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More Than Half of Small, Independent Medical and Dental Practice Groups Preparing for Revenue Growth Through 2021, According to New Citizens Bank SurveyThe majority of independent medical and dental practices have confidence in their ability to grow revenues over the next five years, with dental practices particularly bullish about the future, according to a new study from Citizens Bank. The 2015 Citizens Bank Healthcare Outlook found 72 percent of small, privately held dental practices are predicting higher revenues over the next five years, compared to 37 percent of medical practices of similar size. The Citizens survey of the state of the industry for independent medical and dental practices included 450 medical and dental practice groups with fewer than 10 doctors or dentists and revenue between $500,000 and $5 million. "In addition to the critical roles they play in providing health care services, independent medical and dental practice groups run very sophisticated businesses with complicated cash flow dynamics and a lot of opportunities to either get it right or get it wrong when it comes to managing the bottom line," said Lisa Enright, Senior Vice President and Director of the HealthCare Practice Banking Group at Citizens Bank. "This research shows that, as they grapple with changing regulations, challenging insurance payment plans and advances in technology, medical and dental practices also are increasing their focus on operational excellence and strategies for profitability. Whatever their prospects for top-line revenue growth, healthcare providers increasingly recognize the importance of sharpening their focus on financial management." Though their outlooks for growth are different, independent dental and medical practice groups share the same top business objectives. According to the survey, maximizing revenue, acquiring new patients and improving operational efficiency and profit margins are at the top of the list. Dental practice leaders attributed their optimism to growing demand for their services - 92 percent of respondents said there is "high demand for the type of dental service my practice offers." They also are confident in the business model of practices this size - most said they expect their main competition to come from other independently owned, not corporate practices. Medical practice leaders noted a variety of headwinds, with 60 percent citing lower levels of reimbursement from insurance companies. Still, 51 percent said they will aim to increase profitability by focusing more on patient acquisition and cash flow management. In a new white paper analyzing the survey results, Citizens suggested six areas of focus for healthcare practice group leaders who want to increase profits:
Survey Methodology Citizens Bank conducted a survey of 450 independently and privately owned medical or dental practice decision-makers, with 10 or fewer MDs (if medical) or DMDs/DDSs (if dental) and annual revenues of $500,000 to $5,000,000 in the states of MA, NH, VT, CT, RI, NY, PA, NJ, DE, OH, and MI. To learn more about Citizens Bank, call the customer contact center at 1-800-428-7463, like the bank on Facebook, follow the bank on Twitter or visit the Citizens Bank website. About Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation's oldest and largest financial institutions, with $138.2 billion in assets as of December 31, 2015. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens helps its retail customers "bank better" with mobile and online banking and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 Citizens Bank branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Citizens also provides mortgage lending, auto lending, student lending and commercial banking services in select markets nationwide. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest hedging, leasing and asset finance, specialty finance and trade finance. Citizens operates through its subsidiaries Citizens Bank, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania as Citizens Bank, Citizens Commercial Banking and Citizens One. Additional information about Citizens and its full line of products and services can be found at www.citizensbank.com.
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