Outsourcing vs. hiring: What should you do for your dental practice?

When we discuss outsourcing, we will mainly discuss virtual assistants and dental office work, but it should be understood that this means using any non-physically present dental office help.

There is much debate in the age of digital technologies. That is why we will present the two points of view and our options in this regard.

The case for outsourcing

In recent years, offshoring work has gained ground. One reason is the rise of dental virtual assistants, a new market gaining popularity. 

Outsourcing has some apparent advantages. The first of these is cost-effectiveness. You don't have to pay full-time salaries when you hire an outside dental staff. You pay the going rate for contractual work. And when you do that, you're much more likely to be able to afford to offer services that make your practice more competitive.

VAs are trained professionals who will help you with administrative workloads and more. They offer more streamlined operations for greater patient satisfaction. 

Hiring in-house staff

Conversely, employing dental personnel comes with a range of benefits. You will get the opportunity to build an atmosphere of teamwork. You can set up a rhythm and a work team according to a specific demand.

Furthermore, employing dental personnel gives dental practices a more significant measure of control over training and development. Dental practices can focus their training programs to serve their particular needs and, in so doing, ensure that all personnel are well-versed in the specific procedures and protocols of the dental practice. This kind of training also improves patient outcomes.

Hiring is not without its problems, though. It can also drain the time you want to spend improving your practice and serving your patients (translated into more investment).

Finding the right balance

Choosing between outsourcing and direct hiring should depend on what is precisely needed for your dental practice at any given moment. 

Many practices might find that the most effective solution is to use a combination of both, an in-house team for specific tasks and a virtual team for other tasks. 

For instance, a dental practice could hire a receptionist and an assistant yet remain efficient and save costs by letting a virtual assistant handle insurance verification and appointment scheduling. The next time you sit in a dental chair, remember: If the practice is well-run, upward of half its personnel might be on the other side of a computer screen.

Outsourcing vs. hiring? What to choose?

Dental practice management can be handled equally well by outsourcing or hiring. Dental virtual assistants are a flexible and cost-efficient answer to administrative overload. 

Still, hiring in-house staff can produce a benefits-rich working environment conducive to a high level of personalized patient care. Practicing dentists must evaluate the weighty (and, for some, hard to quantify) factors underlying their choice.

Either way, with either method, pick the keys to good practice management: efficiency, patient satisfaction, and long-term success.

We’ll answer your questions about VAs. Schedule a call with our specialists!

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