Menu

techmediaworx

About techmediaworx

Posts by :

Economic Survey – What is it?

/ /

This survey is now conducted every three years on a rotating schedule between the provinces who work with Impact Economic Consultants. We would like to refresh your memory, or if you have never participated in this survey, we would like to explain what the process involves and what you will receive in return.

What is involved in participation?

The Economic Survey process requires you to complete a questionnaire, submit a copy of your most recent Income Statement(s) and Balance Sheet provided to you by your accountant, and participate in a 15-minute in-office meeting with an Impact representative. You may be wondering why we ask for your financial statements or feel uncomfortable divulging this sensitive information and we hope to clarify that. We assure you that this information is kept strictly confidential and does not leave our office. Our internal network of computers, where our database is stored, does not have access to the internet and therefore is unable to be hacked. Impact has never had a breach of confidentiality.

The meeting you will have with Impact is to review and collect the survey and financial statements and to ask any questions that pertain to the data. If all the information is complete and accurate the meeting will be very brief.

What is the information used for?

Impact uses this information directly in the development of the Suggested Fee Guide for each province. This survey is very important for determining overall practice expenses as a percentage of gross revenues and understanding how these expenses are changing over time. It is also important for us to see how each line item is changing over time, such as staff salaries, rent, dental supplies, etc., so that we can make the appropriate adjustments to the Suggested Fee Guides.

What do you receive?

For your participation you will receive a Comparative Practice Report. You will be able to see how your practice compares to the others in the province for your gross, expenses, net, expense-to-gross ratio, and hourly production comparisons. You will receive practice expense comparisons by line item; key ratios such as wage expense as a percentage of gross; historical changes in your practice; financial comparisons by years in service, area, etc.; and many other useful metrics.

We urge you all to participate and to contact Impact or your Association/College/Society if you have any questions or concerns. The schedule for the next survey in your province is as follows:

  • British Columbia – 2020
  • Nova Scotia / Prince Edward Island – 2021
  • Saskatchewan / New Brunswick – 2022

We look forward to meeting you!

Procedure Frequency Survey – What is it?

/ /

Each year Impact Economic Consultants, along with the BCDA, NSDA DAPEI, CDSS and NBDS, conducts Procedure Frequency Survey beginning of January. If you have never participated in this survey before we would like to further highlight what it is all about.

What is involved in participation?

It is very easy to complete this survey: simply email, mail or fax a copy of your annual production reports along with the accompanying header sheet (an electronic version of this can be requested by emailing our office) to Impact. The header sheet asks a few necessary questions such as annual hours worked for certain employees, the number of chairs used in your practice, and so on. This information helps us calculate each dentist’s individual reports correctly.  The production report requires only a few clicks in your practice management software.

What is the information used for?

This information is collected primarily to update the Suggested Fee Guide and the model used to produce it. The data we collect allows us to see how the quantities of procedures vary over time. We analyze all the current and historical data to see how price changes affect the quantities demanded of each procedure or categories of procedures. We also calculate the average total revenues for each dentist. This helps us see how gross revenues are changing from year-to-year. Also, each code in the guide is weighted by the relative frequencies to estimate the overall Suggested Fee Guide increase. Codes that are performed more frequently, such as scaling, will carry a heavier weighting toward the overall increase.

Another use of this information is to calculate what we refer to as the ‘street fees’ – the average fees that dentists actually charge patients. This is simply the total revenues for each procedure divided by the number of times that procedure was performed. This helps us gauge whether certain levels of fees are appropriate for the current market.

What do you receive?

As an incentive for participating, dentists receive a feedback report comparing their practice to the average of the other participating practices in the province. Your street fees will be compared to the average street fees so that you can see areas you may be discounting more than you realize. You will also see how you rank compared to others in terms of total procedures and total revenues, how your procedure mix compares to the others, the top 5 procedures that differ from the average, and many other very useful metrics.

Impact is always available and happy to answer questions regarding the data collection process. The more information we receive, the more reliable the results will be. All information Impact receives is treated as highly confidential and does not leave the office. Once it is no longer needed, the production reports are shredded on-site.

All dentists are encouraged to participate in this great benefit to you and the profession!

The Impact of Economics

/ /

 

 

 

 

GREG FINLAYSON, PhD
Principal
Impact Economic Consultants

Economics is about making decisions on how to use
limited resources. Economics affect a dentist’s decisions
about staffing, equipment, materials, working hours, and
more. Patients also make economic decisions about
dentistry: if or when to see a dentist, whether to accept a
recommended treatment plan, and fundamentally, how much of
their limited money they choose to spend on dental care
versus groceries, rent or going to a movie.

Dentists work in isolated environments, with little
opportunity to know how things work in other dental
practices. Economic decisions are often dependent upon
limited information. The information required to make
decisions on everything from how many hours they work, to
staff compensation, to what they charge for a two-surface
composite restoration, is normally unavailable.

FILLING THE INFORMATION GAP FOR NOVA SCOTIA
DENTISTS
The Nova Scotia Dental Association (NSDA) works for
dentists to fill this information gap. As a member service,
NSDA contracts with Impact Economic Consultants (Impact)
to support members in their economic decision-making.
Impact is a trusted source of information on staff wages,
suggested fees for procedures, and many other features of
the economic side of dentistry in Nova Scotia.

What’s unique about Impact’s information is that it’s 100%
Nova Scotia data. This is a good thing, because the economics
of dentistry varies greatly between provinces. It’s also
challenging – it means Impact is dependent upon Nova Scotia
dentists to participate in surveys so made-in-Nova Scotia
information can be produced.

SURVEYS: THE PULSE OF THE PROFESSION
On an ongoing basis, Impact invites Nova Scotia dentists to
participate in several surveys to provide crucial decision-making
information:

  • The yearly Procedure Frequency Survey tells us how many
    times each procedure is performed, and what the average
    billing is for the procedure. This allows us to monitor if the
    Suggested Fee Guide accurately reflects changes in
    services being offered and fees being charged by
    dentists, and how the gross billings of dental practices are
    changing over time.

The yearly Wage Survey asks dentists about the hourly
rates they are paying their staff, by position and years of
experience. Once aggregated, this information helps
dentists stay competitive with their compensation, helping
to attract and retain staff.

  • Every two years, the Census Survey produces a snapshot
    of the profession. This information is used to identify
    trends over time, and to create weightings used in the
    statistical analysis of other economic information that
    Impact collects.

  • Every three years, we conduct an Economic Survey to
    determine the cost-side of operating a dental practice.
    Financial statements are aggregated to find trends in
    expenses, allowing adjustments to the Suggested Fee
    Guide that reflect the costs of operating a dental
    practice. This survey also helps us understand the
    various factors influencing the economic side of
    dentistry.

PARTICIPATION IS CRUCIAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
Dentists who don’t respond to the surveys aren’t
represented in the aggregated results. NSDA’s Fee Guide
Committee makes real decisions based on the data Impact
receives from NSDA members. These decisions have an
impact on the economic decisions every dentist makes, from
the fees they charge, to the wages they pay, to whether
they hire another staff person. All data Impact receives is
treated as highly confidential. Only aggregated information is
reported, protecting the privacy of individual respondents.
Individual data is not shared with anyone.

The online wage survey is underway now, with notices
sent via email. In January, you’ll receive a package from
Impact with everything you need to participate in the
Procedure Frequency Survey. The Economic Survey will
next be conducted in Nova Scotia in 2021.

Remember, dentists participating in the surveys obtain a
personalized report showing how their practice compares
with others. This kind of information is not available
elsewhere and is a valuable piece of information giving you an
edge in economic decision-making. This is yet another
valuable member service provided by the NSDA.

Greg Finlayson is an owner and principal of Impact
Economic Consultants Inc. Bios and credentials of the
Impact Team can be reviewed at www.ImpactEcon.ca.