The data showed that net production, as well as adult exams, clear aligner starts, and conversion rates were up in Q3 when compared to the same period in 2019.
In a collaboration with Gaidge, the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) released a status report on Q3 practice health amid the pandemic. Giadge, the business analytics company, collected data on more than 300 single-doctor practices under $1 million in quarterly productivity and more than 200 multiple-doctor practices with up to 10 locations.
The Q3 data showed that net production was up 11.8% for single-doctor practices and 10.9% for multiple-doctor practices compared to Q3 2019. In addition, adult exams were up 17.7% for single-doctor practices and 19% for multiple-doctor practices compared with Q3 2019. However, child exams were down 7.7% for single-doctor practices and 6.8% for multiple-doctor practices in Q3 compared to 2019.
Gaidge CEO Ryan Moynihan said there are multiple factors that could have contributed to the increase among adults, including the fact that adults are spending more time looking at themselves on Zoom meetings. As far as the decline in child exams, Moynihan said parents’ safety concerns could have been a factor, as well as the delayed start for school since the company noted a bit of an up tick in the numbers in September.
The data showed that clear aligner starts showed a similar up tick compared to 2019—28.3% for single-doctor practices and 24.8% for multiple-doctor practices.
According to Moynihan, one concerning metric related to the ratio of new patient calls to total patient exams in Q3 compared to 2019. Single-doctor practices reported a ration of 241/189 and 380/303 for multiple-doctor practices. Moynihan contends that the drop-off should not exceed 10%, and that practice owners need to pay attention when numbers are in the 20% range.
Meanwhile, with regard to conversion rates, the data showed an increase—64.3% Q3 2019 compared to 70.4% Q3 2020 for single-doctor practices and 68% Q3 2019 compared to 74.9% for Q3 2020 for multiple-doctor practices. Moynihan said that patient appreciation of virtual tools and less patient “shopping” in the consultation stage has contributed to this increase in the conversion rate.
Overall, the Gaidge data showed that year-to-date for January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, net production is down compared to the same time period for 2019, which is to be expected. Net production was down 9.2% for single-doctor practices and 10.3% for multiple-doctor practices. Collections, however, are not lagging too far behind according to the data. The report showed only a 1.9% decrease when compared to 2019 for single-doctor practices and 4.3% decrease for multiple-doctor practices.
Moynihan attributed the “relatively stronger” collections numbers to the fact that patients and parents may not have had employment issues and have been able to continue payments.
