Summary: Plan Forward, a dental software company, has reported significant increases in patient visits, production, and treatment acceptance rates among dental service organizations (DSOs) using its membership plans. The findings demonstrate the value of customizable cash-pay alternatives tailored to specific business goals, such as increasing patient loyalty and expanding service offerings.
Key Takeaways:
- Increased Production and Visits: Membership plans at DSOs resulted in substantial production growth, with one DSO seeing a 260% increase among plan members and another achieving a 1.9x increase in restorative care.
- Patient Loyalty and Flexibility: Membership plans effectively increased patient visits and conversions, highlighting the importance of tailored plans to meet specific patient and business needs.
Plan Forward, a dental software company enabling dental membership plans, has reported results from three dental service organization (DSO) customers to quantify the business value of cash-pay alternatives.
Membership Plans Impact on DSOs
A DSO with 37 clinics in 9 states designed its membership plans to prioritize increased production and hygiene visits with service-rich plans at a premium price point. Resulting total production among plan members is up 260% compared to cash-pay patients at the same practice, according to Plan Forward.
At a different DSO with 27 clinics throughout the Midwest, leadership worked with Plan Forward to craft membership plans focused on improving rates of treatment acceptance. Since implementing their plan, total production among members is up 170% compared with cash-pay patients, with the majority of that increase coming from a 1.9x increase in restorative care.
A third DSO focused its membership plans on increasing visits and cultivating patient loyalty. Results after 17 months show members visiting an average of five times in their first year of membership compared with two visits among cash-pay patients, and more than half of cash-pay patients converting to membership. The plan also showed gains in production for both hygiene (+200%) and restorative (140%).
Strategic Use of Membership Plans
“These practices are great examples of how to leverage both the power of the platform and the strategic guidance of our customer success team,” said Megan Lohman, founder and co-chief executive officer of Plan Forward. “Their bespoke membership plans demonstrate that they truly understand their patients, giving their businesses a competitive advantage that will make them more resilient.”
Other practices report utilizing their plans as a strategic tool to help expand their services, including cosmetic treatments, orthodontics, and laser services.
“This data reminds us that there are no one-size-fits-all membership plans,” said Jane Levy, Co-CEO of Plan Forward. “We built Plan Forward to give DSOs the flexibility they need to create membership plans that deliver the results that matter to them.”
