Choosing A Dental Patient Management Software
Choosing your dental patient management software is vital to the success of your practice. The right software can boost your practice’s efficiency, which can increase your revenue. Read on as we go over the factors of a great management software for your practice.
Here is a list of traits that will help you pick a great management software:
Functionality
You need to look at things from your customer’s point of view. Ask yourself what functions you would like to see as a customer, and take it from there. You can try asking patients what functions they would like on your practice software to make things easier.
Here are some considerations you can include:
- Patient education
- Easy scheduling and rescheduling of appointments.
- Accounting for patients and insurance reimbursement
- Digital radiography and clinical charting considerations
- What software makes the patient experience better from contact, appointment, and payment.
- You need HIPAA privacy and security measures to protect your patient’s info and to avoid fines.
- Check if your chosen software is cloud or server-based because this feature is important if you’re running a multi-location practice.
Don’t forget to also include your employees in the discussion. Ask your employees what features they would like to see and what would make their lives easier. You can also ask other practitioners with your specialization questions on why they chose their software. All in all, it’s important to think of the patients and your employees when choosing software.
Analytics
You need to use analytics to monitor your practice’s health. Factors such as patient retention, case acceptance, collections, and billing are all vital to keeping your practice profitable. The right dental practice management software will automate monitoring your practice’s health so you can make plans for the future.
The best software will produce excellent reports by giving you all the vital information in an easy-to-understand format. You can then make the right business decisions to improve your practice.
Integration
Choosing your management software also demands certain considerations. You need to check your digital imaging, marketing tools, and patient communication programs and ask your vendor if the software is compatible with your current system. Check how your chosen software can share and secure information to improve your processes. Another thing you should check would be how fast it can open files and programs to ensure your process is not slowed.
Depending on the software you choose, you might also need to buy new programs. It may be worth the investment to upgrade your existing programs or change them altogether. Be sure to do a cost-benefit analysis of your current system versus the potential gains of getting a new one. Ask your IT personnel for help when purchasing your practice management software for the best results.
Support and Updates
Installing your new software is just the start of the software company’s duty with your practice. You want to choose a company that will still help you even after they have made the sale. Choose a software company with great customer service to help you should the inevitable system malfunctions occur. There are times your system will get a glitch or malfunction, and you will need to contact the software company for help.
Be sure to check their response time for customers before purchasing. You can also check online forums to find out how your chosen company treats its customers.
In conclusion, check your chosen management software’s functionality, analytics, integration, and support, and updates to learn its quality. Be sure you get help from an IT professional when choosing your software to ensure its quality and functionality.
Our team has 20 years of experience in the industry and can help you pick out software that will fit your practice.
Consult with us today, and help your bottom line!