Thursday, March 9, 2017
Researchers at Oxford estimate that as many as half the jobs people are doing today will be eliminated by technology. This includes dentists and dental team members. There is one sure fire way to ensure you still have a job during the high-tech revolution. Become the “Practice Technologist.”
If a dental staff member believes her job is to pull charts, type forms and phone patients, then she is likely to lose that job in the future. If she believes her job is to understand and use technology effectively, then she will be the most valuable person in the office.
The alternative, which we sadly see, is dentists and staff members resisting the introduction of new technology. They keep doing things the old way and sabotage (often subconsciously) the success of the new systems. This sabotage may slow things down for a while, but it eventually makes the saboteur expendable.
On the other hand, the team member who knows how all the technology works, can easily add new systems to the mix and embraces change will become indispensable.
Here are three simple examples:
1. Practice Staff Person: Pulls charts every day, spends time hunting for the lost chart, then puts them all back again at the end of the day.
Practice Technologist: Knows the management software well enough to create and maintain completely paperless records.
2. Practice Staff Person: Hands a clipboard to patients to fill out forms, then re-enters all the information into the computer.
Practice Technologist:Sets up and uses online forms that synch with the electronic records. There’s no paper and no dual entry.
3. Practice Staff Person: Spends considerable time every day phoning and mostly leaving messages with patients to remind patients of and hopefully confirm upcoming appointments.
Practice Technologist: Sets up and maintains an online e-service that sends daily reminders with no additional input from office staff.
It is vitally important for dentists to understand the technology available for their offices. While dentists don’t have to be mouse masters who know every click and cranny of the technology, they do need to know what is possible so they can create a vision and lead their team.
Team members need to know what is possible and be eager to use new systems and adapt the office workflow to new technology.
Technology has already eliminated many repetitive jobs and will surely eliminate more in the future. You do not have to be a victim; you can choose instead to be the practice technologist. The future is coming and it will be amazing!