DMA will take your dental practice to the next level.
A membership payment plan created by dentists for dentists and patients
Traditionally dentists have only been able to grow their practices by a mix of word of mouth and patient loyalty. But with Dental Members Australia (DMA) owners can now take their practice to the next level. DMA is an in-house dental membership program that combines reputable dental care with convenient, interest-free direct debit payments to build a sustaining relationship between a practice and its patient community.
I am proud to be a DMA dentist helping my patients
This large, active patient community centred around the DMA program rewards your practice with a steadily growing monthly income stream. And with more money coming in the more associate dentists and hygienists you can begin to employ. Today in the UK over 6500 dental practices are running similar programs with many now operating at full capacity. Here in Australia DMA’s unique choice of dental care and payment options is dramatically increasing patient acceptance of treatment plans in DMA dental practices. To ensure DMA can truly offer each member practice a point of difference, we will limit the number of practices offering DMA, and of course avoid duplicate memberships in neighbouring suburbs.
The patient signs an agreement with DMA allowing DMA to take weekly payments from their nominated account for an agreed time frame. Plus with DMA you don’t lose a big cut to finance companies and your patients don’t have to endure the whole process of credit checks etc. And as it’s internet based you can log onto your DMA file from anywhere at anytime. With the current economic climate and the increasing influence of health funds over fees, the time has never been better for a membership payment plan like DMA that allows practice owners to take back full control of their business. So join DMA today and get that winning smile you give your patients.
DMA is cost effective and simple to operate. Patients simply pay a one-off membership fee of $28 to set up their plan. There is no interest charged. The cost to the practice is a one-off set-up fee of $22 per patient.
Dr Safa Souzani Springfield Lakes, Queensland
DMA reserves the right to refuse membership to a dental practice. Once DMA has granted membership, the member will be entitled to the privileges of membership and will be bound by the DMA Terms and Conditions.
How it works
A chance to grow your practice. now operating at full capacity. And with the economy how it is and health funds gaining increasing influence over fees, the time is right for a membership payment plan like DMA that allows practices owners to take back control of their business.
Traditionally dentists have only been able to grow their practices through an organic mix of word of mouth and patient loyalty. But Dental Members Australia (DMA) is set to take dental practice growth to the next level. In the UK similar payment plans have proved so successful that many practices there are
Key benefits of DMA: y
y y
the two patient membership plans can operate separately or together, depending on patient preference grows patient loyalty delivers your practice a reliable monthly income
y y y y
delivers patients better dental care cost effective and simple to operate allows you to take back control of your business cutting-edge operating software comes free.
Grow your practice and help your patients
Current patients will benefit from being able to spread the cost of treatments.
Potential new patients will be encouraged to join your practice because you can offer payment by instalments.
Your suburb / community
Low fees. Free software. For a small fee...
Free state-of-the-art software
Member patients pay a small joining fee of $28, a once-off payment for the treatment membership plan and an annual dental care membership plan fee. There is no interest charged and the patient signs an agreement allowing DMA to take weekly payments from their nominated account for the agreed time period. And because DMA is a payment plan, not finance or insurance, your patients won’t have the hassle of going through credit checks.
DMA cutting-edge software is free. Developed by dentists for dentists, our software can be used for quoting, setting up patients on membership or treatment plans and setting up individual payment plans.
As for you, your practice only has to pay a one-off $22 fee for each patient who signs up.
In addition, DMA offers full software support during business hours to answer any questions you might have while using the system. For a step by step demonstration of the software contact DMA on +61 7 3381 8840 or email info@dentalmembers.com.au.
Adding dentists and patients is a simple process.
Your Practice
DMA
DMA partnering with you to help your practice grow and benefit your patients.
An intuitive user interface allows easy updates and management by practice staff. The DMA website interface
A payment plan for the extensive
And a plan for the routine
Treatment Membership Plan
Dental Care Membership Plan
For treatments that cost between $500 and $10,000. This plan is for treatments that cost between $500 and $10,000. Patients pay through weekly direct debits over a time period roughly equal to the treatment. The patient and dentist agree on this time period, typically up to a maximum of 48 weeks,
For ongoing routine examinations and hygiene visits.
although this can vary, depending on the work done. DMA requires a minimum 20% upfront deposit from patients. For treatments that require high initial outlays, such as crowns, bridges and dentures, the dental practice may set a higher minimum deposit.
This preventative care plan provides patients with routine examination and hygiene visits over 12 months for a set monthly fee. In addition to preventative care, members receive a discount on any further dental work. This discount increases loyalty, patient retention and treatment plan acceptance.
The rate of discount varies depending on the treatment, and is set at the discretion of each dental practice. To achieve the best results, DMA recommends an average discount of 20% on regular fees.
How it works
How it works
A practice that signs up three patients a week to the treatment membership plan at an average treatment cost of $2500 over 12 weeks will earn $5000 per week in DMA direct debit fees within the first eight weeks.
If you add four patients a week (@$25/month) for five years that’s 1000 new patients and $250,000 extra in fees.
Dental Care Membership Plan patient fee structure
Treatment Membership Plan patient fee structure
Dental Care Membership Plan
Estimated cost if paid privately*
Dental examinations (2 per year)
3
$120 per year
Hygiene treatment including scale
3
$280 per year
Dental X-rays (2 per year)
3
$80 per year
Preventive dental advice
3
Depending on time needed
Total treatment cost examples
Recommended 20% deposit
Duration of treatment
Weekly payment
$1000.00
$200.00
6 weeks
$109.00
$2000.00
$400.00
10 weeks
$130.00
and clean (2 per year)
$3000.00
$600.00
8 weeks
$244.00
$4000.00
$800.00
12 weeks
$217.00
$5000.00
$1000.00
18 weeks
$181.00
$8000.00
$1600.00
30 weeks
$173.00
*Estimated cost of dental items vary from practice to practice and are dependent on the fees offered by your dentist. Discounts or special offers on additional dental work is something that dental practices may consider if they wish as an incentive for patients to become members of the practice through the Dental Care Membership Plan. DMA encourages dental practices to take control of their business without third party interference.
Additional material support
What are dentists saying about DMA?
To ensure the process is smooth and you are able to build a sustainable community of patients we’ll also provide the following: y
a consultant practice co-ordinator to help set up patient payment plans
y
A5 brochures for patients
y
direct debit service agreements
y
branded DL brochures to post to patients outlining available payment plans and the benefits of membership to new patients
y
framed A2 posters inviting patients to join up
y
a range of template letters and marketing material to encourage patient loyalty and retention
y
online state-of-the-art cloud computing software to manage all membership payment plans.
Dr Patrick McCallister | Springfield Lakes, Queensland Over a two-year period we had accumulated about two million dollars worth of incomplete treatment plans so we definitely needed to do something. I used a membership payment plan to build up my UK dental practices so I’d seen first hand the ongoing and predictable
income that payment plans like DMA can provide. Since introducing DMA our treatment plans’ acceptance rate has risen significantly and all five associates now have full schedules.
Dr Norris Feng | Chermside West, Queensland At a professional level it’s very satisfying because with the DMA Treatment Membership Plan I can comfortably recommend ideal treatment plans and with the Dental Care Membership Plan it’s a lot easier to encourage patients into routine
preventive care programs. And at a personal level, with the regular monthly income now from DMA I can spend more time with my family.
Dr Safa Souzani | Springfield Lakes, Queensland
34% increase in patient retention
After expanding to three dental practices and taking on more associates I needed a way to keep everyone busy so I tried out DMA. So far it has worked amazingly and has provided me with a predictable monthly income stream that’s increasing every month.
By breaking dental treatment plans into weekly direct debits DMA encourages patients to come back, which rewards me with the sort of financial security I need in these uncertain times.
Peace of mind
Frequently asked questions
What if patients can’t afford to pay? Once a patient signs the direct debit request form they have signed a contract with DMA. If a patient ever has insufficient funds, they’re charged a dishonour fee by both their bank and DMA. While the dental practice is ultimately responsible for the debt, we have developed a debt recovery procedure to safeguard you against defaults (see below).
Another strong deterrent are the consequences of being listed with Credit Reference Australia (CRA). Any patient you refer to a formal debt collection agency is immediately listed with the CRA, making it almost impossible for that patient to get credit from anywhere until you are paid back in full.
What happens if I complete the dental treatment for my patient and they have no money in their bank account or they have closed their account? Once a patient Signs the Direct Debit Request they have signed a contract with DMA. If there is ever the case where a patient has insufficient funds in their account they will be charged a dishonour fee by their banking institution as well as by DMA. The majority of patients meet their obligations, however, in the rare case a payment continues to default then DMA will follow a debt recovery procedure (attached). DMA also recommends a number of procedures when setting up memberships to safeguard against defaults.
What if I my insured patients already pay no gap for their hygiene appointments?
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The Dental Care Membership is ideal for patients without insurance because it allows them to budget for
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their hygiene/preventive visits. The practice sets the monthly fees.
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Why choose DMA over other payment plan solutions?
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DMA is a payment plan, it’s not finance or insurance. Because it’s an agreement between your patients and their direct debit facilitator your patients don’t have to endure the hassle of a credit check. And you don’t lose
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Unlike other payment plan solutions, DMA doesn’t charge a percentage of the treatment plan cost. The only charge is a set fee of $22 per patient which remains the same no matter what the cost of treatment. DMA offers comprehensive support through our unique software platform. It was developed by dentists, for
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of recommended treatment plans. Our work with the best available branding specialists has created a suite of highly effective, professional marketing material that promotes the inherent integrity and trust of both DMA and the dental profession.
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DMA Credit Control: Across a variety of industries approximately 3.5% of direct debit transactions reverse. DMA achieves an outstanding result in collecting the majority of these reversals for your dental practice, of which we estimate on average <1% of these we would, at your discretion, refer on to a formal debt collection agency. At this point your patient would receive a CRA (Credit Reference Australia) listing. By setting a CRA listing against the full amount owed by the patient, there is a greater incentive for them to pay the full amount owing in order to clear their name.
PAYMENT MADE
How much does it cost to use the DMA software? The software for quoting and setting up patients on membership or treatment plans is free. DMA is cost effective and simple to operate. Patients simply pay a one-off membership fee of $28 to set up their plan. There is no interest charged. The cost to the practice is a one-off set-up fee of $22.
For more information visit our website
www.dentalmembers.com.au
Dental Members Australia Unit 11/31 Springfield Lake Blvd Springfield Lakes QLD 4300 Tel: 07 3381 8888 Fax: 07 3381 8824 Email: info@dentalmembers.com.au