Details, details

Make sure the vendor you select is detail oriented when it comes to your dental practice technology project. Your vendor should go beyond presenting you with an invoice and provide the details on product delivery dates and times, a comprehensive statement of work (that you should have reviewed by a professional) and a detailed explanation of support services and contract. They should also want to understand how to interface with your team and be aware of the intricacies of scheduling the rollout to minimize adverse production effects.

Choose a local computer firm that you can trust (detail oriented, readily accessible, quality references) to involve in your dental technology. Include them when you bring in DPM trainers. Make sure they have free, unfettered access to the information necessary to call the manufacturers. Print out support contract numbers, support phone numbers and show them where you keep copies of software and documentation for your system. Get them to agree to a local support contract that stipulates a four-hour (minimum) response time to system problems. Putting your local support company on retainer helps assure that your practice gets priority over other customers.

Watch out for the “Field of Dreams”

There are vendors who want to outfit your practice to the hilt with every bell and whistle known in the dental technology environment. They will promise you the moon in terms of profitability obtained from deploying the “total package.” The reality is virtually no dental practice team can absorb the massive amount of information required to operate all the cool technology available, and still deliver excellent clinical care. The best method to use is the phased approach. Start with a robust scheduling, treatment planning, payment and reporting system, and then add other components. Add extraoral imaging first, then intraoral, then digital radiography and case presentation tools. Layer on credit card processing, electronic claim processing and external billing processor. Your team will bless you for it.

Your vendor should be adamant about making sure you purchase appropriate training for each phase. If your vendor sells you a soup to nuts implementation, there will be items (usually generic computers) quoted at inflated prices. The sheer volume of the items in the package will lull you into glossing over an appropriate evaluation of whether you are getting a good deal on individual components.


David Redwine is the IT manager for Jameson Management Inc. He has also led research and evaluation efforts that save clients thousands of dollars and countless efforts. Jameson is an industry leader in providing comprehensive, personalized, in-office, management, business and clinical coaching for dental practices. David may be reached at 877-369-5558, info@jamesonmanagement.com or www.jamesonmanagement.com.

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