The Active Patient Base Myth

Are You Underestimating Your Dental Practice's True Potential?

By Emmie Saavedra, President and Founder of Champion Dentists

How many active patients do you have?
Are you sure?
How do you know?
Can you confidently back up that number?

Your active patient count is not just a number— it’s the lifeblood of your practice. This number is the basis for many of your operational decisions. With each active patient contributing an average of $450 annually for your practice each year, your active patient count will forecast your practice’s yearly gross income. Get this wrong, and your entire practice could be standing on shaky ground.

Your active patient count also guides your staffing decisions. How many hygienists do you need to serve your active patient base on a 6-month schedule? Having enough hygienists is vital for retaining patients and maintaining a high level of care. Your active patient count is one key indicator when evaluating how many full- or part-time associates you can bring into your practice. Imagine basing your staffing and procurement decisions based on inflated numbers! You might end up draining resources on overstaffing and ordering surplus supplies.

With your active patient count guiding so many of your business decisions, it had best be accurate! However, if you’re using numbers generated by a practice management software (PMS), you’ll want to read this. The list your PMS provides you of active patients can be inflated, leading you to believe you have more active patients than you really do. The truth is that if you’re relying solely on your PMS for your active patient count, you might be feeling a false sense of security. How can this be? Let’s explore why your PMS might be misleading you and how you can align your numbers with reality.

Where are the discrepancies in your PMS’s active patient count?

We would like to blame inaccurate information on software bugs, but, sadly, the issue is usually carbon-based – i.e., it’s user error. The root of inaccurate active patient counts is how active patients are defined and tracked. Basically, the parameters your PMS is using to produce your active patient count are off.

The American Dental Association (ADA) defines active patients as individuals who have been served by a dentist in your practice within the last year or those who have been served within the last 24 months but not within the past year.

The American Dental Association (ADA) defines active patients as individuals who have been served by a dentist in your practice within the last year or those who have been served within the last 24 months but not within the past year. However, dental practices can define active patients as people who have been served within the past 12, 18, or 24 months. Which one is best for you?

A PMS spits out an active patient count based on the number of patients who have the “Active Patient” box checked. If your active patient count doesn’t seem to line up with reality, look at how your PMS is currently deciding who gets that box checked.

The Cost of Inaccurate Counts

As shown above, your active patient count is extremely important. Getting it wrong can have dire consequences for your practice.

An inflated active patient count can lead you down a path of financial mismanagement.

An inflated active patient count can lead you down a path of financial mismanagement. Here’s just a few ways:

Hiring and scheduling hygienists, assistants, and administrators based on inflated active patient counts is a costly mistake. Salaries for employees you don’t need can create a major cavity in your funds. Where else could you use those dollars?

Similarly, expecting to see more patients than you do can lead you to order far more probes, dental dams, and saliva ejectors than you could ever hope to use. This not only decays your budget—it also leads to overcrowded supply closets!

You might also base decisions on false financial projections. If you think you have 1,000 active patients, you would expect a gross annual income of $450,000. If you actually only have 800 active patients, your actual gross income will be $90,000 less! What decisions will you have made based on that inflated number?

Inaccurate active patient counts can also lead to operational inefficiencies. You might be holding appointment slots for patients who are no longer active. This will mean hours with your chairs empty, leading to a loss of income. It could also delay actual active patients from receiving care because you’re expecting other appointments that will never come.

Finally, your practice valuation and key performance indicators (KPIs) will be crooked without an accurate active patient list. KPIs like patient retention rates, new patient acquisition, and patient turnover will be skewed. This will create inaccurate perceptions of practice performance, leading to a false sense of security. Moreover, if you’re thinking of selling your practice, inflated numbers can lead to disputes, renegotiations, or failed transactions with buyers who feel misled.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with an inflated active patient count! Luckily, you’re in a position to keep your numbers accurate.

Aligning Your Active Patient Count

So, how can you keep your active patient count as precise as your dental work? Here are four easy ways to get your PMS in line:

Clearly define your active patients. How recently does a patient need to have been seen to be considered “active”? What sorts of services “count”? Make sure your definitions are consistent across all patient files.

Keep your data entry accurate. Train your employees to correctly mark patient statuses, update records promptly, and ensure that any changes in patient activity are reflected in the system.

Keep an eye on KPIs related to patient activity, such as patient retention rates and appointment attendance rates. Monitoring these indicators can help identify any discrepancies in patient counts early on and allow for corrective action to be taken promptly.

Most importantly, regularly audit your data. Check patient records to ensure that the status of each patient is accurately reflected. This involves reviewing patient activity and updating statuses as necessary to ensure only truly active patients are counted.

You should also implement a system to run the appropriate monthly reports to ensure the integrity of the data input is consistent. Once you have a handle on how to keep your active patient count accurate, you can start planning ways to grow your practice.

Don't Sleep on This!

An accurate active patient list is the root of all good practice decisions. Forecasting income, organizing staffing, and planning growth all depend on a correct count. Clearly define “active patients” in your PMS, be meticulous in entering patient data, watch your KPIs, and audit your records regularly to keep your active patient count aligned with reality. Once you do, you can focus on streamlining recare and re-engaging capture inactive patients.

Ready to turn insights into action? Let Champion Dentists help you achieve precision and unlock your practice’s full potential.

About Emmie Saavedra

Emmie is the President and Founder of Champion Dentists. With more than 30 years in the medical and dental industries, and over a decade in entrepreneurship, her strengths lie in building deep relationships, elevating personal and team performance, and empowering strong leadership. Emmie is committed to empowering Dentists to achieve phenomenal success both in life and in business because she believes that both are tightly integrated and hold the KEY to living a fulfilling and joyful life.

About Champion Dentists

Champion Dentists is a premier professional business advisory firm dedicated to providing comprehensive consulting solutions for dental practices. We specialize in delivering highly tailored onsite solutions, addressing the unique challenges faced by the dental industry through a streamlined and effective approach. Our primary objective is to equip dentists with the essential business management skills necessary for practice management and growth, enhancing both