Why Use Membership Software in 2024

At Pearly, we understand that there are many moving pieces that go into having a successful practice, it can be difficult to keep track of everything. The last thing you want to do is have to talk to insurance companies or call collections for unpaid bills.

Fortunately, In-House Membership Plan software can solve all your practice and patients' needs. These plans serve as an alternative to dental insurance that offer your practice’s products and services to the patient with a specific payment schedule of your choosing.

Why should you choose in-house membership plans?

1. Attract new fee for service patients
2. More patient loyalty
3. Fewer collection calls
4. Increase case acceptance
5. Incrementally grow practice value

Boost Uninsured Patient Production

Dental practices spend a tremendous amount of money, time, and resources attracting new patients, but patient retention and compliance are often overlooked as critical components to practice success.

Our Dental Membership Software empowers your practice to offer in-house care plans directly to your uninsured patients – turning them into loyal members.

Uninsured patients are 35.5% less likely to have visited their dentist in the past year versus insured patients, according to our Patient Preferences Study, with cost and lack of dental benefits driving this difference. If you dig into your practice management software, you’ll likely see a similar trend. Furthermore, when patients change jobs or retire, your practice is at risk of losing the patient to a competitor.

In-house membership plans protect your practice as your members become your best patients. Members visit the dental office 2x as often as uninsured patients and accept 50%+ more treatment. The “membership effect” delivers loyalty and members know that their preventive care is covered, so have an incentive to come in for regular cleanings. More importantly, patients love buying membership plans directly from their dentist.

For retiring baby boomers losing employer-sponsored coverage and millennials in the gig-economy, your in-house membership plan becomes a key differentiator that provides your practice with an offer to retain your patients.

Grow Recurring Revenue

If your dental practice is like most, you start each month at $0 towards your production goal. This monthly reset makes it challenging for your practice’s revenue stream during down months or prolonged economic recessions when patients delay dental treatment.

Imagine starting each month with predictable revenue coming in from patient membership fees.

Forward-thinking dental practices experience this by offering in-house membership plans directly to patients with Pearly's Dental Membership Software.

Membership fees can add up fast for your practice as you scale your program. For example, 200 members paying an average of $300/yr turns into $60,000 per year in profitable and predictable revenue. Practices who commit to their membership program can quickly see 1,000 members paying subscription fees of over $300,000 per year or $25,000 per month.

Now imagine walking into your office at the start of each month knowing a large chunk of subscription fee revenue has already hit your dental practice bank account.

How do membership plans work?

Patients pay your practice a subscription fee for a membership plan that typically includes preventive care and discounts on other procedure categories. Your practice is 100% in control of the plan pricing, treatments, and terms.

Every dollar paid by the patient goes toward dental care and is paid directly to your practice!

By removing the insurance middleman, you take back control of your practice’s revenue stream and turn your hygiene department into a profitable subscription business.

Businesses with a recurring revenue stream receive higher valuations when it comes time to sell compared to non-recurring revenue companies. Your dental practice is no different. By smoothing out your practice’s revenue with membership fees, it becomes more reliable, predictable, and valuable.

Increase Practice Profitability

Pearly's Dental Membership Software helps you turn your dental patients into members who generate more net profit compared to your insured patients. By eliminating the insurance middleman with in-house membership plans, your practice is protected from declining reimbursements from the insurance companies.

For example, reimbursement rates for solo practitioners declined 8.7% in 2022. This might have directly hit your practice’s bottom line. Dentist take-home earnings have remained stagnant for decades while insurance companies pocket 40% of all dental industry revenue.

Dental practices have 100% control of membership plan pricing and terms so you can ensure your membership program delivers predictable and profitable revenue. When you compare membership patients to insured patients, many practices find them to be 40% more profitable...and more loyal to their practice.

Stop letting insurance companies determine the profitability of your practice. Launching an in-house membership program and using Pearly's industry leading dental software for Membership Growth Services, will help your practice boost your bottom line and take back control.

Ultimately, in-house membership plans are a win-win. Patients have more convenient ways to pay, thus more consistent revenue for your practice. Join the forward-thinking dental practices who use Pearly launch and grow in-house membership programs to foster patient loyalty and retain their uninsured patients.

Take a tour of Pearly Plan and start embracing subscription-based dentistry.

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