Southern Family Dental Partners: Financial Stability & Growth with Remit AI

Client Overview

Southern Family Dental Partners (SFDP) was founded by dental professionals to support small to medium-sized practices facing business management challenges and has been selected as one of Group Dentistry Now‘s Emerging Groups to Watch in 2024. As a DSO built with dentists in mind, they understand the value of private practice and the work-life balance dentists seek. Their goal is to help successful practices grow without adding extra stress. With 16 independently operating locations and plans to acquire 6 more in the coming months, their mission is to combine exceptional dental services with a personalized, patient-first approach.

Challenges

Managing billing across 16 independently operating locations presented significant hurdles. Each location handled its own payments processed through multiple insurance portals. This fragmented approach made it increasingly difficult to track payments, reconcile accounts, and manage claims efficiently across all locations. The decentralized nature of the system led to inconsistencies in payment processing and documentation, further complicating financial oversight.

Denial management was particularly challenging, as identifying, reviewing, and addressing rejected claims required time-intensive manual efforts. Denied claims were a significant source of inefficiency. Team members had to sift through various insurance portals, cross-reference information, and manually correct discrepancies before resubmitting claims. The high volume of denied claims not only slowed down cash flow but also placed a significant administrative burden on the team, making it harder to allocate resources effectively and focus on patient care.

"We have 16 offices and it's very difficult keeping track of all the payments at all the different insurance websites... Some of them go through DentalXChange, and some of them go through other platforms. It’s very hard for the practice managers to keep up with all of that while also running their offices." 

^{– Madi Hoesten, Vice President of Integration, Southern Family Dental Partners}

Solution

After discovering Remit AI at a dental industry convention, Madi and her team saw the potential for a more streamlined billing process. While each location remained operationally independent, Remit AI provided a unified interface for payment tracking, reducing the need to log into multiple insurance portals.

Key Benefits:

Centralized Payment Tracking: Remit AI consolidated all payment data, eliminating the need for practice managers to log into multiple insurance portals. This not only saved time but also reduced errors.

"When the practice manager logs into the platform, all of the payments are on the site there,"

^{Madi noted.
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Streamlined Denial Management: Remit AI platform allowed for easy identification of declined payments, helping staff quickly determine the reasons and resubmit claims as needed. With Remit AI, actionable insights made it easier to identify denial reasons, resubmit claims, and reduce the volume of uncaptured revenue.

"I like the feature that breaks down the payments that have been declined. It's very easy to see why and if there's a problem with the way that the office is processing the payments, they can see that easily,"

^{Madi shared.
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Improved Accounting Efficiency: The accounting department could independently track payments using check and EFT numbers, reducing reliance on practice managers for financial data and optimizing operational efficiency. Additionally, Remit AI leverages advanced automation to match hundreds of bank payments with remittance data (EOBs/ERAs) from multiple insurance payers in real time. Its AI-powered technology processes EOB/ERA data 75 times faster than other automated methods, significantly shortening AR days and streamlining cash flow, while ensuring seamless financial tracking and real-time customized analytics.

"Now accounting goes in on their own and they are able to find everything that they need,"

^{Madi explained.}

Labor Cost Savings: Despite plans to scale to 22 locations, the efficiencies gained with Remit AI eliminated the need to hire additional accounting staff, directly contributing to cost savings.
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Operational Growth and Visibility: Tools for tracking payment timelines and outstanding claims enabled Southern Family Dental Group to plan their expansion confidently. With at least 73% of payments processed through EFTs, eliminating unnecessary manual steps, workflows became more streamlined, further reducing processing times​.

Results & Future Outlook

By integrating Remit AI, Southern Family Dental Group has significantly improved billing efficiency, financial oversight, and overall workflow management across all of its locations. The transition to an automated system has streamlined processes that were once time-consuming and prone to errors, allowing the team to focus on higher-value tasks rather than manual data entry and claim reconciliation. With a centralized approach to payment posting, the group has been able to reduce administrative burden, enhance accuracy, and improve cash flow management.

As the organization continues to expand, the team anticipates even greater benefits from Remit AI, particularly as they onboard new offices and refine internal processes. Madi and her team remain committed to optimizing their use of the platform, leveraging its full suite of capabilities to drive efficiency and maximize productivity. A key focus for the group moving forward is the expansion of reporting capabilities, with plans to implement more customized analytics to track and measure payment processing timelines with greater precision. These insights will help them further optimize financial performance and resource allocation.

With growth on the horizon, Remit AI remains a crucial component of their strategy for scaling operations effectively. The ability to automate and streamline complex billing workflows ensures that Southern Family Dental Group can continue to provide high-quality service while maintaining financial stability. As they evolve, the platform will play an essential role in supporting their long-term success and operational excellence.

"Remit AI is a powerful tool that has made payment tracking and claim management much easier. While integration had its challenges, the benefits far outweigh the initial hurdles. We are excited about the future with Remit AI and its role in our continued expansion."

^{Madi Hoesten, Vice President of Integration, Southern Family Dental Partners}