I understand that slowly, day by day, the concept of using paper anything will become as obsolete as that brick of a phone some people are still clinging to. I also think reasons related to fear of technology are valid.
But making the transition from paper to digital data, though scary, is necessary to all businesses, and soon it will be mandatory. This isn’t just to simplify your tasks as well as those of your team; this transition is also for your patients. The antiquated system doesn’t work anymore. It costs more, it’s not environmentally friendly, and it’s time-consuming. It can also be more difficult to organize and keep track of patient files.
However, the reason I’m even bringing this up is due to a painful experience suffered by a colleague of mine at her Dentist’s office. Her dentist hadn’t yet transitioned to digital data and, according to her, wasn’t about to. He was dead set on staying old-school. Paper always and forever. No need to get caught up in all that computer and internet stuff, right?
Wrong.
Stuck in his ways, and to the detriment of his patients, he had everything written down in tons and tons of patient files he kept in metal filing cabinets. On a day when his patient needed to come in for an emergency procedure, he could not find her file. He looked and looked. She even looked with him. For hours she stood with him at the front desk as both attempted to roll back through their memories of what treatments he had performed.
It was a mess, she told me later with a scowl on her face and no intention of going back, it wasn’t until three months later . . . 3 months! That the dentist found her file. Getting a call from him, she learned three incredible things:
- Her file had been mixed up with another patient’s file of the same name.
- Her file was not even in the right city.
- If her Dentist had transitioned to digital data earlier, this might never have happened and she would still be his patient right now
It’s 2017 everybody. It’s time to transition to the age of technology and put those fears aside. Even if this particular scenario has never happened to you, the risk is still higher than if you decide to adopt the right practice management software.
And for technology that is easy to use, can reduce your stress by digitizing your charts, your images, and your schedule, and is backed by over thirty-five years of experience, try out our Maxident Practice Management Software and click the button below for a free demo.
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