Your Practice Has Zero Business Continuity Plan. Here's What It Costs

Your Practice Has Zero Business Continuity Plan. Here's What It Costs

You get in a car accident tomorrow and can't work for three weeks. What happens? Your practice closes. Your team goes unpaid or gets reassigned. Patients reschedule or leave. Insurance cases lapse. You lose $35K in production and your team loses income.

Most solo practitioners have zero plan. No backup clinician. No delegated authority. No documented procedures. When you go down, the practice goes down.

The setup: identify your one clinically irreplaceable asset. Is it you? Get a coverage agreement with an associate or local dentist now. Agree on a daily rate for emergency coverage (usually $2K-3K/day). Does your team run the business? Good. Have an associate review financials quarterly and have signing authority on checks above a threshold. Is your lead hygienist irreplaceable? Cross-train a second hygienist and pay them accordingly.

The cost: $500 annually for the coverage agreement. The benefit: your practice survives your absence. Most practices lose the business entirely when a key person goes down.

Action: Identify your single point of failure. Call a colleague this week and pitch a mutual backup agreement. Get it in writing before you need it.

Sources: Small Business Administration continuity planning guidance, dental practice risk analysis