Evident Dental Laboratory Management Software Solves Paperless Challenge for Dental Lab and Dental Practices
(PRWEB) September 08, 2013 -- The environmentally conscientious dental practice demanded this feature due to a practice-wide integration of environmentally-friendly and organizational systems. “The implementation of the new system went well. We actually implemented 4 new systems at one time to be more efficient and effective for our patients. There are always a few kinks that need to be worked out with combining that many new systems, but once worked out there have not been any problems. It does take some patience from the staff with all the new training.” said Dr. Philip C. Haney, D.D.S., F.A.G.D., L.L.C.
Ceratek needed to find a system to solve this challenge. As a result, Ceratek called on Evident for the dentist gateway feature to reduce the paper used in the practice while still assisting the practice with compliance and record control.
“Firstly we wanted a way to keep better track of our cases coming in and going out of the lab (the software that we were using was limited to only certain actions). After examining what we were going to need for both us and our clients, it became clear that we needed more. Our clients wanted to keep track of their cases, as well as upload cases to us. We had a couple of dentist that wanted to go paperless and were going digital, so we needed to move fast to keep up with the demand.
We choose Evident for the simplicity of cloud based software that is secure. For being a small lab we are constantly on the go, whether it was taking a shade, picking up a case, or even just meeting a client, we needed a way that we could tap into our system from anywhere. There has been a few times that I have had to pull up cases on my iPhone to show what's going on with a particular case while I am out of the office. We really haven't had any challenges with the green features of Evident. It is very user friendly.” – Josh Olson, VP of Ceratek Dental Lab.
The paperless green feature can be implemented for any lab but there are requirements:
1. The dental lab must be computerized
2. The dental lab must be compliant for government regulation on the storing and sending patient information.
3. Data integrity and protection strategies must be in place.
From there it is the process of choosing a dental laboratory management system that will allow the dental lab to provide electronic prescription submission. Once the system has been selected, the system needs to be implemented to reflect the products, prices and turn-around times the dental lab wants their doctors to choose from. The process for the dentist needs to be easy and quick to ensure there are no barriers to adoption. Once set up the dentist should be marketed to on every case submission, this allows the lab to educate it`s doctors every time they submit a case.
“At first it was, ‘What do we do with everything and how do we do it?’ The more we got into the software, the more we realized that we could do a lot more than what we were expecting, and the easier it got. We had an unusual case I think with Evident. Normally Evident likes to implement the Dentist Gateway a month or two after going live and get all the kinks worked out of the production schedule. We jumped in with both feet from the get go. So we had to get the kinks worked out ten times faster so we wouldn't make more as we went along. Surprisingly there actually wasn't a whole lot to fix. We were able to get the support when needed right away. It made us get just that much further ahead of the game. The more we have gone digital the more Evident has to offer us and our clients." Josh explained.
"Operating costs haven't really changed a whole lot for us. Not all of our clients are fully digital yet. Most of our clients are just waiting for the right time to jump into the digital age and go paperless. With the ‘Dentist Gateway’ however it makes it easier for our clients to track cases, print their own invoices and statements, pay bills, and much more. They have a little more insight on what's happening with their particular cases.” Said Josh.
When the term electronic prescription is mentioned, the first question is: How does the lab remain HIPAA compliant for the dental practice?
“Being able to assign a number to every case has given us an opportunity to talk about cases by their number not patient name. We had a couple of Clients address that they wanted more security with the Dentist Gateway with their employees using the gateway. The timing was just right that it came around very fast for our clients to be able to use the software with the knowledge that it was completely HIPAA compliant and financially secure.” Responded Josh.
As technology advances, dental laboratories are able to provide more features to their doctors while reducing waste in terms of consumables that use natural resources and time. When asked to compare operating costs from before the new system the dental practice answered, “There has been a reduction not only in our supply cost but also in our time spent with preparation.”
Josh Olson also added, “We have all heard how digital is here to stay. It's true. Having cloud based software like Evident is not only smart, it's a necessity. Trying to keep up with syncing this and syncing that gets hectic and cumbersome. We are constantly taping into Evident from our iPhones, iPads, and computers, both at the lab and at home. The ease of logging in from home to do reports, while spending time with my family, is much more appealing than staying at the lab doing the reports. Implementing dental lab software is critical for all sizes of labs. When updates happen Evident emails you and lets you know that it already did happen. They stay on top of things that need to change."
"We are strongly encouraging all of our accounts to use this. For our clients it comes down to how much they have gone digital in their own practices. Those that use it have been very pleased with what they have used it for and want to expand to use the other features. Combined with the other digital aspects in our lab we have shortened our turn-around time from 10 business days to 3-5 business days. Having this software has made it easier to maintain and track the input of cases going through the lab in an efficient manner.” Said Josh
Given the nature of the industry creating a completely paperless system is a challenge. As Ceratek laboratory has shown, it’s not impossible. As these management systems continue to develop these technologies in the dental laboratory industry, the green systems continue to improve and become cost affective for the dental lab and the dental practice. Dr. Philip C. Haney, Ceratek and Evident are proud to have worked together to contribute to the industry toward a greener, environmentally conscientious approach to everyday business that preserves our environment and improves the experience for the patient.
Evident dental lab software has been helping dental laboratories with the challenges they face every day. To see if the Evident features and solutions are the right fit for your dental lab business there is an obligation free guided demo. This article was printed in the NADL's JDT April Issue 'Going Green'.
Rayne Verity, Evident Inc., http://www.evidentlabs.com, +1 (877) 909-7770 1, [email protected]
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