Dr. Stacey Simmons graduated from Marquette University School of Dentistry in 2004 and is now the editor for DE’s Breakthrough Clinical e-newsletter and contributing author for DE and Perio-Implant Advisory. She donates her time and talents to the community and on dental humanitarian missions to Guatemala. When she is not working, you will find her outdoors, training for triathlons and spartan races, cooking and spending time with their 3 boys.
In this episode we discuss:
– What kinds of insurance should dentists be thinking about
– Learning to trust your insurance company or finding one you can trust
– Dealing with dissatisfied patients and issuing refunds
Key Take-Away:
My whole inspirations for writing articles on dental insurance more or less stem from experiences I have while practicing. Disability insurance or malpractice insurance or insurance for if someone falls down in your parking lot. Those are the types of things that you hope will never happen to you but they always do and so thats where my inspiration came from. I am not an expert on these insurances and I have to defer that to people that actually do this for a living but my intent for writing these was to basically get the wheels turning for people who just buy the insurance because their agents tell them to. I think what contributes to the aspect of dentists not paying attention to their insurance is that its not tangible. Its not something that you can physically hold, you know its out there but you don’t really see the benefits of it and so its really easy to just forget about it. Nobody like paying for something that they cant really see a return in. There are so many different types of insurance and there are insurance agents that will tell you that you need to buy this type, while another agent will tell you to buy another, so sometimes its hard to know who to trust. They are out to provide a service and to sell a product. It is a tricky and complicated thing to wrap your mind around. It was really my intent to help people think about where they are and what they need for their practice.
Can you tell us what your favorite motivational quote is?
“Fate whispers to the warrior, You cannot withstand the storm. The warrior whispers back, I am the storm.”
“In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
What is the best advice you have ever received and from whom?
Time is going to go on no matter what you do or don’t do. If you have something in your life that you want to achieve, do it, because time is going to still continue onward. If you don’t, you are going to regret that you had the time and didn’t use it.
Can you give us one clinical/Practice management pearl that we can take to our practices on monday?
To have a successful practice, you have to rely on your staff, and they have to rely on you. That relationship has to be mutual. When that trust and respect is there, they are going to work harder for you, and that in turn will lead to a successful practice.
Can you give us a app or internet resource that you think is truly awesome?
DentalEconomics
Dentistry IQ
What is your one must read book right now?
In stead of a book I am going to have to say a Podcast. Tim Ferris did a podcast episode a couple of months ago and it was called “The scariest Navy Seal I ever met and what I learned.” It was a Navy Seal and his time in Iraq, but a lot of it can be related to other things like dentistry. He talked about leadership and balancing opposing forces. He talks about detaching yourself from situations to have a better unbiased viewpoint.
If you had to start your practice all over again or you are talking to someone who is just about to start their practice, what advice would you recommend?
Don’t set your goals and ambitions in stone. If you say that you are going to accomplish something in ten years and that becomes your focus, you lose sight of what you have already accomplished. With that, you have to be willing to try new things and think outside of the box.
How can we connect with you
Practice: http://www.canyonviewdental.com/
Phone: 406-375-1192
Email: hello@canyonviewdental.com