The practice of modern dentistry requires unending equipment. There is no limit to the equipment you can buy .Latest equipment give a good ambience to the clinic , save time & energy & increase patient comfort.
The question arises so now which equipment to purchase & what not to purchase. Many dental surgeons are in a dilemma regarding buying equipment. Buying which equipment will be profitable and to what extent?
To begin with keep in mind that you must fully recover the cost of minor equipment in 5 cases & major equipment in 5 years
Herein I will describe a simple but a very effective technique of calculating the profitability of every equipment.
Let us take the example of a scaler.
First work out your establishment cost per month .It should include staff, electricity,salaries etc. Divide it by 26.That is your daily establishmentcost .If you work 8 hours a day in the clinic divide that figure by 8.That gives your hourly establishment cost.(hourly EC)
Next decide how much you want per hour.(Hourly salary ) .
2% of the cost of the equipment is the cost of capital.
Whatever be the cost of the equipment, divide it by 60. Consider that asthe monthly depreciation.
2% of the cost of equipment + Monthly depreciation are your fixed costs.
Now let us assume that you take an hour for a scaling session. Which means it is costing you (Hourly EC + Hourly salary). Now let us assume that you do 10 cases of scaling per month & you change X per case So 10X is your professional receipt from the procedure of scaling.
From 10Xsubtract the cost of capital& depreciation .Also subtract 10x (Hourly EC+ Hourly salary).
This amount is your profit from that piece of equipment for that month.
If the profits are more buy a spare scaler. If they are less increase your marketing.
The same concept with some minor changes can be applied to all equipment like RVG, endo motor etc. Finally do not waste too much of time analysing but spend time to draw up growth strategies.
Keep your calculations simple but regular. Any entity which is tracked improves .Track a few simple metrics of your practice & very soon you will see growth.
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Thanks and best regards,
Your Sincerely,
Dr. Veerendra Darakh