Ortho Tribune U.S. No. 7, 2011
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[1] =>
ON
ITI
ED
ES
O
IA
LN
ORTHO TRIBUNE
SP
EC
The World’s Orthodontic Newspaper · U.S. Edition
November 2011
www.ortho-tribune.com
Vol. 6, No. 7
Disability insurance
OrthoVOICE’s event
Practice management
Dr. Tartakow explains
why you need it
Group hosts unique
meeting in Las Vegas
Being an informed
manager is a must
uPage
AAO: New
patient starts
increased
moderately
in 2010
2
uPage
4
uPage
5
Bridging the gap
with NESO
Still below record
levels of 2004
g OT page 3
Boston will be the site of the 90th annual meeting of the Northeastern Society of Orthodontists from Nov. 10–13.
(Photo/Provided by www.sxc.hu)
Northeastern Society of Orthodontists
to host 90th annual meeting in Boston
T
he Northeastern Society of
Orthodontists (NESO) will host
its 90th annual meeting from
Dental Tribune America
116 West 23rd Street
Suite #500
New York, NY 10011
Patient starts by AAO members
increased by 4 percent per member
in 2010 over 2008, according to the
latest AAO Member & Patient Census Study.
Conducted every two years, the
study tracks such trends as patient
starts, staffing concerns and referral patterns. The study showed that
new patient starts increased moderately from 228 per member to
237 last year.
These figures remain below the
peak of 2004 when members experienced an average of 262 new
patient starts. In addition, new
patient exams dropped slightly
from 375 to 359 per member and
new case presentations fell from
232 to 226.
Total patients in active treatment increased 0.8 percent per
member, from 502 to 506, again
indicating a modest rise in volume. The number of active, practicing AAO members continue to
Nov. 10–13 at Boston Marriott Copley Place.
The meeting offers two days of
interactive, interdisciplinary team
presentations, social networking
and activities, a practice risk-management seminar, and more than
100 exhibitors.
The meeting’s theme, “Bridging
the Gap,” alludes to an effort to
help practices work better together.
The event will offer NESO’s first
interdisciplinary lecture series for
orthodontists, their referrers and
staff, and will include lectures, presentations and discussions on the
latest interdisciplinary practices to
enhance the orthodontic-restorative
team.
Interdisciplinary lecturers will
include Vince Kokich Jr., Rick
Roblee, Ward Smalley, Gerard
Chiche, Galip Gurel, Greg Kinzer,
George Priest, Dewitt Wilkerson,
Rob Winter, Pat Allen and James
Janakievski.
Orthodontic lecturers will include
Lysle Johnston, Wick Alexander,
James McNamara, Alan Bagden,
Hisham Badawi and Jay Bowman.
Staff lecturers will include Gerry
Sampson, Charlene White, Lynne
Fales, LeeAnn Peniche, Rita Johnson, Ellen Gambardella and Rita
Bauer.
For more information on registering for the NESO 90th Annual
Meeting, see www.neso.org or call
(888) 242-3795.
The fee for the meeting is $250 if
registered through an AAO member
orthodontist or $550 without. If
more than three in a group, contact
NESO directly for adjusted pricing.
Discounts on hotel accommodations
are available. OT
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
San Antonio, TX
PERMIT # 1396
[2] =>
2
From the Editor
Ortho Tribune | November 2011
Disability insurance —
A must for all orthodontists
By Dennis J. Tartakow, DMD, MEd, EdD, PhD
Editor in Chief
Imagine that everything in your
life (professional career, family, etc.) is perfect. Then out of
nowhere the unimaginable occurs:
you become disabled!
What would you do if you were
unable to run the day-to-day operations of your practice tomorrow
because you suddenly became disabled? Would you call (a) your colleagues to see your patients and
save your practice, (b) a placement
service to find an orthodontist to
cover your office, or (c) the AAO
regarding suggestions about what
to do?
Speaking from experience, it
happened to me! After 25 short
years of a fantastic orthodontic
practice, in 1999 I began noticing rapid and progressive paralysis in both hands, then forearms
… then motor atrophy followed in
both arms from hands to shoulders.
Diagnosis: I had a broken neck and
lower back from martial arts training, which required immediate and
extensive neurosurgery to repair
the damage to my cervical spine.
The doctors said that even with
surgery, the prognosis of a sevenlevel procedure was poor, leaving a
50 percent chance of being a quadriplegic and a 30 percent chance
of death. The seven-hour surgery
was successful but left me with a
75 percent reduction in cervical
range of motion, forcing me to give
up the practice… but at least I was
alive! During the next eight months
of convalescence, I was confined
to sitting in a chair, unable to do
anything except sleeping and eating
Tell us
what
you
think!
with plenty of time to think about
reinventing my life after the realization that the days of practicing
orthodontics had ended forever. I
did not have any ducks in a row for
permanent disability; it was very
poor planning on my part. The only
thing I had was a great disability policy, which saved me from a
disastrous future.
All practitioners know the importance of thorough planning. Relying
on finding help to save a practice
falls into this category but only for a
very short time. An event that would
keep you away from work would
not be as simple as a broken leg.
Catastrophic injuries can be devastating to you, your practice and
your family; how will you advise
your office manager or spouse as
to all logical decisions that must be
made? This is a time of emotional
stress and confusion. If you do not
have an emergency plan ready to be
implemented immediately, it would
be smart to formulate one as soon
as possible so that your practice
and future will not face financial
ruination.
Among the many insurance policies that we all must have in place,
death and disability are two of the
top concerns to all of us. Death certainly is final, but surviving a permanent disability can be devastating
to everyone around you. After such
an occurrence, the greatest depreciation of a practice typically occurs
within 30 days. It is imperative that
you have a disability insurance policy and a well-planned agreement
between local colleagues ready to
be immediately initiated in order to
continue your office management
with little disturbance to patient
management and income flow.
The American Association of
Orthodontists has an Endorsed
Long Term Disability Policy Form
that can be downloaded (AAO_
Disability_Application_A-72640810W-1 copy.pdf), which is via the
New York Life Insurance Company,
with the Affinity Insurance Services,
Inc. as the plan administrator. This
is, of course, one of many policies
that can be utilized but the information might be extremely helpful should you become temporarily
impaired, permanently disabled or
Do you have general comments or criticism you
would like to share? Is there a particular topic you
would like to see more articles about? Let us know
by e-mailing us at feedback@dental-tribune.com.
If you would like to make any change to your
subscription (name, address or to opt out) please
send us an e-mail at database@dental-tribune.
com and be sure to include which publication you
are referring to. Also, please note that subscription
changes can take up to six weeks to process.
‘If you do not have
an emergency
plan ready to be
implemented
immediately, it
would be smart to
formulate one as
soon as possible so
that your practice
and future will not
face financial
ruination.’
deceased. I would suggest downloading this agreement and modify
it according to your needs, but it
is important to remember that this
document may not be legally binding and that it would be prudent to
seek legal advice. I am not an attorney, but there are many items that
you might want to consider when
establishing your own agreement.
Much thought and consideration
will be needed on your part and
with a little planning, you, your
office and your family can have
peace of mind should something
happen to you. Be smart and avoid
disaster… sit on the side of the
fence so that if, or when you fall,
you will be prepared.
OT
Corrections
Ortho Tribune strives to maintain
the utmost accuracy in its news and
clinical reports. If you find a factual error or content that requires
clarification, please report the details
to Managing Editor Kristine Colker at
k.colker@dental-tribune.com.
Image courtesy of Dr. Earl Broker.
ORTHO TRIBUNE
The World’s Orthodontic Newspaper · U.S. Edition
Publisher & Chairman
Torsten Oemus
t.oemus@dental-tribune.com
Chief Operating Officer
Eric Seid, e.seid@dental-tribune.com
Group Editor & Designer
Robin Goodman
r.goodman@dental-tribune.com
Editor in Chief Ortho Tribune
Prof. Dennis Tartakow
d.tartakow@dental-tribune.com
International Editor Ortho Tribune
Dr. Reiner Oemus
r.oemus@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor/Designer
Show Dailies
Kristine Colker, k.colker@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor/Designer
Implant and Ortho Tribunes
Sierra Rendon, s.rendon@dental-tribune.com
Online Editor
Fred Michmershuizen
f.michmershuizen@dental-tribune.com
Product & Account Manager
Humberto Estrada
h.estrada@dental-tribune.com
Product & Account Manager
Mark Eisen
m.eisen@dental-tribune.com
Product & Account Manager
Gina Davison
g.davison@dental-tribune.com
Marketing Manager
Anna Kataoka-Wlodarczyk
a.wlodarczyk@dental-tribune.com
Marketing & Sales Assistant
Lorrie Young
l.young@dental-tribune.com
C.E. Manager
Julia Wehkamp
j.wehkamp@dental-tribune.com
C.E. International Sales Manager
Christiane Ferret
c.ferret@dtstudyclub.com
Dental Tribune America, LLC
116 West 23rd Street, Ste. 500
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 244-7181
Fax: (212) 244-7185
Published by Dental Tribune America
© 2011, Dental Tribune International
All rights reserved.
Dental Tribune makes every effort to report
clinical information and manufacturer’s
product news accurately, but cannot assume
responsibility for the validity of product claims,
or for typographical errors. The publishers
also do not assume responsibility for product names or claims, or statements made by
advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are
their own and may not reflect those of Dental
Tribune International.
OT Editorial Advisory Board
Jay Bowman, DMD, MSD
(Journalism & Education)
Robert Boyd, DDS, MEd
(Periodontics & Education)
Earl Broker, DDS
(T.M.D. & Orofacial Pain)
Tarek El-Bialy, BDS, MS, MS, PhD
(Research, Bioengineering & Education)
Donald Giddon, DMD, PhD
(Psychology & Education)
Donald Machen, DMD, MSD, MD, JD, MBA
(Medicine, Law & Business)
James Mah, DDS, MSc, MRCD, DMSc
(Craniofacial Imaging & Education)
Richard Masella, DMD (Education)
Malcolm Meister, DDS, MSM, JD
(Law & Education)
Harold Middleberg, DDS
(Practice Management)
Elliott Moskowitz, DDS, MSd
(Journalism & Education)
James Mulick, DDS, MSD
(Craniofacial Research & Education)
Ravindra Nanda, BDS, MDS, PhD
(Biomechanics & Education)
Edward O’Neil, MD (Internal Medicine)
Donald Picard, DDS, MS (Accounting)
Howard Sacks, DMD (Orthodontics)
Glenn Sameshima, DDS, PhD
(Research & Education)
Daniel Sarya, DDS, MPH (Public Health)
Keith Sherwood, DDS (Oral Surgery)
James Souers, DDS (Orthodontics)
Gregg Tartakow, DMD (Orthodontics)
& Ortho Tribune Associate Editor
[3] =>
Products
Ortho Tribune | November 2011
3
Introducing the new cloud-based Sesame 24-7 online
patient connection system for the orthodontic industry
Sesame Communications leverages cloud-technology with its new
Sesame 24-7 to provide a single
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Sesame 24-7 streamlines and
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Rated™ website and enhance online
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shows and strengthen patient commitment with automated reminders.
Open two-way digital communications with your orthodontic com-
f OT page 1
grow steadily, from 9,045 in 2004
to 9,456 in 2008 and 9,660 last year.
The total number of patients in
treatment by members grew by 2.5
percent in 2010 to 4,888,000. Of the
total number of patients treated,
about 3,440,000 were children ages
8 to 17, representing about 8.2
percent of U.S. children in that age
group.
As the population grows, assuming AAO members continue to treat
8.2 percent of U.S. children, each
member will gain, on average, 44
more patients in 2015 as compared
to 2010.
Adult patients increased
2.5 percent to a total of 1,075,000.
Other survey findings:
• Members saw patients an average of 30 hours a week in 2010, up
one hour a week from 2008, while
clinicians devoted 45 hours a week
to the practice, down an hour from
the previous survey.
• Members saw an average of 50
patients a day, up from 48 in 2008.
• The average length of treatment reported is 22 months.
• In 2010 the average AAO member employed seven full-time and
three part-time staff members.
• The number of members in
multiple-doctor practices declined
from 28 percent to 24 percent,
down significantly from 31 percent
in 2006.
• Nearly half (47 percent) of
members report using Facebook to
promote their practices and more
than one-third (35 percent) say they
spend more than $10,000 a year to
promote their practices. OT
(Source: AAO)
munity through effective outreach
initiatives. Improve administrative
processes and provide patients the
convenience of on-demand 24-7
access to appointment and account
information, online bill pay and
more with a state-of-the-art patient
portal.
Available through any web browser, Sesame 24-7 gives orthodontists
analytics on team performance and
online marketing effectiveness to
patient engagement and patient satisfaction levels. With a click, Sesame 24-7 offers real-time, anytime
reporting — and detailed graphics and charts, measuring practice
performance is easy and
efficient. Sesame 24-7
provides the CEO of an
orthodontic practice the
right information at the
right time to help make
better decisions to accelerate practice growth.
For a brief demo
to learn how Sesame 24-7 can accelerate the growth of your
orthodontic practice,
call
(866)-530-7295,
e-mail
solutions@
sesamecommunications.com or visit
www.sesame24-7.com. OT
(Photo/Provided by Sesame
Communications)
AD
[4] =>
4
OrthoVOICE
Ortho Tribune | November 2011
OrthoVOICE in Vegas
For orthodontists attending the
OrthoVOICE meeting in Las Vegas
in October, there was no chance
they would want to let what happened “stay in Vegas,” because what
happened at the OrthoVoice event at
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino was useful, intimate learning
experiences with a diverse group of
like-minded, growth-seeking orthodontists.
OrthoVoice, which aims to provide unique opportunities not found
at larger meetings, included such
innovate programs as:
• Dinner with Strangers: For Dinner With Strangers, attendees found
a list in their registration materials of various restaurants around
Las Vegas where OrthoVOICE made
reservations for eight to 10 people.
Attendees chose a restaurant they
wanted to go to and then headed to
meet up with other attendees who
they haven’t yet met over dinner.
• OrthoVOICE Charity Golf Tournament: This scramble-style event
allowed attendees a chance to relax
and meet new friends and play with
their favorite group. Proceeds from
the event will support the national
Smile for a Lifetime Foundation.
• VOICE of Excellence Lecture:
Dr. William Proffit gave the inaugural lecture for this series. Proffit
is the kenan professor and former
chairman at the University of North
Carolina Orthodontic Department.
According to organizers, Proffit
exemplifies excellence in orthodontics and has made many contributions to the profession globally.
Plan now to attend next year’s
event, which will take place Oct.
11-13, 2012, at the Planet Hollywood
Resort in Las Vegas. Registration is
only $199 per person through Feb.
29, 2012. For more information, see
www.ov2012.eventbrite.com. OT
OrthoClassic’s Eric Ackerman, from left, William Alexander and Lance Lipscomb show off the OrthoVend at OrthoVOICE in Las Vegas. (Photos/Sierra Rendon, Ortho Tribune)
Nick Bedlan and Nate Farmer talk about ‘Building
Wealth,’ including such topics as investments, savings,
financial planning tips and retirement.
Staci Hinners of Wild Smiles shows
off the unique bracket shapes the
company offers such as hearts, stars
and sports shapes.
Kirk Winsborrow, left, and Matt
Jones of Procter & Gamble explain
the proponents of Ortho Essentials.
Marla Merritt of OrthoBanc, which offers complete
account management for orthodontists across the United
States.
Frank Meiners of Ortho2 gives a
demonstration to an attendee.
Jeff Nolte and Kathy Farley of
SureSmile.
[5] =>
Industry
Ortho Tribune | November 2011
5
OrthoMetrics:
Measure it.
Improve it.
Being an informed
business manager
isn’t an option —
it’s a must
throughout various reports and locations requiring a significant amount
of staff time generating, compiling
and moving information into a more
manageable format at the end of the
month. To accomplish one of the core
g OT page 6
OrthoMetrics dashboard gives you a snapshot view of your practice’s monthly performance. (Image/Provided by OrthoMetrics)
AD
By Mary Beth Kirkpatrick
We find our practices in a challenging marketplace: a new consumer, increased competition for that
consumer and rising costs for delivering treatment. In today’s practice,
being an informed business manager
isn’t an option; it’s a must.
Maintaining a healthy practice
requires managing the clinical and
the business components efficiently
and profitably. Orthodontic practices
need accurate and strategic information to monitor performance, identify
trends, target areas of concern and
develop a “go forward” business plan.
OrthoMetrics, a cloud-based business analytics tool, was developed by
Mary Beth Kirkpatrick and her practice management consulting team
at Impact 360 in partnership with
OrthoBanc, a payment management
company with services that streamline the payment acceptance process
for more than 2,000 orthodontic practices.
In creating OrthoMetrics, their
vision was three fold: 1) identify strategic information important in the
day-to-day operation of a practice,
2) automatically collect accurate
key practice information without the
need of staff intervention, 3) deliver the results to the orthodontist/
practice in a powerful, eye-friendly
graphic format.
Turning practice information
into business value
Introduced in January 2011, OrthoMetics has received strong endorsements from participating practices:
“It’s a must — I look at it every day” ...
“I’m a raving fan!” ...” No more plowing through paperwork. One click,
and I have more ‘on target’ information than we could ever have collected.” ... “I never realized how significant the discrepancy was between
new patient calls and actual exams.
We’ve changed our new patient greet
and enroll process to make sure new
patients come for their exam. Thank
you, OrthoMetrics.”
Although practice-management
systems record and generate statistical information, it’s often scattered
[6] =>
6
Industry
f OT page 5
goals of providing “ready to manage” information to the orthodontist,
OrthoMetrics receives the data and
assembles it in a management format.
In addition, acceptable ranges and
alerts are incorporated with the ability to review total practice statistics
or statistics by location. The data is
“pushed” to OrthoMetrics each day to
give the practice easy access to up-tothe day information.
The OrthoMetrics dashboard provides six of the most critical charts
and graphs for a quick snapshot of
practice activity. Other information
is categorized by a TAB registry with
detailed information about each chart.
As clinicians and managers review
strategic information, game changing priorities are established, such
AD
Ortho Tribune | November 2011
as reducing delinquent accounts,
restructuring fee schedules, re-visiting the new patient process, reorganizing the recall system or reducing
the number of patients over estimated
treatment time.
Initially, a customized set up is
completed for each practice. Afterward, the practice-management system is set to automatically upload the
required data at the end of each day.
Charts, graphs and statistical information are immediately updated
and accessible to the practice on the
secure OrthoMetrics website. The
days of waiting until the end of the
month to review progress and change
course are over.
Accurate industry performance
trends
Often the question is asked, “What’s
going on with other practices out
there?”
Regional and national data comparisons are available in addition to
comparisons of averages of other “1
doctor,” “1 doctor with associate” or
“multiple doctor” practices. Hours of
staff time previously spent collecting
and organizing information are no
longer necessary, and that time can
be spent more effectively.
Because
OrthoMetrics
data
is pulled automatically from the
practice-management system and not
written surveys, we feel that this database may be the most accurate in the
industry.
OrthoMetrics is built on the OrthoBanc platform, which is subjected to
numerous governmental and financial industry security standards as
well as annual reviews.
Industry standard benchmarks
are measuring tools for
practice efficiency
The design of OrthoMetrics incorporates more than 25 industry standard
benchmarks for achievement. With
a system of alerts when the practice is outside the preferred range,
tips are generated to help locate
the problem and find a solution.
Coupled with the unique consultant
portal, the practice can grant its
consultant(s) access to the data ending the task of generating and transmitting timely information.
Each consulting firm has the ability to set benchmarks for its clients. Through a system of interactive
notes or online collaboration, the
consultant has an up-to-date vision
of the practice and can design action
plans and immediate followup.
Practice management software
integration
Currently OrthoMetrics is fully integrated with OrthoTrac and on target to have a completed integration
with Dolphin Management by the
first quarter of 2012. Other software
management companies are in line
to integrate data with OrthoMetrics.
To obtain additional information
or a demo of OrthoMetrics, please
e-mail marketing@orthometrics.com
or call (800) 287-3396.
You can also access www.orthometrics.com for additional information. Practices that utilize this analytics tool to position themselves in
the new marketplace will be greatly
rewarded. OT
OT About the author
Mary Beth Kirkpatrick is a managing partner of impact360, a firm
that provides client-focused comprehensive business solutions and
technology expertise to orthodontic practices. She consults nationally and internationally to organize
day-to-day operational systems,
improve practice performance and
increase profitability. In addition,
the 360 technology team provides
innovative hardware and networking solutions to create maximum
workplace efficiency. For more
information, please see www.
impact360.com.
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