The U.S. Dental Market: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Headed

Posted: January 2nd, 2015 | Author: Lindsay | Filed under: Basics, Controlled Substances, Dental, In the News | Tags: ADA, Controlled Substances, Dental Market, DoseSpot, DSOs, e-Prescribing Integration, EHR, EPCS, March Mandate, Practice Management | No Comments »

As 2014 comes to a close, one industry in particular deserves a contemplative glance—the U.S. dental system. Projected to “evolve more in the next 20 years than in the previous 50,” U.S. dental care is changing quite dramatically and failure to change with it (listen up, stragglers) may result in decline and stagnation. Key research bodies are proud to release their 2014 research reports, highlighting where the U.S. dental industry has been—and where consumers can expect it to go in the coming years. Take a look at some key industry-shifting trends below:

Group practice growth

As group practices continue to grow, the days of solo practices being the dominant model for dental practices are dwindling. There are a number of reasons why consolidation and acquisition are the future of dentistry—first, dentistry always seems to follow medicine. Other reasons include rising costs, third party pressures, severe fragmentation of the dental industry and massive dental school debts.

Influence of PPOs

Fee-for-service (FFS) dentistry and PPOs will continue to be a hot topic in the field of dentistry. Dental insurance expert Teresa Duncan states the obvious—patients will “vote with their wallets” as typical American consumers do. According to Duncan, “what will separate successful offices is the ability to provide quality service and a great patient experience…half the battle is accepting that [one’s] business model must shift to accommodate industry changes.” To all dentists out there, keeping an eye on this trend in 2015 is advised.

Medical-dental collaborations

Expect to see more dental and medical cooperation towards things that will help both sides as well as their patients—such as EHRs. Collaboration between physicians, dentists and other allied health professionals to promote a holistic, integrated approach to caring for patients is a major goal for 2015.

Technology as a window of opportunity

CAD/CAM technology in dentistry is expected to continue its boom in 2015 with a larger number of dentists using tablets to improve patient care and satisfaction. The idea of Google Glass helping dentists may take off after the New Year, as dental students at the University of Michigan have already formed a dental consulting company to pinpoint exactly how this innovative technology may be useful to dental practices going forward.

The more educated patient

Patients will continue to utilize the internet for information about dental health and clinician feedback, along with “shopping” for dentists. Ratings sites seem to be everywhere and prove to be very powerful, so clinicians should be cognizant of word-of-mouth in the coming year. Social media is everywhere!

SOURCE: Dental Products Report 

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DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.

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