Technology in Your Practice

Have you attended a dental tradeshow in the past year? If so, you’ve undoubtedly experimented with or purchased some of the new and exciting technology being introduced in dentistry. It’s remarkable that many technologies common in other businesses are just now making into our world. Gone are the days of handwritten schedules, statements and records. “Digital”, “paperless” and “connected” are the buzzwords of the future! So, now that you have access to all these great gadgets and gizmos, how do you harness their energy to reach your full potential in the dental practice? Follow along with me as we explore the top seven ways to unleash your high tech potential – and create a better practice for you and your team.

1. Create and maintain a high-tech website. Having a monthly or quarterly Enewsletter is job one. The power of informative, requested content will make your practice remarkable. Next, be sure you have a health history/new patient form available online or in a downloadable format. (visit www.adobe.com for more information on how to do this.) Let me give you an example: a client of ours – fed up with constant no-shows and last minute cancellations - began to insist that the patient’s completed health history be returned to the office before any appointment would be reserved. This process took weeks via regular mail, but by inserting downloadable PDF files into his website navigation, online, the process was made instantaneous. Now the prospective new patient can either download the forms or the staff can quickly email the forms to them. Forms are completed right then and either faxed back or dropped off the same day. Voila! Better results through technology.

2. Utilize the Internet AND Email inside your practice. Our electronic society is swiftly moving toward online insurance benefit verification. I know a lot of front desk staff with a permanent crick in their neck from holding on the phone to verify insurance benefits. It’s also a faster way to process claims and get paid! Don’t forget, Email is another great way to stay in touch with your patients as well as other professionals.

3. Place a computer workstation in each operatory. This will increase the number of treatment plans that actually get entered into the computer. Also, the patients can schedule their next appointment before the seatbelt (disposable bib) is removed. This creates the type of one-on-one service that patients crave rather than waiting in line to be “next” at the front desk.

4. Back-up your computer system daily. We’ve progressed from floppy disks to tape back-ups and CD-R’s. Unless you are moving your back-ups offsite, your data is not safe. A computer crash is never expected, and I’ve not found a fool-proof way to avoid one! We highly recommend online back-ups to our dentists. You can schedule the backups to take place automatically and in the event of a system crash, your data is safe. A great resource is www.netmass.com. Be sure that your online data source encrypts your data and that you keep your user id and password under lock and key.

5. Train your team with Microsoft PowerPoint. Many dentists are experiencing great success by developing “templates” for their staff members to use when they’re having conversations with patients. The PowerPoint presentations give the team “training wheels” to have scripted conversations with patients regarding what to expect during treatment. For example, in a pediatric dental practice, it is helpful to have an initial discussion with the parents of the new patient to be sure they understand what to expect for their child’s first and subsequent visits.

6. Use your intraoral camera, often. This is not antiquated technology. Most of the practices we work with aren’t using this tool nearly enough. If a picture is worth a thousand words, why do we talk so much? The intraoral camera should be used during every adult new patient exam. It should be the first instrument that is placed in the patient’s mouth. Most patients have never seen their teeth with the view of the camera. It will be an eye-opening experience for them and will decrease the amount of explanation you have to give. Won’t they be shocked when they see the fractures in their teeth that haven’t been hurting them a bit?

Many readers (maybe even you?) may already have all of the above technology in place. The question is, how consistently is it being utilized? Do a self-audit. If you have a multi-media education system, how often do you use it? If you have a website, is your address on all of your stationery and marketing materials? Do you direct all of your new patient call-ins to your website for their initial paperwork? These are just a few ways to work with the technology you already have in place. You can bet these seven tips will impress your patients and make your job easier, if you make technology a daily habit.