In times past, I, like many orthodontists, followed the traditional logic when deciding on office location. Near professional parks, around hospitals, a block off main street…
Location, Location Pretty much anywhere was a fine spot to set up an orthodontic office, and who wants to pay that much for a primo space?!
Many will say this phenomenon of worry free demographics is restricted to rural America and small to mid-sized towns. While there may be more of a tendency for our big city cousins to think about location to some degree, I will have to disagree and say that very few orthodontists think about location in the way that Chic-Fil-A thinks about location, and I feel I’ve visited enough offices in enough cities and towns to back up my contentions.
I’m not saying that we orthodontists were wrong to think about practice location in the way we have. In the past, anywhere was good enough and patients swam in schools large enough for all to catch plenty… I am saying things have changed and will change even more dramatically and quickly in the years to come. We need to rethink where and how we practice.
Many of us in practice today enjoy well placed fees – and patients who are happy to pay more than the bare minimum because they enjoy excellent customer service, a friendly atmosphere and excellent clinical results. However, if we look at the decline of the medical profession in our country with an eye on our own future, it’s not hard to predict that sometime soon, the American culture and attitude toward health care will cause a shift. Towards price and convenience over service, and value added extras over quality.
Another lesson to be gleaned from the real doctors’ plight is consolidation. A very smart man recently told me, “Dentistry today is like the gas station industry was in the 1930′s”. I agree. We are, by and large, mom and pop operations practicing in random fashion with non-standard equipment, records and procedures. Exxon, Mobil, Standard Oil, British Petroleum, etc. organized the filling stations among a few large corporate players. The same thing is happening in medicine now and will be happening in dentistry sooner than you think (it’s well under way). These are real businessmen schooled in efficiency, systems, accounting and budgeting, not dentists playing at small business. They are not to be taken lightly, ignored or underestimated and they have history on their side… which brings me back to the point of this article. Anywhere you see major players in corporate dentistry setting up shop, notice what locations they choose. They won’t be hidden back in some professional development I assure you!
In the future, because of insurance and our country’s entitlement mindset about healthcare, patients will see all braces (and yes I said braces and not orthodontics on purpose) as being the same. In that future, the only factors that will differentiate one practice from another will be convenience (location), visibility (location), affordability (price AND financing), and that most American of questions, “Do you take my insurance?”, so you may do well to think hard before choosing your next spot to hang a shingle. I know I now think about location in a totally different way than I used to! I’m no expert but I’m trying to learn what I can by watching the experts closely.
PS
I’m no doomsday guy or Chicken Little and I don’t see any of the above as negatives. It is the natural progression of things and capitalism in progress. Changes are coming. Change is good and always brings opportunity for those who recognize it and adapt.
Good luck!!
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