Becker's Dental + DSO Review

9 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 2021 NO. 4 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING SPONSORED BY B eginning in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted health care spending and employment as the world took measures to keep everyone safe and reduce the spread. From lower patient volume to challenging supplies accessibility and growing talent shortages, health care providers had to rethink many aspects of their operations in order to continue providing quality care while minimizing the financial and safety impacts. We had the opportunity to discuss how the team at Heartland Dental, the nation's largest Dental Support Organization (DSO), has successfully navigated these external pressures while continuing to improve their safety and care standards in the process. Mark Greenstein, Heartland's EVP and Chief Growth Officer highlighted how Heartland's support team has "continued to work diligently throughout the pandemic to ensure supported doctors have the resources and support they need to provide the highest quality care to the communities they serve." Greenstein added, "When access to proper PPE became challenging at the start of the pandemic, our procurement team worked tirelessly to buy, test and store PPE, for Heartland supported practices." But Heartland didn't stop there—the company recognized the broader need for authentic PPE across the health care industry and worked to share resources with other providers. "Our team understood the potential impact that not having proper PPE could have on all healthcare providers and their patients," said Dr. Rick Workman, Founder and Executive Chairman of Heartland dental. "That is why we took measures to secure and share authentic PPE with health care professionals within the Heartland Dental network and beyond dentistry, so providers could continue to deliver great care safely and with peace of mind, no matter what." Heartland also continues to find innovative ways to manage costs and make care more accessible for patients throughout the pandemic – a focus area with increasing importance considering inflation. "We know that supplies and labs [used to create crowns, bridges, dentures, and other dental appliances] account for half of our supported practices' controllable expenses," Greenstein shared. "Supplies and labs pricing is something we can influence and control to help offset the rising costs in other areas such as talent." When asked how Heartland's strategy kept up during the pandemic, Greenstein explained, "To help control overall costs during the pandemic, our procurement team utilized established relationships with labs and suppliers, leveraging our growing footprint and combined spend to negotiate competitive pricing for Heartland supported practices. When we combine our spend and work together, we have greater purchasing power. Maintaining and building on our trusted relationships with suppliers and labs, something we had already been doing across our business prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, enabled us to continue to offset rising costs." Further, the Heartland Dental team has continued to rethink their relationships with supplies and the supply ordering process over the past year. "Earlier this year, Heartland invested in Dentira, a one-stop marketplace where our supported doctors can view products and pricing from multiple suppliers at one time," Greenstein shared. "This was a considerable process improvement, transitioning from 37 sites and forms to a single site where supported doctors can order directly from different manufacturers. Dentira brings more transparency to available products from multiple suppliers and associated pricing helps Heartland supported doctors make the best decisions for their practice and their patients. Further, Heartland's supplies formulary is among the largest and highest quality in dentistry with over 40,000 SKUs." How Heartland Dental Has Continued to Meet and Exceed Safety and Quality Care Standards "Bringing more transparency to available products from multiple suppliers and associated pricing helps Heartland supported doctors make the best decisions for their practice and their patients." Mark Greenstein, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer, Heartland Dental

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