Dental Computers and the Power User
The Compendium - Nov. 1992
By Dr. Barry Freydberg
Just because you have a PC in your dental office doesn't mean you are a "computerized dental practice." There are dozens of clinical and practice management computers created just for the dental practice. These technological wonders streamline and enhance the productivity, practice growth, and profitability of the practice. But just because you have a dental computer, doesn't mean you're a "power user." Regular users turn on the computer and use it for special applications and situations, thinking of it as an "extra." Dentists and staff members who take full advantage of new hardware and software capabilities are called power users. They:
- Place computer terminals in the operatory
- Schedule appointments electronically
- Let staff members answer the phones off-site or in a section of the office that is away from the reception area
- Systematically and more easily record clinical data in a database where it can be easily accessed and manipulated.
Placing computer terminals in the operatory eliminates the bottleneck at the front desk. Data, scheduling, and charges are entered in the operatory by the people who know the patient. Knowing the patient's needs and idiosyncrasies during scheduling results in fewer mistakes. Plus, patients shouldn't have to leave the "warm fuzzy feeling" of their chairside hygienist and face the staff member in the reception area "cold" for any longer than necessary. Let the front desk person welcome and collect the money only.
Scheduling appointments electronically, chairside, eliminates the massive paper appointment book. Why wait for OSHA to outlaw those contaminated paper records? Beat 'em to it. No longer will phones have to be answered at the front desk. Phones can be answered anytime and anywhere terminals are whether that be off-site or simply in a back room. Phone callers will not have to experience being put "on hold" while the receptionist juggles other duties. With the advent of Caller I.D., we'll see the faces of the people attached to a phone number. When the phone rings in your practice, the patient's face and stats automatically will appear on the screen. Click on the screen and you'll get an entire history of the patient. You'll know their balance, their appointment scheduled, their insurance information, what treatment they need yet done, medical alerts, and personal messages—immediately, all while you're saying "hello." What we're finding is that the people on the phone with people skills becomes a "tele-reflection" of the practice and can grow the practice, if uninterrupted, through telemarketing skills.
Systematic clinical and practice management data entry into a computer has multiple advantages. Clinically, we know that there are several patient charting systems today. What's finally happening is that the vendors are starting to incorporate all the components of a charting system and a management system into one unified system. State-of-the-art software developments are aimed at bridging the gap between separate components that cannot integrate into components that are interchangeable, like on a stereo system.
As far as practice management is concerned, the power user accesses the computer to follow the rule: No patient leaves the operatory without a reason to return to the practice. The reason for recall can be given an office code and be tied into the computer. Instead of paying three staff members to shuffle through all the paper records for two weeks to determine who hasn't been in for a year and a half, the computer pulls up those people instantly and give the reason they should have been in by a specified date.
The biggest difficultly standing between dental computers and power use is utilization. If the staff and the doctor don't get trained and don't use it much or at all, the practice is certainly no where near power capability. Unlike a dental handpiece that can be dropped off, screwed on and used, a computer cannot be dropped off with "Here, turn it on and use it." Training at the onset and intervals is critical.
What sold me on the intraoral camera is when a snowbird just back from Florida came into my office with a photo and said "Doctor, these three teeth on this print from an intraoral camera need crowns. Would you please do them for me, doctor?"
Also, I find that after seeing what smiles could look like cosmetically on an imaging system, most patients say "yes" and don't even care about the method or ask about the cost.
By having information at your fingertips about people's personal likes and dislikes and insurance needs and treatment plans, you own a lot of power. Computers are said to be "user friendly," but now they need to be "user motherly. " With good information, a mother empowers a child, and with information about a patient, dentists are empowered to help the patient. For example, if someone calls up and says, "Gee, I'm wondering if I should have my crown done." You say, "I'm looking at the picture of your tooth and frankly, the whole back is broken and I see here that you have $400 remaining in insurance benefits this year and that it's November 2 and that you'll lose your insurance benefits if you don't have it done this year." Well, that empowers you because you're helping your patient maximize their money, your helping your patient get better dentistry, and you're helping the practice. Who wouldn't want to be a power user?