1. “Better Safe Than Sorry”

Welcome to the fourth edition of The Digital Dentist Newsletter. Thanks to all who took the time to read the first few issues. I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback about the newsletter, so please keep the comments coming.  

Many of the offices that I work with are aiming towards a truly chartless goal. I’ve never been a big fan of the term “paperless” as it isn’t really accurate to me. There will always be paper, whether it’s walkout statements, hard copies of images, insurance forms, or numerous other documents. However, for offices that are reducing their paper and increasing the amount of digital data, protecting that data becomes absolutely critical.  

Over upcoming issues of The Digital Dentist newsletter, I will be exploring specific products and services that can help you in this regard. As an overview, though, there are some key components that every office must consider:
 

1. A backup protocol. There are about as many backup protocols as there are dentists out there. For a backup to meet my criteria, it’s actually quote simple: the backup must be done at least daily, require little to no input from you or your staff, and must be take offsite daily.
2. Firewall. Any office that goes online must have a firewall to protect themselves. Fortunately, most of the routers (the small boxes that allow you to share the Internet connection) have firewalls built-in, and so does Windows.
3. Anti-virus. Connecting a computer online without anti-virus is liking walking naked into a Vermont winter; you’re just asking for trouble. There are so many free software programs and online virus scanners, there’s just no excuse to not have this running.  

You can make an argument for software such as anti-spam and defragmenters and many other utilities, but if you take steps to protect and backup your data, you’ll be able to sleep better at night. Happy computing!

2. Working it Out  

Last week, we talked about choosing a workstation computer. In keeping with the hardware theme, let’s talk about something that comes up quite often with offices we install: printers. How many do you need? And, why?  

Basically, I recommend a minimum of two printers: a workhorse laser, such as the HP LaserJet 2420d, and an inkjet like the Canon PIXMA iP6600D. I think that every office needs a good quality laser, one that can handle multiple printer trays and print at least 20 pages per minute. I’m not a huge fan of color lasers. I find that even with the cost coming below $500 on many models, the image quality and color saturation just appears better (to me) on an inkjet. I like the Canon and Epson lines because they use a minimum of 6 ink cartridges. Anyone who owns an inkjet knows how costly the ink can be, so having more cartridges translates into lower printing costs.  

Some people ask me about all-in-one, or multifunction, printers. While I think they are fine as an extra system, such as for the dentist’s private office, I tend to not recommend them for a busy office. In theory, it sounds great…your printer, fax, copier, and scanner, all in one small box. However, if it goes down, then you’ve lost everything: your printer, fax, copier, and scanner, all in one shot. The risks, in my opinion, don’t outweigh the rewards.

3. The “Missing Link”  

One of my favorite software systems over the past couple of years is a program called Dentforms. When I talk about going chartless in my lectures, I often refer to their software as the “missing link”. What does this program do? Well, it’s pretty much the last piece of the puzzle for offices that want to eliminate their paper charts. Once of the suggestions we give to offices who want to get rid of the charts is to look at every component of the chart, and try to find a digital counterpart. Almost all PMS programs allow for progress notes (and we’ll be talking about the excellent Easy Notes Pro in another issue). Digital radiography and cameras eliminate the x-rays and photos. But, how do you get rid of the forms, especially the ones that need to be signed, such as medical history, HIPAA, and Informed Consent? Enter Dentforms. With a tight bridge to most major PMS programs, you can either use their forms or create your own to mimic your paper forms. Patients can sign on either a signature pad, Tablet PC, or use a traditional mouse. And, the software let’s you keep track of the forms as well as reminds you which forms still need to be signed. Finally, an extra service they offer, which I love, is to allow your patient to fill out the medical and dental history forms online and have that information automatically upload to your server, so that the information is there long before the patient enters the door. This is a highly developed system and has my highest recommendation.  As always, let me know if you plan to purchase this software, as we can usually get better pricing than most.
 

Well, that’s it for issue #4. As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated and will be taken to heart.