Monday, 2 May 2016

Still Relying on Paper Records for Dental Office Management?

BY Pedro Becker IN , 1 comment

- 3 Challenges Might be Coming Your Way

From phones to watches; from TVs to lighting; everything is getting smarter. In the midst of such a scenario, how far is it feasible to stay dependent on paper records for dental office management? Not for too long, we surmise. Most clinics, today, are moving towards adopting a paperless solution for dental practice. The reasons are simple. There are many challenges that are likely to be faced if a gradual move towards going paperless is not made.

Here, we explore 3 of the major risks that you dental office may run if you keep going the old school way.

Losing Patients to Smarter Clinics
 

It is not just the things that are getting smarter; the patients are too. Clinics that offer online paperless patient registration tend to have an edge over those which do not. The point in discussion is that who would like to waste their precious time in the clinics, filling out patient forms and then waiting for their turn to consult the dentist?

Everyone has smart phones these days. Why wouldn’t they just register online; make an appointment; and land directly for the consultation? When a dental office offers that choice, it is the first preference of those who do not have much time. And that kind of population is fairly large.

Handling all the Records for Decades

Okay! Even if you are not losing your patients to a smarter dental clinic, for how long are you prepared to keep handling and storing those paper records? For a decade? Or two? Or Three? Sounds bizarre! Doesn’t it?

The problem with records on paper is that they have to be stored, and they only keep increasing in volume with time. In case of online patient registration, being paperless gives you the advantage of secure and durable storage and handling of patient records. All you have to do is browse the archives and find as old or as new entries as you want. Plus, you are saved the trouble of disposing the junk.

More Expenditure; Less ROI

Look at it this way. You think that investing in technology is additional expense that may really make your budget go out of shape. But it may be otherwise. When you have stationary and other inventory coming in for maintaining records on paper, and a person who is always needed to manage the records, the expenditure may come out to be the same or even more that investing in office management software. 


With software that can manage things for you, you do not need to continuously invest in inventories and manpower to manage the task. Consequently, the expenditure is reduced in the long run and the Return on Investment rises. 
By the way, these are only three of the many challenges that may be faced by you if you do not wish to find a dental practice paperless solution. So, add up the pros and cons and make a wise decision before the others get smarter than you.

1 comment:

  1. Taking care of your teeth is a job for life. Really worth to read all info, thanks allot.

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