5 Benefits of Integrating CareCredit Into Your Practice Management Software

Want to reduce administrative burden and foster confident financing conversations in your dental practice — helping improve the patient experience?

With CareCredit built into your practice management software, you can enjoy a fast and easy way to offer patient financing and empower more care. Turning on the features can help you take advantage of a tool that highlights the CareCredit status of your existing patients.

Using this tool, your schedule will show if a patient:

• Is already a CareCredit credit card holder
• Is pre-approved before their appointment
• Needs to provide more information to determine status

This integration can make it easy for your team to share relevant financing links before appointments and confidently start financing conversations during visits — which can help patients move forward with the dental care they want and need.

Benefits for CareCredit Providers and Cardholders

Practices that activate the CareCredit pre-approval feature, train their teams to use it and incorporate the results into their daily practice activities (e.g., treatment planning, morning huddles) can help more patients move forward with treatment by providing an affordable financing option, supporting increased case acceptance and revenue.

Consider five key perks of this CareCredit tool for providers as well as patients.

1. Enable confident financing conversations

If you feel less than enthusiastic about discussing finances with patients, you’re not alone. For many dental office professionals, navigating financial conversations can be one of the hardest parts of the job.¹

But there’s a way to take some guesswork out of the equation. When you turn on the CareCredit features in your practice management system, you can easily see which patients are pre-approved for the CareCredit credit card, which may remove the concern that the patient will apply and not be approved. Then, you can send the pre-approved application link to the patient’s personal device directly from your practice management software. Remember, pre-approval has no impact on a patient’s credit score.

This information can help eliminate confusion and provide a simple starting point for patient financing conversations. And with clear communication about finances, dentists and dental practice staff can build trust and empower patients to make informed decisions about their oral health.¹

2. Provide early financing reminders

According to Synchrony’s Dental Lifetime of Care Study, nearly half of respondents said they were not prepared for their largest out-of-pocket dental expense, ranging from exams to implants. So it may not be surprising that more than half of respondents said they would probably or definitely choose a payment option that provided predictable, set, equal payments (without having to use their general purpose or retail credit cards).²

With the CareCredit health and wellness card, patients can spread the cost of care into convenient monthly payments, which can help them fit dental care into their budget.* And with CareCredit integrated into your existing practice management system or software, you can quickly determine which patients are already cardholders, giving you an opportunity to remind them early on — even before the visit — that you accept the CareCredit credit card for payment.

By taking this proactive step, you can play a key role in helping patients plan for the cost of care, supporting both their oral and financial health.

3. Access quick and convenient insights

Even the most helpful digital tools can lose value if they take too much time and effort to use. On the other hand, efficient, innovative technologies can help reduce administrative burden, as shown in the CareCredit Staff Burnout Survey.³

Because CareCredit functionality is integrated into many leading practice management software platforms used by dental practices, staff can quickly and easily check a patient’s CareCredit status without leaving their existing system. There’s no need to log in to the CareCredit portal to find this information, saving your team valuable time that can be used for other tasks.

“For about two years, I’ve been using CareCredit integrated into Open Dental,” says Erica McDade, treatment coordinator at Seven Hills Dentistry in Dallas, Ga. “It’s faster not to have to log in and look up patients’ accounts manually. With the integration, the software automatically fills in [patient information], and it saves [me] five minutes looking up client information. When you’re in a busy office, it’s really convenient.”

4. Speed up payment processing

Another time-saving perk? Providers who have CareCredit features turned on no longer need to perform transactions through the Provider Center. Not only is this integrated payment solution convenient for dental office staff, but it can also help speed up checkout and payment processing for patients.

“I have to check out a lot of patients, see a lot of patients and run a lot of payments,” says McDade. “This is a lot faster.”

In addition, you can send payment links to patients for quick and easy processing on their own device — and receive payment in two business days. And since transactions are linked directly to your daily ledger, CareCredit integration can eliminate some post-visit manual data entry, helping save time and minimizing the chance of human error.

5. Help patients move forward with care

Did you know that 92% of Dental Lifetime of Care Study respondents said they would consider holding off on general dental care because of cost, and 83% said the same for emergency dental care?²

CareCredit offers a solution to the cost challenge — and integrations make it easier than ever to confidently offer credit. After all, when patients know they have payment options that can help them fit care into their budget, they may be more likely to move forward with recommended treatment.¹

Financing Confidence Built Into Your Software

By taking advantage of the CareCredit financing features built into your practice management software, you can help your team prepare for the day and feel more confident during financing conversations, which can, in turn, improve the patient payment experience and help patients move forward with care.

Learn More: Ready to get started? Turning on CareCredit integration is quick and easy: Get instructions here.

A Dental Patient Financing Solution for Your Practice

Want to help more patients move forward with the dental care they want or need? Consider offering the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution. CareCredit allows patients to pay for out-of-pocket dental care costs over time while helping enhance the payments process for your practice.

When you accept CareCredit, patients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a dental patient financing solution or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Robyn Tellefsen is a freelance writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience covering health and wellness, finance and more. Her work has appeared on sites such as LoopNet, Beachside Rehab, First Horizon Bank, SoFi, A Place for Mom, American Express, Chase and more.

Healthcare payment and financing solution

The CareCredit health and wellness credit card helps improve the payment experience for patients and clients, and your financial performance.

Get Started