Your practice can be producing plenty of dentistry and still be leaving a surprising amount of money on the table.
In this episode of the Raving Patients Podcast, Dr. Len Tau sits down with Ori Bekerman, founder of Practice Alpha, to uncover one of the most overlooked revenue leaks in independent dental practices: the billing process. After building, operating, and selling a multi-location dental group himself, Ori saw firsthand how easily revenue can get stuck in aging claims, inaccurate patient estimates, denied claims, and overloaded front desk workflows.
Ori breaks down the numbers every practice owner should be watching, including insurance and patient aging reports, collections, and claims over 90 days old. He explains why simply seeing claims go out and money come in doesn't mean your billing is healthy, and why accountability and consistent reporting are critical for identifying problems before they become expensive.
Dr. Len and Ori also discuss why asking your front desk to handle phones, scheduling, patient checkout, and billing at the same time can create costly mistakes. Ori shares how practices can evaluate whether billing should stay in-house or be outsourced, why EFT payments can improve cash flow, and how better revenue cycle management can help independent dentists protect profitability without constantly chasing more new patients.
What You'll Learn
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How to tell if your dental practice has a billing or collections problem
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The key insurance and patient aging numbers every practice owner should monitor
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Where revenue leakage can begin before treatment is even performed
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Why inaccurate insurance verification can lead to incorrect patient balances
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Why having your front desk handle billing along with multiple other responsibilities can put revenue at risk
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The importance of clean claim submission and proper documentation
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Why accountability and reporting matter just as much as sending claims
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The difference between flat-rate and percentage-based billing models
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Why EFT payments can improve security, organization, and cash flow
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Three questions to ask when deciding whether to keep billing in-house or outsource it
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How stronger revenue cycle management can help practices protect their bottom line
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Key Takeaways
01:50 Your Front Desk Is Not Your Biller
03:12 Meet Ori Bekerman
04:50 The Hidden Cost of Bad Billing
06:50 Key Billing Benchmarks to Watch
10:45 How the Dental Revenue Cycle Works
13:25 Where Revenue Leakage Begins
15:18 Why Your Front Desk Shouldn't Do Everything
18:20 Flat-Rate vs. Percentage-Based Billing
21:51 Dental Billing Myths and Faster Payments
26:10 In-House vs. Outsourced Billing
31:45 Lightning Round
36:42 Connect With Ori and Free RCM Sanity Check
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Connect With Ori
Email: ori@practicealpha.io
Website: practicealpha.io
Ori is also offering Raving Patients listeners a free RCM sanity check checklist with guided instructions for reviewing billing and revenue cycle performance based on the practice's PMS.
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Learn proven dental marketing strategies and online reputation management techniques at DrLenTau.com.
This podcast is sponsored by Dental Intelligence. Learn more here.
This podcast is sponsored by CallRail, call tracking & lead conversion software for dentists. Find out more here.
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