Collections based contract - possible slavery?

[jake89]

If one signs a collection based contract, could the employer theoretically have the signee work for free by not scheduling you any procedures that will collect? For example - come work 9 hours today and take xrays which you dont get credit for - what is stopping them from doing that every day for the length of the contract

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[Furman11]

I think that there is absolutely a possibility of that happening but overall very unlikely. More often than not, owners want their associates to succeed. I was in a collection based setting for some time and it was very successful and lucrative. The biggest issue was it was a little messy when I left because collections can come through well after you leave and you have no way to keep a pulse on that. Good luck

 

[Saddleshoes]

Have you signed a contract that states x-rays are not part of "production"? (Really!?!?!?!)

If you are the one calling which rays to take and reading those rays you had better get paid or it.
A x-ray unto itself has zero value. It is the reading of the ray that imparts value.

 

[OMSDoc]

The question is: which patients will you see?

I know someone who signed such a contract, and they were assigned by the employer to see all of the Medicaid patients.

Medicaid pays maybe 15 percent of your fees. It costs you 70 percent just to provide the care...before the dentist even gets paid.

 

[schmoob]

Do you have a guarantee? If you see something on the X-ray does he not want you to treat it? Are you working alongside the owner or on days he isn’t there? If it’s on days he isn’t there then it is costing him money for you to not work. He still needs to pay the staff and keep the lights on. The only thing he really has going is that hygiene can still see patients.

 

[jake89]

There is no hygienist or receptionist, 1 other dentist with us who did the hygiene that day. She does all the treatment planning for any dentist and her rationale for not crediting xrays is that the sensor costs 10000. I think the only thing saving me is the contract says "agreed upon schedule" and I told her I would not agree to any schedule that does not give me enough collections to live on, contacting the lawyer to see if thats ok. I don't know how the lawyer saw nothing wrong with this contract. I also think she is overcoding too and possibly commiting insurance fraud. For example if an occlusal fissurotomy goes near the end of the occlusal she calls it a MODBL because its close to those surfaces. That is not legit right? I also saw her allow a new assistant to blantantly disregard HIPPA because "she knows the family and they dont care" . Can either of these help me void the contract?

I urge anyone signing a contract for the first time to get a daily minimum. Even if i produce everyday I could be doing hygiene and getting less than the 50/hr that hygiene gets in this area, while also being in the office multiple hours extra to set up, read charts in advance, write charts aftert, etc.

 

[Roto Picante]

This contract and job do not sound like a good situation, independent of your initial point. Run if you can.

To your point about not getting credit for xrays. In my experience, the associate only gets credit for xrays taken in the operative chair but not xrays taken in the hygiene chair. When you are doing so much hygiene yourself, that would really hurt.

 

[allDAT]

You want to have a daily base salary or hourly wage. You don’t want a draw either.

It’s correct that if you work only in collections, you could be paid very little for the work you do. You have to check the schedule and fee schedules.

 

[allDAT]

Dentists really need to stop this nonsense of just working for collections. You should always be paid something for your time, and then bonus based on productivity/performance.
I know at least a dozen dentists who were just supervising hygiene and doing exams as a % of collections. Basically making nothing.