Emmott On Technology

I am traveling today to attend and present at the Pride Institute Alumni Meeting in Orlando.

The following article is from Dr. Bicuspid and discusses a contoversial situation. Are we as dentists responsible for non dental findings on an x-ray. Especially with the new Cone Beam CTs?

As a general dentist you are qualifed to interpret a bitewing but that in no way equips you to read a CT scan. Can we just offer it then leave it up to the patient to request a full reading? The logical conclusion is that we should have every CBCT reviewed by a qualifed dental radiologist.

So you’ve just bought a new cone-beam CT (CBCT) machine to plan implants, and you’re marveling about its ability to literally see inside your patients’ heads. Suddenly something catches your eye. What’s that spot on the patient’s neck?
If you think that’s not your responsibility, think again. The 3D images created by cone-beam CT scans can reveal many medical problems, such as atheromas and spinal degeneration, not visible in traditional X-rays. That’s a good thing. Recognizing these signs, known as incidental findings, may allow dentists to save lives by referring imperiled patients to medical doctors.
But with the new power comes new responsibility — and potentially legal liability.

DrBicuspid Imaging.

From the NY times: I haven’t received much text spam yet but it is nice to know what to do about it.

I heard from an AT&T representative who revealed the presence of an astonishing little-known cellular feature: you can block cellular spam.

How to Block Cellphone Spam - Pogue’s Posts - Technology - New York Times Blog.

This is an amazing web site that combines two of my passions, Technology and Mountain Biking.

Look here to see a GPS tracing of a bike ride I did with some buddies last week.

People from all over the world are uploading their rides, runs and hikes to the MotionBased website. Check out the TrailNetwork tab for a recent listing.

Activities are listed by type, date and location, distance speed elevation etc. When you open an uploaded activity you can follow it on a map. trace the elevation gains or most amazing follow it on google earth as if you are actually there…Awesome.

Digital Radiography is one of the most exciting and fastest growing technologies in dentistry. It is also the area with the most misinformation. I constantly talk with dentists who either do buy digital for the wrong reasons or don’t buy for the wrong reasons.

My comprehensive technology guide, “Digital Radiography” exposes nine myths about digital radiography and it will answer the basic question…Why bother?  It then provides step by step help choosing and then setting up digital x-rays.

You will learn about; the five part imaging chain, the sensor wars, image enhancement and much more. And what will come as a complete shock to most dentists… there is even a budget and financial analysis that shows how digital radiography is actually cheaper than film.

“Digital Radiography” will answer all your questions, provide a plan and show you how to save money… all delivered in a fun and easy to understand style.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The number of personal computers in use around the world has surpassed 1 billion, with strong growth in emerging markets set to double the number of PCs by early 2014, research firm Gartner said on Monday.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,Gartner expects more than 180 million computers will be replaced this year, with some sold to second owners through various channels, some broken up and recycled, but many simply dumped directly into landfill.

Over 1 Billion Computers Are Being Used Today - Technology News by ExtremeTech.

CPU: This is the Central Processing Unit. It is the part of the computer where all the commands are interpreted and executed. It is also used to refer to the box part of the computer. The monitor, keyboard printer etc. plug into the box or CPU

GUI: Pronounced Gooey. It stands for Graphical User Interface. It is a method of interacting with the computer using graphics or pictures instead of typed keyboard commands. It was first introduced for popular use by Macintosh in 1987 and then, according to some, shamelessly copied by Microsoft with Windows. The World Wide Web is also graphically based. GUIs are easy to use intuitive and user friendly.

Digitize: This means turning information, which can include pictures, numbers, words, sounds, radiographs, video and even solid objects into number codes or digits which can be read by a computer. Digitized information can be transmitted, manipulated and stored electronically.

Storage vs. Memory: The two kinds of memory or storage confuse some people. A useful analogy is to think in terms of books. The hard drive storage is the total data you have available. It is like all the books you have on the shelves. The more shelves you have the more hard drive storage you have. The RAM memory is the book you have taken off the shelf and are currently reading. RAM is like your desk, the bigger the desk the more books you can keep open on it.

James Kouzes and Barry Posner have been studying leaders for 25 years. Based on responses from 75,000 people worldwide these four traits consistently emerge. These are the four most common traits we look for in someone we will willingly follow.

Honest. Honesty is selected 90 percent of the time, emerging as the single most important factor. If people are going to willingly follow someone - whether into battle or into the boardroom - they first want to know that the person is worthy of their trust.

Forward-looking. About 70 percent of respondents select the ability to look ahead, having a sense of direction and a concern for the future. Whether we call that ability a vision, dream, calling, goal or agenda, leaders must know where they’re going if they expect others to willingly join them. They have to have a point-of-view about the envisioned future, and they need to connect that point of view to the hopes and dreams of constituents.

Inspiring. People expect their leaders to be enthusiastic, energetic, and positive about the future. Beyond having a dream, a leader must communicate the vision in ways that encourage people to sign on for the duration, excite them about the cause, and make the context meaningful. Whatever the circumstances, when leaders breathe life into our dreams and aspirations, we’re more willing to enlist in the movement.

Competent. To enlist in a cause, people must believe that the leader is competent to guide them. They must see the leader as having relevant experience and sound judgment. If people doubt the person’s abilities, they’re unlikely to join in the crusade. Leadership competence refers to the leader’s track record and ability to get things done. Such competence inspires confidence that the leader will guide the organization in the direction it needs to go.

That dreadful, miserable, much-feared date—the day Microsoft stops selling Windows XP—is upon us. The Windows eXPerience comes to an end on Monday, June 30. Now, each and every one of us must turn our tearful gazes to a new vista—Windows Vista (in whatever flavor you choose), to be precise.
While sales of XP will end, extended support will continue for seven solid years. That’s right, Seven Years.

Windows XP: The Long Goodbye - Columns by PC Magazine.

The ability to store and transmit digital images electronically is nice but the ability to alter or enhance the image is what really makes digital image management a powerful tool. It is similar to the difference between typing and word processing.

I believe the most powerful high tech tool you can use in the dental office is an intra oral camera. Cameras are a great instrument however there are some issues of concern.

• They are expensive.
  They require a power source.
  The carts take up too much floor space and are awkward to move.
  They require a light source.
  They require a video capture card to be used with a computer.
  They need expensive docking stations.
  They need expensive foot controls

All those issues vanish with the new generation of USB cameras. These cameras plug directly into the USB port of any computer. The USB port provides the power and captures the images. The cameras have tiny LED lights built in, which are powered by the USB connection. Images are frozen with a button on the camera. The cameras are light, extremely portable and inexpensive.

My favorite so far is theClaris

Manage the present while creating the future.

Dental Justice, a subsidiary of Medical Justice, is the original medico-legal advocacy group that protects you from frivolous claims. We know you’re in business to help people, so we’re here to help you—standing at attention to protect your practice.

Dental Justice.

Using advanced technology will change how things are done in the dental office. It will change the nature of some of the tasks. It will change how much time is required to do things. It will change the location of some tasks.  It will change the personnel needed. It will change how we communicate with our patients and it will allow us to do some things we could never have attempted before.

However all these changes are not revolutionary they are evolutionary. That is they will not happen instantly by themselves but will slowly evolve over time as the doctor and the team become accustomed to the technology.

For example, the first time the front office administrative assistant tries to make an appointment with the electronic scheduler it will take much longer than the old paper book and be very frustrating. In fact it will be awkward, slow and frustrating for several days and the scheduler will be begging the doctor to go back to the old book. After another month electronic scheduling will be easy and much faster than the old book and the advantages of the electronic schedule will be so obvious that the office would never go back.

After another few months the scheduling tasks will be distributed to others. Since it will now be possible to schedule wherever there is a computer appointments can be made by any number of team members and they can be made anywhere there is a computer, including in the back, chairside. Next you could confirm the appointment with a card or better yet an e-mail, which has the exact date, time and purpose of the appointment listed. Finally you could then do a computer search of the electronic schedule to evaluate scheduling effectiveness.

This is just one example of how the task changes, the people doing the task change and the location of the task changes. How we communicate with our patients changes and we can do some things we could never have attempted before.

It’s officially official: Windows XP will go the way of the dodo on June 30. But you’ll still be able to buy it in a few places, using a loophole that allows sales to continue to original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs.
Confused? Here’s the bottom line: Online retailers like Newegg.com, which made headlines discounting OEM copies of Windows Vista by as much as 50 percent as authorized distributors, say they can exercise the same loophole and continue selling Windows XP as stand-alone, OEM software after June 30. A Microsoft spokesman also confirmed that was true.

Don’t Panic: You Can Still Buy XP After June 30 - News and Analysis by PC Magazine.

I hope this is really a sign that things will finally move. The medical records field has so many interested parties the move to a standard digital record has been glacial. Unfortunately dentistry is being held hostage to the full medical record. As the saying goes…read the whole thing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters ) - A major consumer group, insurers together with Google Inc and Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday they have agreed to standards intended to speed adoption of personal electronic health records.
The electronic medical record field remains in its infancy. While U.S. privacy laws govern actions by medical providers such as doctors, there is little in the way of other established privacy, security and data usage standards despite decades of industry efforts.
Backers, which also include some doctors and employer groups, said they hope to break a stalemate in moving medical records online, sparked by consumer fears that their personal information will be abused, or held against them.

Electronic Health Records Standard Formed - News and Analysis by PC Magazine.

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Many dental offices that are trying to “go paperless” are finding that scanning documents requires quite a bit of time and money. Dental offices that scan indicated that one document takes one to three minutes to scan, and using some conservative estimates about new patient flow and employee salaries, the total costs can be as high as $4,256. 

Fortunately, there is an alternative to scanning: online forms. With technology such as MedicTalk DentForms, patients can complete a medical history, any consents and HIPAA forms before they even arrive at the office. This software costs less than the estimated costs for scanning for one year. This is the newest and best way to truly make your office both chartless and efficient.

Introductory low price. Three great books to help you make wise technology choices. “Going Paperless” “Digital Radiography” “Computers in the Treatment Rooms”