Thursday, January 9, 2014
New Year – first we party then we repent.
As you appease your guilty conscience with resolutions for self-improvement in the coming year here are some dental high tech resolutions to consider.
Use what you have now
Most likely you already have some pretty sophisticated technology and you aren’t using it fully. Make a resolution to get more out of what you have.
Clean up your patient list
You still have active patients listed in your computer who moved to Australia five years ago and are just not coming back. Every time you run a report, inactive patients who are listed as active, skew the numbers and add to the computing burden by making your machine crunch numbers that don’t really exist. Start by using a service such as ActionRun to find and re-activate patients who have become inactive. Identify patients who are not coming back and then change their status to inactive.
Do the HIPAA basics
The new HIPAA omnibus rules went into effect last year on Sept. 23. Full compliance can be daunting. On the other hand you do have an obligation to protect patient privacy. Resolve to do these three things in the next two months. Assign a HIPAA compliance officer. Do a technology risk assessment and start encrypting your patient data.
Get more training
Almost every dental office would benefit from more high tech training. Resolve to attend at least two computer or software training courses this year. That is training for both the team and the doctor.
Clean up your system
Redundant, out of date and just plain wrong information plagues almost every dental computer system. For example, the same insurance company is listed three different times; a patient has a pop up medical alert that no longer applies; and hundreds of discarded alternative treatment plans are still attached to patients and listed as incomplete. Resolve to tackle these problems one at a time. Set aside dedicated time to do it, at least an hour or two a week. Do not wait until you have some free time to start the cleanup. That is what got you into this mess in the first place.
Use the Internet more effectively
The first thing every dental office should do to improve their online presence is to claim their Google+ Place. Just claiming it is hugely important. After you have claimed it you can improve your Google rank and visibility by setting up a complete Google+ business page. Resolve to claim your place. Next, set up a practice website. Remember to design the site to provide service and value to existing patients. Dental websites are not just for attracting new patients.
Reduce paper
A completely paperless record by the end of the year would be great. However, start with some easier goals. Evaluate every paper you now create. Is it still important? Can it be added to an electronic record? Is there a faster way to do this?
Complete the system
If you are still holding back, this is the year to fully automate. Resolve to add a computer to every treatment room and to network the entire office.
Just like last year
Lose ten pounds.
New Year’s resolutions are all about envisioning and creating a preferred future. Whatever you resolve, the future is coming and it will be amazing!