Five associates. Five different UDA rates. One contract target. You're guessing who's on track.
In most NHS dental practices, the contract target is the practice owner's problem but UDA delivery is spread across multiple associates — each working different days, different hours, with different patient profiles and different treatment patterns. Associates are typically paid per UDA (£10-15 is common), so they have an incentive to deliver, but their individual performance directly affects whether the practice hits target or faces clawback. Most practice owners track associate UDA performance monthly, sometimes quarterly, using reports from their practice management system that tell them what happened last month — not what will happen by March. Your associate tracker monitors each clinician's delivery rate in real time, forecasts their individual year-end contribution, and flags underperformance while there's still time to course-correct.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent tracks each associate's UDA delivery in real time, forecasts their year-end contribution, and flags underperformance before it becomes a contract problem.
Per-clinician UDA dashboards
Each associate has an individual target (formal or implied) based on their days and expected output. Your agent tracks delivery against these targets individually — so you know exactly who's ahead, who's on track, and who's falling behind.
Forecasts individual year-end positions
Your agent projects each associate's year-end UDA total, adjusted for their planned holidays, historical patterns, and any known changes to their schedule. The practice-level forecast is only as good as the sum of its parts.
Early warning alerts for underperformance
If an associate's run-rate drops below what's needed to hit their share of the target, your agent alerts you with specifics: 'Dr. Jones averaged 180 UDAs/month for the last quarter, down from 220. At this rate, they'll be 480 UDAs short by March — approximately £13,440 in clawback exposure for the practice.'
Analyses treatment band patterns
UDA efficiency varies by treatment band — a Band 1 exam generates 1 UDA in 20 minutes, while a Band 3 crown generates 12 UDAs but takes 90+ minutes. Your agent tracks each clinician's band mix and identifies efficiency patterns or concerns.
Supports performance conversations with data
When you need to discuss performance with an associate, your agent provides clear data: delivery rate, trend, comparison to expected output, and specific months where the gap opened. Facts, not feelings.
The real numbers.
| Practice manager time running PMS reports manually | £1,500–£3,000/year |
| Accountant UDA analysis and reporting | £1,000–£2,000/year |
| Clawback exposure from late detection of underperformance | £5,000–£30,000+ (when it happens) |
| Realistic annual cost | £3,000–£6,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your team structure) | £3,000–£5,000 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £100–£180/month |
| Updates and configuration changes | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £4,200–£7,160 |
The conversation you don't want to have in March: 'We missed target by 1,200 UDAs because Dr. Smith was underperforming for six months and nobody noticed until the quarterly accountant report.' The clawback is tens of thousands. The relationship with the associate is strained. And the data was always there in the practice management system — nobody was looking at it frequently enough.
Your agent looks at it every day. When the gap opens, you know within weeks, not quarters.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- NHS dental practices with 3+ associates delivering UDAs
- Practice owners who rely on accountant reports to track associate performance
- Practices where associate underperformance has contributed to missing contract targets
- Multi-site groups where UDA tracking across sites and clinicians is complex
This probably isn't for you if:
- Your practice is entirely private — no UDAs to track
- You're a single-handed NHS practitioner with no associates
- You have a practice manager who runs weekly PMS reports and tracks performance actively
Let's talk.
We'll start with your team structure — how many associates, their contracted days, their expected UDA output, and how you currently track their performance. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com