The Importance of Keeping up with Professional Development
The last three years have seen a massive surge in online education, in terms of both offerings and adoption. Out of necessity, during the pandemic many people became used to the idea of learning online. Whether school students or working adults, whether via live webinars or recorded asynchronous courses, millions went online to further their education and professional development.
Continuing education is integral to dentistry. Technologies and procedures are constantly being refined and improved, and CE courses are the best way to stay on top of all the changes. But professional development isn’t limited to the clinical side of dentistry: office managers and insurance coordinators also have to adapt to rapidly changing tools and techniques, all while keeping a busy practice running smoothly.
Luckily, there are organizations to help. AADOM, the American Association of Dental Office Management, is a comprehensive educational resource for anyone seeking to learn more about dental practice management. They offer courses, webinars, and even a conference.
Vyne Dental regularly offers complimentary webinars to help dental office managers and team members keep abreast of recent and important developments in practice management. Teresa Duncan, insurance expert and educator, stresses the importance of continually striving to advance professional development.
“The thing is, insurance changes a lot,” Teresa says. “Not only do codes change every year, but every plan has different guidelines. And every year those guidelines change – you have to find out what the new guidelines are for processing each policy for each carrier. If you don’t take classes or courses to keep up with this type of thing, you may be operating on rules that are years out of date.”
Each year, Vyne Dental and Teresa present a free CDT Coding Update in January, followed up by a Mid-Year Insurance Check-In. A consultant, speaker, and trainer for decades, Teresa is passionate about helping team members keep up to date. “There are so many plan design changes. Medicare Advantage plans can be designed very differently than traditional dental plans. For instance, in a traditional plan, X-rays and evaluations may be in one category, typically at 100%. Some MA plans will split them up, X-rays at 80% and evaluations at 100%. If you were unaware of the influx of Medicare Advantage Plans into the dental industry, you would be very surprised by how unusual they seem.”
As technological and clinical processes continue to evolve, it is more important than ever to remain up-to-date. After all, professional development is not only good for the individual, it’s also good for the dental practice as a whole. “Imagine a dentist coming out of dental school and never taking another clinical or materials course,” says Teresa. “The whole workflow would become stale, antiquated. And it shows an unwillingness to learn which is not what anyone wants in a flexible insurance coordinator.”
