in automation and workflows* now allow simple, repetitive decisions to be processed automatically.
* Data shows that the average hygiene recall for practices is roughly 70 percent. However, raising the hygiene recall metric to 80 percent with data-driven workflows and automation, can easily maximize hygiene utilization and increase the overall production to help your growth.
4- Early adopters are enjoying huge success with data analytics as their more traditional competitors continue to treat dental dashboards as a commodity to be purchased
As business intelligence capabilities come into widespread use within DSOs, we’re beginning to see real-world success stories from organizations who have upgraded their data analytics.
One such success story comes from MB2 Dental, one of the fastest-growing DSOs in the United States. MB2 Dental leaders deal with massive quantities of data across geographically dispersed practices with different practice management systems, making it difficult to deliver relevant, actionable insights across their organization.
With Jarvis, MB2 Dental implemented enhanced data analytics capabilities to address these challenges, encompassing integrating its own data with third-party sources, providing easy access across distributed environments, single sign-on (SSO), and customizable user experiences for the entire DSO. Users can now capitalize on opportunities for cost reduction, clinical improvements, and revenue opportunities across the organization by identifying connections in the data and acting accordingly.
Choose the Right Data Analytics Partner
The final and perhaps most crucial element to a successful data analytics project is choosing the right company to partner with. A partner like Jarvis Analytics can deliver a seamlessly integrated data analytics platform, distributed at scale, highly customizable; a highly-engaging end-user experience that guides team members of all skill-levels to insight quickly; and the expertise and organizational support you need for a successful launch.
Built with DSOs for DSOs, Jarvis Analytics offers an industry-leading business intelligence platform and deep DSO data expertise. The Jarvis Analytics platform helps DSOs quickly create operational efficiencies, maximize revenue, and fuel growth by providing advanced, self-serve data analytics directly from the data in the existing practice management systems.
Whether you are running on one unified platform or on many different practice management systems, Jarvis is the intelligence layer that sits on top of everything. Jarvis seamlessly integrates with your practice management system(s) and works in the background without disruption to your day-to-day business.
Partner with The Best
Jarvis Analytics delivers the market’s most complete multi-location, practice management agnostic dental dashboard, coupled with an intuitive user interface your team will love.
Customized to meet your (and your team’s) business needs—Jarvis guides users to quick discoveries on ways to drive and sustain growth.