Clawback Crisis

UDA Treadmill

Many of us dread clawback at the end of the year.  Delivering a contract with only 4% tolerance can be a challenge at the best of times, after all it’s only a couple of weeks’ productivity.  Sickness, maternity, bad weather, world cups, staff moving on, and a shortage of work can affect any industry.  However in dentistry the UDA presents an additional challenge.  When you take on a new patient it’s a gamble as to whether you’ll get paid to treat them, or pay for the privilege.  These unique challenges can not only cause enormous variations in productivity throughout a year, but can actually be a disincentive to deliver the full contract.

Faced with diminishing profits, and a huge clawback to repay… the LDC was called for some advice

Following a bad year with recruitment, and a large number of high needs patients, one of our local colleagues was in the situation of end of year clawback.  This practitioner had been working all the hours, paying out for locums, and had dropped their own draw to afford it all.  Imagine that – working more for less – the sad truth is in dentistry this is an all too familiar picture.  Faced with diminishing profits, and a huge clawback to repay, this practitioner was really concerned about the viability of the practice even in the short term.

Help is at hand

The Local Dental Committee exists to support dentists.  With a large number of experienced practitioners making up the LDC there’s a wealth of knowledge to tap into.  Faced with a seemingly impossible challenge the dentist sought help from colleagues, after all no-one else helps dentists !  The LDC met with this colleague over dinner to listen to the challenges the practice had been facing.  It was clear just by having some likeminded friendly faces to share with was a great relief in itself.  Spending some time looking over the staffing of the practice, the suppliers, and the accounts, we were able to suggest areas savings could be made.  With all the time being spent delivering dentistry it’s amazing how quickly the business health can diminish.  These are things the practitioner could well have done on their own, however involving colleagues can help to identify savings quickly, source new suppliers, and learn from what others have tried.

We’re pleased to say that the practice has survived another year, and is well on the way to becoming profitable again.  Don’t wait until it’s too late – get in touch today!