The White Cottage
Dental Practice, Fairfold

Background

On the edge of the Cotswolds, Fairford is an attractive market town with a thriving community of about 3,500 served by one medical and two dental practices.

The White Cottage Dental Practice is owned by husband and wife team Mark Milnthorpe and Susan Steer. Shortly after Susan set up the practice in 1992 an associate joined, and in 1993 Susan’s husband Mark moved from his Cheltenham practice to become the third member of the clinical team.

Located in Gloucestershire, the practice is close to the borders of four surrounding counties and attracted patients seeking NHS dentistry from a very wide area and some large conurbations. The patient base was large as a result, with all of the attendant pressure. So in 1999, Susan and Mark decided to adopt a nationally-branded dental capitation plan in an effort to reduce the NHS burden and to further develop their small private patient base.

At first the capitation plan worked for White Cottage, but it became unwieldy and time-consuming to administer as more patients joined. Ultimately, the practice had to reconsider its options to find an alternative.

Solution

A meeting with DPAS convinced White Cottage that there was a customer support team professional enough and enthusiastic enough to provide the required back office services.

Although the practice manager initially took some persuading that there would be minimal impact of the changeover on patients, the new payment plan soon proved as simple and straightforward as has been promised. And the practice manager was particularly relieved to find that all the patients themselves had to do was sign a cancellation of one direct debit and a new mandate for another.

Benefits

The changeover proved to be a winning move for patients and practice alike.

Critically, White Cottage customers were happy and supportive because of the valuable dentist/ patient relationship – they trusted the practice, and believed that if their dentists thought it was a good move, they would benefit from it as patients. Their support was soon rewarded: thanks to DPAS’ lower charges, the practice could keep the level of treatment fees down.

In turn, the practice benefited from the enhanced patient relationships and loyalty. It also enjoyed a significant cost saving in using DPAS, a budget boost which was spent on practice refurbishments for the enjoyment and comfort of all.

Sue and Mark were also convinced of the wisdom of promoting their own practice identity – under DPAS, the new payment scheme is known as ‘The White Cottage Patient Plan’. They felt their patients recognised and welcomed the move from an ‘insurance’ scheme to a practice-based maintenance plan.

But their practice identity was not the only thing they retained. Despite White Cottage’s previous provider suggesting that some patients might reconsider their dental plan arrangements on a change of agency, this proved not to be the case. No patients left as a result of the new plan – in fact, more were keen to join as they felt they were becoming members of the ‘practice club’.

With DPAS, White Cottage therefore benefited from both the considerable savings as well as from the increased regular income.

To find out more about how DPAS can help smooth your journey from NHS to private practice, or to see how we can make your existing payment plan administration work more efficiently, please contact us.