Louise Beddow speaks to Ed Webster about how changing plan provider enabled him and the principal partner to invest in his 70-year-old practice…
Woodlands Dental Practice is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year but is definitely not slowing down in terms of its focus on developing the business. The Neath-based surgery is continuing to make changes to enhance the experience it provides to patients, one of which was moving plan provider to DPAS.
This triggered further changes, as it freed up cash to invest in improvements such as updating the appearance and accessibility of the practice itself and buying new equipment. Here, Partner Practice Principal Dentist Ed Webster speaks to Louise Beddow, Sales Manager at DPAS, about the impact this has had on driving his business forward…
Louise Beddow (LB): Ed, please can you share a little bit of background about your practice?
Ed Webster (EW): Of course. We’re a private practice, although we do offer an NHS service for children, and we currently serve around 1,600 patients. We have a small enthusiastic team of two partner dentists, a practice manager, two hygienists and five dental nurses who have all worked at the practice for a number of years and are welcome friendly faces for our existing and new patients.
LB: Great, and you joined DPAS last summer, why did you want to leave your incumbent provider?
EW: I was becoming disillusioned at the increasing administrative fees from the provider that we had been using. When they were then bought out and became part of a larger corporation, I felt that they were becoming a bit faceless and that the dental part of the company was less important to them than its other areas. When you add to that the loss of their iconic logo, it felt a suitable time to explore other provider options.
LB: Why did you then choose DPAS as your new provider?
EW: We chose DPAS as the service is comparable with our former provider but with reduced administrative costs which has enabled us to freeze the patient monthly costs. In turn, this has enabled us to provide investment to enhance the patients’ experience such as updating our patient access with a ramp, improving the toilets for those with disabilities and we will also soon be updating the hygienist surgery with new equipment and décor.
LB: It’s all going very well for you, but did you have any concerns beforehand, and, if so, how did you overcome these?
EW: I was concerned that we may lose some patients loyal to our previous provider, as I mentioned earlier their logo and brand was well-known and, of course, as one of their practices, we were branded under their name. But, in fact, it gave us the opportunity to rebrand as Woodlands Dental Practice and patients have really welcomed and embraced our new, more personalised brand; we managed to convert 90% of patients to DPAS and are continuing to convert the remaining patients.
As a busy practice there was also some trepidation over adding to our workload and the amount of administration that may be involved in introducing new plans and switching patients over to them. It was very important that we were able to reassure patients that all the same benefits are present with our new provider and from the outset the reassurance and support from the team at DPAS, and particularly from you Lou, has been fantastic. With your guidance and training, such as helping the team understand how to effectively explain the process to patients, the transition was seamless and stress-free.
There has been ongoing support since then as well. We’ve received excellent training in areas such as staff development training and marketing, as well as advice about policies and implementation around the new GDPR guidelines. And as you know you’ve been back to see us to help with contacting those remaining patients. We have the peace of mind knowing that you’re just a phone call away to help with any administrative concerns or just general advice and that’s hugely invaluable to us.
LB: Thanks for sharing your story Ed, we’ll have to leave it there for now but no doubt I’ll be seeing or speaking to you soon!
