Interest Free Credit and Patient Finance

With the increasing popularity of today’s advanced treatments such as cosmetic dentistry and implants, our patients may be unable to accept the most appropriate treatment options due to financial constraints. Additionally, most consumer businesses now offer terms of payment such as a payment holiday or interest free credit. Patients are also customers, and as such have the expectation of level of service from all their service providers.

A CODEplan credit finance facility gives you the option to offer interest free and interest bearing credit for treatments between £350 and £5,500. Credit can be obtained for higher amounts but the approval process can be more complicated for the patient.

Experience has shown that practices who offer credit are able to provide more advanced and interesting treatments, increasing both job satisfaction and practice success.

The benefits of offering credit

• The opportunity to practice more advanced and enjoyable dentistry through the increased take-up of advanced treatments
• Cash-flow will improve as the payment for each full course of treatment is sent to your bank at the beginning of the course of treatment
• Less bad debts, the credit company takes the risk of non-payment
• Greater patient satisfaction

How does the credit facility work?
You choose the most appropriate arrangement for each individual patient, either interest free or interest bearing credit. A simple form is completed and the patient signs it. The receptionist then will telephone the credit company who will perform a 5-minute credit check, You will be called back in five or ten minutes with acceptance if the patient is eligible (can be longer during busy periods). Applications can also be processed instantly on-line.

Treatment can start as soon as acceptance has been received. Once the treatment is started, the form is sent to us and the funds will be remitted into your bank account within 7 working days of receipt.

Why offer both interest free and interest bearing credit?
The cost to the dentist of interest free credit varies according to the length of the term. For example six months interest free credit will cost the dentist 6.5% whilst 12 months will cost 7.5% and 24 months 11.5% (at current rates for £5,000 - £25,000).

If the credit is for a larger figure, the patient may want an extended payment period. In this instance the dentist may not wish to pay the higher credit charges involved. The solution is to share the cost of the credit, with the patient paying part and the dentist paying part, this makes for a very attractive proposition to the patient. This is called co-payment.

What do to next
Call CODEplan on 01409 255 551 and arrange for a no-obligation free consultation or email info@CODEplan.co.uk