Dentrix

From the category archives:

Paperless

Trees to Go

July 28, 2010

This Seth Godin blog link has his usual interesting and thought provoking take on things. It takes a look at the difference between paper and non paper writing. A subject that interests me quite a bit as I have transitioned from paper magazine writing to blogging and other e-publications.
It has other more direct implications for dentistry. [...]

Read the full article →

Guide to “Going Paperless”

July 22, 2010

Is it really possible to go paperless? How can I turn all this junk into a digital record? And why should I even bother?
As a dental practice management consultant, I will tell you that it is possible to create a completely paperless dental record. And going paperless can save you tens of thousands of dollars.
My [...]

Read the full article →

AppointMaster-What is it?

July 16, 2010

I have not used this product but it looks interesting. It allows patients to make appointments online. I believe this could be very effective for re-call not so sure about complex restorative.
AppointMaster-What is it?.

Read the full article →

ADA Electronic health record by 2014?

July 2, 2010

The link below is to an ADA News article re: the electronic health record (EHR) and what the ADA is doing to help. However I never did see a statement regarding the key question. Are we required to have EHRs by 2014? Right now the answer is no; I wish they would make that clear. Never [...]

Read the full article →

Paperless Thoughts

June 26, 2010

Dead tree (paper) data can only be in one place at a time. There is only one paper appointment book, only one paper chart, only one film radiograph. As a result if one of the pieces is missing, say the chart is in the back (or just lost in a stack on the doctor’s desk) [...]

Read the full article →

HealthVault and Dental Optimizer

June 23, 2010

I found this on Dental Blogs. This was the first I had heard of Microsoft HealthVault. It is a free web service that allows you to store personal health information and gives consumers (patients?) access to various health advice, like how to loose weight or keep your teeth healthy. Once your health records are online you [...]

Read the full article →

It Could be Millions

June 14, 2010

We have the same issues in our dental offices. The cost of the paper we produce is hidden in the cost of doing business and we have no idea how much it actually costs. In the dental office it isn’t millions but it is tens of thousands. The EOT Tech guide on going paperless has [...]

Read the full article →

Help Going Paperless

June 9, 2010

The conversion process from paper to paperless records requires three different types of help or support.
Consultant: This person helps develop the plan, choose vendors, establish a budget, set up office systems, assign tasks and follow up over time to trouble shoot and assure completion of the project.
Trainer: This person teaches the office staff which icon [...]

Read the full article →

Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances

June 8, 2010

The link below is to a DEA site with all the latest on e-prescriptions for controlled substances, including an FAQ section for prescribers. As you would imagine there are lots of issues and limitations. The rules states that the prescribing software must meet the requirements of the rule. I could not determine if any dental applications are currently acceptable. [...]

Read the full article →

Paperless Mistakes

June 8, 2010

One of the common mistakes dentists make with electronic charting is that they only go part way. Sometimes we miss the obvious, it is the old “can’t see the forest for the trees” In this case the trees are the individual processes that can be used to create digital information. The forest is the paperless [...]

Read the full article →

Online Forms

June 7, 2010

Some dentists and dental team members still hold on to the idea that their patients are not interested in technology and won’t use the Internet and such. On the other hand I spoke with an office manager today who told me her patients not only accept things like online forms…they expect them.

Read the full article →

Electronic Signature Pads

May 28, 2010

Follow the link to a direct source for a number of different electronic signature devices. These can be used for patient signatures on history consent and HIPAA forms as well as for Dr. and staff sign off on chart entries.
The Authorized Fulfillment Partner for Topaz Systems Electronic Signature Capture Products – Computime.

Read the full article →

Keyscan a Scanner in your Keyboard

May 16, 2010

I mentioned this product before, thinking it would have value at the front desk. It is a document scanner built into a keyboard. That means no desk space sacrificed to a scanner, no leaving your chair to trudge across the office to scan a document then running back to save it to the proper chart.
I [...]

Read the full article →

Send it Over on a Dinosaur

May 10, 2010

In the words of Michael Scott from NBC’s comedy The Office, “Fax? Why don’t you just send it over on a dinosaur?”
Indeed, there is little excuse for using a fax machine in 2010, but many businesses do so because other businesses they correspond with, including the U.S. government especially, still rely on the technology. Your [...]

Read the full article →

Scientist gets a billion pages on one chip

May 6, 2010

The article linked here is overly geeky and most dentists may not bother to check it out..but it just makes my nerdy heart tingle. The basics are that researches are using nano tech to replace traditional mechanical storage (than means a hard drive) with solid state electronic storage that will store more faster and cheaper.
Remember when [...]

Read the full article →

5 Simple Ways You Can Go Paperless

May 6, 2010

This article from American Express has some very good advice. One I had not heard about before is # 4 EchoSign for online forms and signatures.
Sometimes, it’s just that old habits die hard.
However, there are software solutions to some old paper problems that don’t require the network infrastructure of a large corporation. And making a small technology [...]

Read the full article →

Common “Paperless” Mistake

May 4, 2010

A common mistake dental offices make regarding digital records is to gather digital information, such as photographs, but store it in separate dental software that is not part of the patient’s digital record. To be most effective the digital information must be all part of the same record using either a fully integrated system or linking each [...]

Read the full article →

Three paperless Options

April 7, 2010

Forms and signatures are one of the essentials of record keeping. How then can you have a paperless record? There are three methods to gather the information electronically and totally bypass the paper.
Tablet PC:A tablet PC is a mobile computer in the shape of a slate. The i-Pad is the latest tablet form. The i-Pad [...]

Read the full article →

Document Scanner in your Keyboard

March 30, 2010

Rick Willeford pointed this product out to me at the Hinman Meeting. It is a scanner built into the computer keyboard. I routinely advise dental offices to get a flatbed desktop scanner in order to scan in x-rays. Rick agreed with that but he pointed out that scanning x-rays is a rare event while front desk people scan [...]

Read the full article →

Minimum Requirements to “Go Paperless”

March 20, 2010

Hardware
Network
Having a single computer or carrying a laptop from room to room will not work. In order to be paperless the office needs a server – workstation network.
Server
This is the central computer where all the data is stored. Most offices should have a dedicated server running specialized server software.
Front Desk Workstations
These are the computers at [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries