Practice Management Toolkit
The Office Computer as a Practice Management Tool
Dr Barry Freydberg
P&G spoke to Dr. Barry Freydberg, a practicing dentist
and one of the nation’s leading experts on the use of computers in the dental
office.
We asked Dr. Freydberg to comment on three topics:
- The traditional role of computers in the dental office
- The new role of computers in dentistry
- What dentists should consider when shopping for a computer system
The Traditional Role of Computers in the Dental Office
According to the ADA, 67% of all dental offices are now computerized.
Dr. Freydberg notes that as computers were introduced into dental practices,
the goal was to automate tasks. Just as factories once moved from a total reliance
on manual labor and began using machines to perform repetitive tasks on an assembly
line, dentists first used computers as new types of office machines that could
accomplish certain tasks faster than employees working with pencil and paper.
Some examples of these automated tasks include:
- Scheduling
- Recall systems
- Letter writing
- Accounting
- Billing
- Tracking practice statistics
- Maintaining the patient database
- Printing insurance claim forms
In electronic insurance claim processing the traditional model,
the computer was located at the front desk. The problem, however, is that much
information in a dental office is generated in the treatment rooms.
Consider these situations that typically occur in the treatmentroom:
- The dentist or dental assistant writes in the record or
on a routing form what was done that day.
- The dentist or dental assistant writes in the record the
treatment that is needed at a subsequent visit.
- The patient verbally provides the dentist with a medical
history update, which must be recorded.
- The patient is advised to make another appointment for
a follow-up visit.
In each of these cases, information is generated in the treatment
room and must then be transferred to the receptionist before it can be entered
into a computer. The result is an inefficient system that requires dual entry
of data.
The New Role of Computers in Dentistry
According to Dr. Freydberg, the solution to this problem is
a decentralized computer system, which means having multiple computer work stations,
not just at the front desk, but in the treatment rooms as well.
Dr. Freydberg noted that by using computers in the treatment
rooms, the dental team can capture information at the point of treatment. "Data
can be entered directly into the computer by the assistant while the patient
is getting numb, or the temporary cement is hardening, while the impression
is in the mouth, or while the doctor is out of the room examining hygiene patients,"
Dr. Freydberg said.
Another advantage of a decentralized system is that when a
practice uses a computer to capture all the necessary data at the point of treatment,
the data can then be used effectively for marketing.
"Let’s say that you’ve entered all treatment
plans into the system, and of course the computer tracks the fees," Dr.
Freydberg said. "The computer also keeps a running total of the amount
of each patient’s remaining insurance benefits, so you can have the computer
search and cross-reference this information." Specifically, Dr. Freydberg
suggested that the dentist have the computer do the following:
- Search for every patient who has not accepted proposed treatment
- Cross-reference that information with remaining insurance
benefits, a good payment history, and no appointment scheduled
- Generate follow-up letters to those patients.
"Nothing falls through the cracks," Dr. Freydberg
said, "because the computer does not forget anything."
What Dentists Should Consider When Shopping for a Computer System
Dr. Freydberg offered the following advice to dentists who
are in the market for an office computer system:
- Don’t wait. Although new dentists have many
start-up expenses, Dr. Freydberg believes that a computer system is essential
for practice success. "It’s more beneficial and less costly to computerize
as soon as possible. Converting your paper data into digitized, computer data
later is expensive and time consuming."
- It’s never too late. Even if an established
dentist in a non-computerized office is going to retire in a few years, it
still may be a good idea to buy a computer system. "A computer system
will make the practice more salable," Dr. Freydberg said. "The dentist
will also be able to use the computer to help a new associate become productive
faster, by searching the database and finding cases and patients to activate."
- Take courses before you start shopping. "Too
many dentists buy computers not knowing exactly what they are going to do
with them, so they don’t shop effectively," Dr. Freydberg said.
- Make sure all the components work together as a team.
"We’re seeing a lot of ads claiming that dental management systems
are ‘seamlessly integrated.’ We have to be careful that they’re
not just ‘seemingly integrated,’ in the words of Dr. Paul Rhodes,
a periodontist in California." Dr. Freydberg noted that when dentists
buy different component or "black boxes" from different vendors,
they must make sure that the interfaces are reliable and perform as advertised.
- Get a list of the vendors’ clients and call those
clients. "Talk to users, not vendors, about actual performance today,"
Dr. Freydberg said, "not the promise of integrated technology tomorrow.
- Ask a lot of questions about functionality. One
important question is whether the dentist will be able to view all the images
on the same screen with the management information. "I want to be able
to view the appointment schedule, x-rays, face images, and insurance information
on one screen," Dr. Freydberg said. In addition, Dr. Freydberg wants
to know how information passes back and forth. "If I graphically chart,
‘Mr. Jones needs a crown,’ will a pre-estimate go out and a treatment
plan be made for Mr. Jones? If I type on my management system, ‘We just
completed a crown,’ will it change the dental chart graphically?"
- Ask about training and support. Dr. Freydberg notes
that a good system will issue regular software upgrades, and that every member
of the dental team will require training. "Every member of the dental
team needs to use the computer system, because everyone needs access to information,"
Dr. Freydberg said. "Dentistry is no different from any other business
when it comes to the need to manage information effectively."
