Since I was 15 years old, while working as an assistant for my father’s Dental Practice, I have been “exposed” to both the business and clinical aspect of Dentistry. I’m sure my father didn’t appreciate it, when I assisted him, and to gently say to him (while his patient is being “drilled”) that, “Dad, shouldn’t you prepare that tooth differently?” My father would stop drilling, look me straight in the eye and say, “Craig, go clean the supply room, I’m fine here”! Not knowing he was kicking me out of the operatory, I would respond by saying, “sure Dad, great idea”. I would then proceed to rearrange the entire supply room perfectly (so perfect that no could find anything).
This simple anecdote is symbolic for the common “deficiencies” that most Dentists, my father’s age as well as recent graduates; Practice Management Skills!! During the 4 to 5 years of didactic absorption, injecting each other with anesthesia for the first time, watching my fellow students hands shake as he nears my mouth. We learned everything there is to know about anatomy, physiology, and yes even neurophysiology (I always wondered why?). BUT what about aging reports, inventory, scheduling, interpretation of year end (percentages) production from each category of procedures, time management, employment management, on and on. Not only do we graduate with the fear of finding employment by a skilled and honest “senior” Dentist, or opening up a practice with the money you have saved (saving money during school??) or having to borrow? Then what? As the saying goes, “blindly go where no Dentist has ever gone before”; Business!!
After close to 35 years of “experience” in a Dental Office, I finally know what the solution is; Finding the Best Practice Management Software program. 40 plus years ago, my Father’s office manager would have to record all financial information by hand on ledgers by hand; including daily deposits, receipts, balances, etc. Years later, we purchased (one of the first offices) an “in-office” software and hardware system” that ran on the old DOS principle. What a nightmare!! Imputing patient data for weeks and months, having classes for weeks, support for years, problems daily, and after 3 or 5 MAJOR crashes due to power surges, power outages, “someone pressing the wrong button losing 3000 patients billing information”, “someone didn’t bring home the back-up tape and now we can’t find it”, adding additional peripherals to our system, requiring more lessons, more mistakes, and of course more cost!!
Certainly at the time, we thought we were “keeping up with technology”, yet we were in fact spending tens of thousands of dollars to make our life more complicated, frustrating, and argued over the EXTREME inefficiency of the Front desk staff when using the computers or teach others how to use them. Meanwhile patients walk in and out of your office without paying for their services.
SOLUTIONS?
Technology is now becoming “our friend” rather than “an offensive line composed of 6’5 Huge killing machines verses our front desk staff (can you picture that?). Technology today will allow most Dentist s with little or no experience in Practice Management and Computer literacy, to direct their staff and then leave daily management chores in their hands, meanwhile Dentists can focus on their Operatory procedures while effortlessly “oversee” everything that comes into and out of your office at the same time; it actually becomes FUN!!
What type of “Practice Management Program “am I referring to? There are a dozen or so software systems available, and most of these Companies have an initial cost of over $40,000; including their hardware, peripherals (most companies require you to purchase their computers, printers, etc), and downloaded software. PLUS hours of training and months of a computer literacy learning curve, before you “get it right”. Hopefully your Office Manager is still in your employment, or you will be forced to start the training process all over again!
Why not choose a Practice Management Company that is not only simple to use, a learning curve of DAYS verses MONTHS or YEARS, no purchasing of “compatible hardware and peripherals”, no downloading of software that constantly needs to be updated. Why not choose a Company that will efficiently create schedules, recall appointments, manage check –in and check-out’s of all patients who somehow manage to walk out of the office unnoticed (front desk staff being pre-occupied with either confirming, entering insurance information, talking to “tech support” about something the system can’t do). AND to have a program, with NO CHANCE of any lost data EVER is invaluable!!
I have investigated, spoken to, and played “devils advocate” for a Company Known as DDSworks (DDSworks.com). With every question I asked, I received a simple response: “Sure our system can do that”, “of course you don’t need to back up your system”, “Yes you are correct, all the information on any patient is visible on your viewing screen”, “Of course you can use your current computers and peripherals, as long as you have access to the internet”, and finally “YOU can never ever loose even a keystroke of entered data, you are on a continuous, mirrored, real time back-up system that is more secure than any ‘3 unit bridge you will ever placed” (I thought that was a cleaver answer).
I feel the actual break-down of each feature that DDSworks offers deserves an article of its own. So rather than “brush over” each unique and amazing attribute that was meticulously incorporated in their software system, I will write many concise papers on the problems that we Dentists face in managing our Dental Practice via data entry into a Computer , the economic environment is such that Dentist “need to get paid too”. Many Dentists are unaware of the amount of money that is rightfully theirs through hard work and skill, but falls between the crack because of either inefficient front desk staff, overwhelmed office manager, distracted receptionists, and most importantly, hours of frustration and failures of most “in-house” software programs that are either too complicated to “flow” through a patient check in/out, or portions of programs hidden within the main default page. Believe me; DDSworks has none of these problems, and countless features that I would compare to your first “Blackberry” or “Palm” cell phone and the iphone (which is complicated technologically, yet simple for owners).
Dr. Craig Savin csavindds@yahoo.com |