Emmott On Technology: Busting 10 Technology Myths Commonly Believed by Dentists

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Emmott On Technology: Busting 10 Technology Myths Commonly Believed by Dentists

“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” – Mark Twain

Ten common myths dentists have about technology

1. My patients do not use email

Actually the research tells us 91 percent of Americans check their email regularly, usually many times a day. When asked, 66 percent, a full two thirds of dental patients, prefer email to phone calls for office communications.

2. The more megapixels the better

Digital photos are a tremendous tool that we do not use often enough in the dental office. On the other hand you do not need the largest number of megapixels in order to get good images for use in dentistry. When you display an image on a 1680 x 1050 monitor there are only 1,764,000 pixels available. That is 1.7 Megapixels. If you are taking 10 megapixel images, more than 80 percent of the image data is not needed when you show the full image on the monitor.

The only time you might use very high megapixel resolution is if you wish to zoom way in on a single tooth from a full face image. Most of the time we do not need the extra resolution and the extra data can slow down image processing and take up memory.

3. I need a digital x-ray sensor in every room:

Think of the sensor as a digital version of a film processor. If you can manage a dental office with one dark room and film processor, you can manage a dental office with one sensor.

4. Macs don't get viruses:

Some Mac cultists still believe this but it just is not true. It is true that there are a lot more PC viruses because there are a lot more PC users. However there is Mac malware and you do need to protect yourself.

5. Digital systems cost more than paper:

This seems true because we usually buy the paper system in small increments and the digital system in one big chunk. However, the true cost of the paper system is hidden in the cost of doing business.

For example the cost of a paper chart including the actual folder, the printing of forms, labels and stickers, films and the actual paper itself can easily be $2.75. That’s not much but if you have 3,000 patients you have $8,250 invested in charts. That is the same cost as a high end dental office server.

However, the digital option is even better because you can use that same server to manage your digital radiographs. You cannot use your file cabinets to process an x-ray. For that you need another $7,000 auto processing machine.

6. My data is safe because we make a backup tape every night:

There are two problems with this. First, if you are counting on a human to set up the backup and take the tape away. You have the issue of human error. People just forget or do it improperly.

More significantly, you cannot be sure your data is actually on the tape in a useable form if you do not check. The only way to be sure is to verify the back up and run a test of the restore function.

If you use an online service they do this as part of the service (in theory). However, since this is such an important issue you may want to double the check the online service now and then.

7. I need to scan all my old patient charts in order to have “paperless” records:

Scanning in old paper records is a huge time consuming and expensive task that provides almost no value. Don’t do it.

If you need to review a portion of the record that is on paper just go get it when you need it. You will find you do not need the old records nearly as much as you think you do. When you first “go paperless” you will be pulling several charts a day for review however this will quickly diminish so that after a six month re-call cycle you will rarely be pulling the old charts. You will simply keep them as an archive.

8. Emptying the trash or recycle bin permanently deletes files:

If you dump the paper files in your paper trash can into that bigger bin in the alley are the files gone? Not really. You can no longer use them, but if some snooper does a little dumpster diving in your alley he or she could recover and use the files you threw out.

It is the same with digital files. When you empty the little trash icon you deallocate the space on the hard drive and remove the links to that file, but the data is still there and a snoopy drive diver could find it.

9. More bars means better service:

More bars mean a stronger signal. However, if you are in the middle of downtown Chicago and twenty thousand other people are trying to use the same tower as you, the service will be lousy no matter how many bars you have.

10. The future is scary and uncertain:

The future is coming and it will be amazing!

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