Running a modern dental office is no easy task, and even highly qualified professionals need help. Between scheduling, calling patients, managing data, and gathering important insurance information and waivers, the entire process is complex. While hiring more workers may seem like the only way around this issue, modern advances in dental computer software have actually automated many steps in this process. Using this software can make your practice run more smoothly and cost-effectively.
Software Capabilities
Scheduling patients for their next visit is an essential task, yet it is time-consuming and not very enjoyable in and of itself. Fortunately, quality software has features which automate patient recall practices so that your employees do not need to spend entire afternoons cold-calling individuals that are overdue for a visit. This can both reduce your need for employees, and can allow the ones that you do have to spend their time working on more rewarding and valuable tasks.
Even more usefully, dental practice management software can directly link scheduled patient check-ups to a digital appointment book and workflow environment. This means that when a patient is expected to arrive, all a hygienist needs to do is click on their time slot in the appointment book. This will bring up all of the patient’s information and previous records.
Dictating dental records in text forms can be laborious and inefficient. Modern software, however, can provide you with digital representations of each patient’s teeth so that you can make notes directly on the teeth. This removes the guesswork out of reading previously written notes, and increases the speed at which you can review a patient’s oral hygiene. Dental imaging can also be stored in these files for easy reference. X-ray files will thus be readily available to look for any possible cavities or other issues with the health of teeth, without the need to sort through records to find the correct images.
The Rewards of Proper Management
Improving the lives of people by preventing them from developing oral health issues can be an immensely rewarding career. The minutia that is involved in actually getting those patients in and out of the practice, however, is far less rewarding and can slow down a growing dental business. To avoid this busywork and to streamline your dental practice, be sure to utilise management software to control all of the systems in your office.
By spending less time and less money getting people in the door, dentists and hygienists can spend more on service and equipment for their visitors. In the long run this means that everyone involved will have a better experience at the dentist’s office. Patients will appreciate the reduced hassle afforded them by the automated and efficient system, and dentists will additionally be thankful for the easy record access.
Do not allow your practice to lose patients due to a lack of recall mechanisms or slow service. Purchase high-quality computer systems to manage all of your information, and the investment will pay for itself many times over!
