What's the right dental patient billing solution for you? Let's compare the top 4

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Wondering who has the best automated patient billing? We’re comparing 4 top dental patient billing solutions for dental leaders looking to collect more revenue more often, and more accurately, from their dental patients. 

Patient billing is more than just a task for the front desk; it’s a pivotal component of your dental practice's revenue cycle. 

Effective patient billing ensures that payments are collected promptly, patient accounts are accurate, follow-up is consistent and courteous, and your cash flow remains steady.

But with so many options available, selecting the right patient billing solution can feel overwhelming — we’re here to help!

This article compares 4 top automated dental patient billing solutions. We’re stacking these solutions against one another to compare each company, the cost of services, and their listed features.

Key takeaways about choosing the right dental patient billing solution: 

• All services have features you need, but your best choices also have features you want
• A higher cost doesn’t always equal better services, but the cheapest option may not meet your needs
• Ease of use is important to keep in mind when choosing a solution

Please note: The company and features listed in this article were sourced from each company’s website.

What to look for in an automated dental patient billing solution

Patient billing is a complex process that involves more than just mailing out bills. It requires meticulous attention to detail, compliance with insurance requirements, and often, a generous amount of follow-up with slow-to-pay patients.

But when the patient billing process is automated, you don’t have to worry about any of that. 

Here’s what you will need in a dental patient billing solution: 

• End-to-end automation, from initiating statements to direct deposit
• 24/7/365 secure payment acceptance 
• Accepted multiple forms of payment — Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, etc.
• Seamless integration with your practice management software (PMS)
• Insightful reporting

And here are a few things you might want to make the most of any patient billing solution: 

• Personalization and branding options
• Financing options you can customize
• A user-friendly dashboard your team can monitor as needed

Now that you know the “gotta have” and “nice to have” features, let’s compare those 4 top patient billing software providers. 

1. DCS Patient Billing

We’d be remiss not to mention our own patient billing solution. DCS has been an insurance billing service provider to dental businesses since 2012. Now, at customer request, we’ve added our automated patient billing solution that offers what they asked for: ease of use, timely payments, and more predictable cash flow.

DCS provides revenue management services and solutions especially for dental businesses, including oral surgery practices, single-practice groups, and DSOs.

DCS Patient Billing Features: 

• Sends payment links as soon as the balance is known (no manual processing)
• Quick outreach delivered via email and text messages
• Automatic follow-up with regular friendly reminders by email or text
• Accepts payments 24/7/365
• Accepted payment from all major credit cards and wallet apps, whether using mobile, tablet, or desktop
• Customizable payment plans
• Monitored direct deposits and outstanding balances 
• Integrates easily with all major practice management software and writes back into your PMS
• Detailed reporting for business insights
• Free wireless terminal included for in-person payments with low processing rates 
• Add-on: Optional paper statements
• Add-on: Optional collection agency integration
• Quick set up: 72 hours or less

Cost: 

At DCS, our patient billing service starts at $700 per month and scales down based on the number of locations you have. The more locations you bring on, the lower your cost. Click here to read more about the cost of our patient billing solutions. 

2. Pearly Patient Billing

Pearly was founded in 2020, and “helps practices get paid faster while delighting patients by removing payment obstacles with personalized billing outreach, intuitive interfaces, digital statements, and flexible payment options.” 

Pearly’s services are designed solely for dental businesses of all sizes, including single-practice groups and DSOs.

Pearly Patient Billing Features: 

• Autopilot patient billing and A/R collection
• Automatic notifications of readable statements
• Payment plans and financing options
• Automated enrollment, billing, and renewals
• Will also send invoices and collections letters by mail
• Reported data and insights
• Integrates with all major practice management software

Cost:

Pearly does not explicitly list their prices on their website, but bases prices on the size of your dental practice or group. They offer a 30-day free trial of their patient billing solution. 

3. Weave Patient Billing

Weave was founded in 2008 with the focus of providing an all-in-one platform for healthcare businesses.

Weave provides billing solutions to dentists, as well as medical, physical therapy, eye care, medical spa, plastic surgery and veterinary businesses.

Weave Patient Billing Features: 

• Sends a payment request via text to pay once you know what a customer owes
• 24/7 payment acceptance online using an invoice link, QR code, or website button
• Financing plans that set up automatic recurring charges customers can pay in monthly installments
• Ability to store a patient’s card on file securely for future payments
• Mobile tap to pay in the office
• Integrates with OpenDental and Eaglesoft PMS

Cost: 

Weave does not explicitly share the cost of their services on their website, but you can schedule a demo that would presumably provide you with that information. 

4. Instamed Patient Billing

Instamed is focused on “providing a user-friendly healthcare payments experience that guides patients along unique journeys that lead to the same end goal: getting you paid.” We could not glean from their website what year Instamed was founded, but they are owned by JP Morgan.

Instamed serves any kind of healthcare provider. 

Instamed Patient Billing Features: 

• Early digital engagement to capture payment information from patients before their treatment
• Text-to-pay options via smartphone or tablet
• Preferred payment methods such as Apple Pay and/or Google Pay
• Automatic payment reminders to the patient’s preferred platform (email or text)
• Payment plans giving patients more flexibility when managing their payment
• Simplified payments with a single billing statement that shows balances across family members
• Personalization options
• Secure digital wallet to store payment methods
• Ability to use any payment option, including IVR, online bill pay, and check, builds trust and satisfaction

• Instamed does not list the PMS they are compatible with

Cost:

Instamed does not list their prices explicitly on their website, but you can request a demo that would presumably provide you with that information. 

Which dental patient billing solution is best for your dental patients and your dental business?

So we’ve looked at the features and foundations of 4 top patient billing solutions. While all of them offer similar solutions with similar goals, their features vary. 

DCS and Pearly, for example, are compatible with most major practice management software, while Weave is only compatible with OpenDental and Eaglesoft. Instamed did not mention what dental PMS they are compatible with. 

Weave was, however, the only provider that said they would mail statements and collections letters, and DCS offers printed statements as an add-on, while the others are focused on being entirely paperless. Note that while mailed statements make the payment process hands-free for your team and patients can pay them online, snail mail is subject to additional costs, non-delivery, and being thrown away as junk mail.

DCS and Pearly are also homed in on the dental industry, while Weave and Instamed serve any healthcare provider’s billing needs. This makes us wonder how experienced their teams are with handling the unique challenges of dental billing.

It’s also worth noting that DCS was the only provider on this list that transparently lists its patient billing solution prices on its website. 

DCS provides end-to-end revenue cycle management solutions to dental businesses, including oral surgery practices, DSOs, and single-practice groups.

Our patient billing solution, specifically, will start generating cash flow for you within just a few days. Customer Marcia Stewart of Burrell Family Dentistry says it best: 

“Patient billing stands out—I love to see those extra monies coming in from past due accounts. You guys are amazing.”

Get your dental business a quick and continuous revenue with our patient billing solution: Book a free 30-minute consultation today.