An Insider’s Perspective, From the Podium
PQ founder Patrick O’Rourke built dental networks and designed dental plans inside major carriers before switching sides. He brings that payor-side perspective to dental audiences — how fee schedules are actually set, what contracting and credentialing really involve, and how practices can negotiate from strength.
What Patrick Speaks About
- PPO contracting & credentialing — the process carriers run behind the scenes, and what practices need to know before they sign
- Fee schedule strategy — how reimbursement is actually set, and when (and how) to renegotiate
- Payor participation decisions — which networks earn their discount, and how to evaluate a carrier
- The payor–provider relationship — negotiating from strength without burning the bridge
Patrick has spent twenty-five years in dental insurance — on the carrier side first, and since 2013 on the side of the practice. He has presented through AAOMS CE Online — including the on-demand program Navigating the Contracting and Credentialing Process: What OMSs Need to Know — spoken at the AAOMS Annual Meeting, and taught local study clubs and peer groups nationwide. He also hosts Dental Business Radio on the Business RadioX network.
Focused Courses for the Questions Practices Are Asking Now
The Velocity of Change: Dental Insurance Now
What is changing, why it matters, and how dental practices can respond.
Dental insurance is changing faster than many practice systems can track. Corporate consolidation, fee-schedule pressure, network leasing, automated claims review, new product tiers, public-program policy, technology, and state reform are reshaping reimbursement and patient access. This program gives dentists and specialists a practical framework for understanding what is changing and responding to it without losing sight of clinical and financial sustainability.
PPO Provider Networks Decoded
The name on an explanation of benefits may not tell the whole contractual story. This course explains direct participation, network leasing and sharing, affiliate access, claims repricing, fee-schedule hierarchy, tiered products, and the questions practices should ask before joining or remaining in a network.
PPOs: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
PPO participation can support patient access and schedule volume, but the financial and operational tradeoffs vary by practice. This session provides a structured way to evaluate network value using patient flow, reimbursement, procedure mix, administrative burden, market conditions, and strategic goals.
Understanding PPO Contract Negotiations
What moves in a fee-schedule conversation, what does not, and how a practice prepares a credible request — benchmarking, business-case construction, payor communication, timing, and follow-through.
Built to Fit the Room
60-Minute CE
Approximately 45 minutes of prepared content plus 15 minutes for audience Q&A.
90-Minute
Expanded instruction with more examples, interaction, and application.
3-Hour
A substantive deep dive with guided case discussion and Q&A.
Custom
A module-based program built for the event, audience, and learning priorities.
Reusable 30- to 45-minute modules can be combined and adapted for the audience, specialty mix, market, and event length.
Selected Organizations & Audiences
American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) · Georgia Dental Association (GDA) · Florida Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons · Georgia Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons · American Academy of Laser Dentistry · Long Island Mineola Study Club · Pinellas County Dental Society · Seattle Study Club - Atlanta · regional dental study clubs and state associations · national industry and corporate meetings · group-practice education events
AAOMS sessions have been delivered at annual meetings and as national CE webinars.
Dental Business Radio
Conversations on the business side of dentistry — PPO strategy, practice economics, and the people behind successful practices.
About Dental Business RadioBring an Insider’s Perspective to Your Next Meeting
Booking Patrick for an association meeting, study club, or podcast starts the same way everything at PQ does — with a conversation.
Start With a Conversation