In today’s fast-paced world, patients expect convenience and efficiency in all aspects of their healthcare experience. Dental practices are no exception. By leveraging technology, dental practices can improve patient engagement and satisfaction while also increasing efficiency and revenue.
Various technologies like patient portals, digital radiography, and teledentistry can benefit dental practices. Check out more ways that leveraging technology in your dental practice can help you build a successful and profitable practice.
Patient Portals
One of the most effective ways to improve patient engagement is through the use of patient portals. Almost everyone has at least heard of patient portals these days. But if you’re still unfamiliar, patient portals are web-based platforms that allow patients to view the following:
- their appointment schedules
- pay bills
- communicate with the practice through secure messaging.
This not only improves patient convenience but also helps to reduce phone calls and administrative tasks for the practice so you can focus more on clinical tasks.
Additionally, patient portals can also provide patients with access to their health records and dental history. This allows them to better understand their own oral health as well as make more informed decisions about their care.
New Tools
Technology has also advanced far enough that it now allows you to make some upgrades to the ways you used to do things. For example, having a complete image of a patient’s mouth is often necessary to identify what procedures or treatments need to occur. Digital radiography is a new technology that can help you do things in more convenient ways while driving patient engagement.
Digital radiography is faster and more efficient than traditional film radiography, and it also allows for the easy sharing of images with patients and other necessary healthcare providers. You also eliminate the need for film storage, reduce costs, and lower your carbon footprint. This not only improves patients’ education about their healthcare, but also helps to improve communication and coordination of care.
Telehealth
While the COVID-19 pandemic surely isn’t attributed to many good things, telehealth might be one of the few positives that stemmed from it. With the entire world looking to figure out how to continue doing normal things while nothing was normal, taking care of medical appointments online became the alternative to a mostly in-person type of profession. While it can be difficult to do dentistry over a screen, teledentistry is a relatively new technology. It allows dental practices to provide remote consultations and treatment planning to patients. Teledentistry can be done through video conferencing, messaging, or even through the use of mobile apps.
This not only improves patient access to care, but also allows practices to expand their reach and give access to patients who may not have otherwise been able to visit the practice. Teledentistry can also be used for the following:
- follow-up appointments
- reducing the need for patients to come in for multiple visits
- leaving in-person appointment times open for those who need it most
Software and Digital Programs
In addition to teledentistry, there are many other tools that dental practices can leverage to improve patient engagement. For example, using practice management software can help practices streamline their operations and improve communication with patients, including managing appointment schedules and sending reminders. Similarly, using an electronic health record (EHR) can help you organize, manage, and store patient data. With secure filing methods and fewer paper trails, you can avoid potential HIPAA violations and their consequences.
Another necessity of healthcare that has also been made easier with technology is filling prescriptions. Filling prescriptions online improve patient engagement by allowing easy refills from the comfort of their home, ditching paper prescriptions. The potential for losing a written prescription or misreading at the pharmacy is greatly reduced.
While technology can greatly improve patient engagement and satisfaction, it’s important to remember that having a good dental staff is the key to success. Your staff members are the first point of contact for patients. And the way they handle technology can greatly impact the patient’s experience.
Providing training and education to dental staff on how to effectively use technology is essential. This ensures the staff is able to use the technology to its full potential, and can provide patients with the best possible experience.
Strategic Practice Solutions Dental Academy can make sure that your staff members are trained to use technology you just learned about and more. Knowledgeable staff combined with advancing technology can propel your dental practice forward and make it more profitable and efficient than ever before. After completing courses with Strategic Practice Solutions Dental Academy, your staff will be able to take on those new forms of technology that will benefit you and your patients the most. Contact us today to get started with a consultation.