CareCredit patient financing a hit at Adelaide Congress

Patient financing for dental procedures has finally come of age in Australia with the launch at the Adelaide Congress of GE Money's CareCredit facility. As a Gold sponsor and with endorsement from popular practice management consultant, Kathy Metaxas, who spoke at the event, a high level of interest in the product was created.

"The Australian Dental Congress was an ideal event to launch CareCredit," said Simon Beckett, General Manager, GE Money CareCredit. "The majority of dental practices in Australia have not been exposed to patient financing before so it is beneficial to be able to speak with dentists and practice managers face to face to answer questions and alleviate any misapprehensions they may have.

"CareCredit generated a lot of interest and was well received by visitors to our stand. We have been very busy since the Congress signing up practices to utilise the system."

According to Mr Beckett, patient financing is simply another payment option practices can offer to patients, similar to credit cards, which in essence, are not dissimilar. Patient financing, however, is generally for more costly procedures with the option of paying off the treatment over time interest free or at a lower interest rate to credit cards.

"In the past, in order to deliver comprehensive dentistry, many practices spread treatment over many months or even years in order to accommodate a patient's ability to pay. This is not ideal as treatment outcomes are often enhanced if completed to a schedule based on a clinical rather than financial rationale.

"CareCredit allows patients to have the dental work they want and need in a timeframe prescribed as ideal by the dentist, yet still pay for their treatment over time."

CareCredit offers patients the ability to finance amounts from $1 to over $25,000. Practices have the choice of offering Interest Free payment plans or Extended Payment options for longer periods. The Interest Free option is for terms of 3, 6 or 12 months while the Extended Payment Plans are for either one, two or three years.

Once treatment is completed, payment is transferred to your bank account. CareCredit is a revolving line of credit that can be used to fund ongoing treatment over time. The finance can also be used by whole the family without the need to continually reapply.

CareCredit offers practice staff personalised orientation sessions which include tips on how to present financial options to patients and helpful presentation tools. Ongoing Support is also available from a team of dedicated Practice Development Managers as well as a Freecall 1300 number to the Support Team.

High quality promotional materials to advertise CareCredit in your reception Area are also supplied.

"Like any form of finance, there is an application process for CareCredit," Mr Beckett said. "However, we have attempted to streamline this process as much as possible. We offer online application over the internet or you can fax in a form. With the internet option, you can get an approval within around 30 seconds."