Paperless Solutions in your Dental Practice isn’t a Fad

The expectations of your patients and team are vastly different than they were only a few years ago.  Most of these changes are driven, in part, by the overwhelming use of mobile technology by consumers. Because of this, individuals have become trained to expect seamless ease regarding form completion in an easy and convenient manner delivered to their mobile device for completion.

Meeting patient needs has partly driven this change to the dental industry. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many stragglers that held onto paper-based processes across the finish line.  Those that are not moving beyond the pen-and-clipboard approach are letting their patients perceive risk –  when they touch a pen someone else has used and they wonder where else in the practice risk might exist. 

Other practice leaders might attempt the two-birds-one-stone approach. Sure, moving to a “formless” environment might eliminate the perception of risk, but what they also want to rid themselves and their teams of is paperwork and streamlining the flow of patient data through the practice. 

Thus, the push for digitized, or paperless, forms. 

By digitizing forms, a practice is able to interact  with a patient well before they walk through the door. Paperless forms also help you get a leg up on exceeding patient expectations throughout their care journey. For one, they are not required to show up well before their appointment to complete their intake forms in a room with many other people (again, perceived risk), and they can complete any required forms at their own convenience from the comfort of their own device.   

 

Reduce patient delays

Dental practices jumping headlong into the digital form fray can expect one sudden and profitable outcome: reduced patient delays because every minute counts. 

Every piece of paper that exists in your practice requires printing, handling, sorting, filling out, verification, scanning, filing, and shredding. Now do away with each of those steps. How much time and effort do you save? What about your patients? If you’re not waiting on them to complete all of these documents, how much more efficient does your practice become?

At the heart of this conversation is one important factor: moving away from paper lets you manage your important clinical and patient information securely with only a few clicks. A formless practice saves time. Patients can easily fill out forms on your website, iPad, via text message, email and even receive new patient forms automatically. Consent forms, a typical burden to the entire team, can now be completed rapidly from any connected device.

 

Eliminate costly resources and waste

In addition to the amount of time your team spends working with old-fashioned paper forms for intake and consent, additional costs cannot be ignored. Paper forms bring with them extra wear and tear on equipment (printers and scanners) and consume costly products, like toner and paper itself. Plus, paper requires staff time to file or scan and process. It leads to incredibly manual and human resource driven behaviors, which kill efficiency — just because the patient hands the clipboard of papers to the staff behind the desk doesn’t mean the work ends there – that’s only the beginning.

 

Boosting office production

Electronic paper forms reduce patient no shows by simply reminding the patient that they have a scheduled appointment. One of the most common reasons patients don’t show up for their appointments is that they forgot they made one. Because of this, the mere fact that they receive pre-appointment in-take papers before they show up reminds them of the appointment. 

Likewise, when employing digital forms, you’re in full control – of the content, of the appearance and how they are updated, which can increase production. Digital forms are always easily editable and make interacting with patients exceptionally easy. If anything is missing, an update can be made in a matter of seconds or minutes. 

With more than 14,000 combined users in the United States, OperaDDS facilitates the end-to-end transfer of information between dental practices, provider, and patients via automated email, two-way text messaging, custom paperless forms, and encrypted email services.

OperaDDS powered by Vyne Dental automatically texts or emails dental patients with appointment reminders, new or expired electronic forms, and other important communications from their dental provider. In addition to providing patients with customized, paperless forms for completion, OperaDDS allows them to quickly complete these forms on the practice’s website, or on their smart devices, at their own convenience.

OperaDDS powered by Vyne Dental also makes it easy for practice leaders to compose authorization forms for procedures. Patients can review and sign the forms, all electronically and those forms immediately sync to the patient’s record. Practices can even send a welcome email with a link for OperaDDS that goes to all of their new patients.

Vyne Dental is driven by the mission of making your practice more efficient, improving your revenue cycle management, and for you to be able to provide a seamless experience for your practice. OperaDDS, the paperless solution, helps us achieve that goal.  

As Dee Ann Recktenwald, practice administrator at IQ Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, says, “The forms look great and are so easy to use. Our image is so important and we have created documents that reflect who we are through OperaDDS. No more copying, scanning and shredding. The administrative team loves this and they also are very happy to save several trees in the process.” 

Learn more at paperless.vynedental.com.

 

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