|
New Articles
   |
May 12, 2009 | DentalProductsReport.com Exclusive Put your practice in your pocket Powerful smartphones like the Apple iPhone make it possible to take almost every function of your office computer to wherever you happen to be.  Photo: Apple iPhone The wonders of a pocket-sized machine that can do almost anything you want used to be nothing more than science fiction speculation. While to some degree it still is, the current generation of smartphones are more miniaturized computer than portable telephone, and they’re more than up to handling a variety of tasks key to the operation of a dental practice. Devices such as Apple’s iPhone, the BlackBerry Storm and the T-Mobile G feature touch-screen control and are capable of accessing the Internet, playing video and audio content with impressive fidelity and running software applications (often called apps) that put a computer’s processing power in a handheld device. The small screen size does limit their potential to completely replace desktop and laptop computers, but developers are finding that if they tailor the interface to the devices’ screens, they’re well suited to a variety of clinical and practice management uses. As the current leader in the smartphone world, the iPhone App Store boasts more than 400 programs in its medical section including apps to help diabetic patients calculate their hemoglobin A1c score, drug reference tools like Epocrates and clinical references from Lexi-Comp. Dental companies are getting into the act as well, with patient education and practice management apps leading the way. Personal video education Because an iPod Touch is included in the purchase price, no other computer hardware is required, this version of the software lowers the cost barriers to integrating patient education technology into a practice. Besides, Dorey said patients experience a “wow factor” when handed the device with the appropriate educational video cued up.  Photo: Orasphere “The content is identical, and the quality of the videos are just as good as they would be playing on a LCD monitor,” he said. “It makes (the practice) look more high tech and it gives the patients a unique experience.” A free version of the app with two sample videos is available through the App Store to give current iPhone and iPod Touch owners a way to try out the videos before making a purchase. Accessing the office from anywhere Of course just because you can do everything on your phone’s small screen doesn’t mean you should, and Mark Hollis, President of MacPractice, said the key to the iPhone version of his company’s practice management software is adapting the interface to make the tasks best suited to being done remotely via the device easily accessible. “In terms of patient care and managing their practice, there is work that goes beyond treating their patient,” Hollis said. “The key thing about the iPhone is to allow them to do some of those things when they leave the office. No matter where they are, they have access to their patient’s information, and they’re able to do something with that info.” Being able to do more than just see practice information on the devices is critical, said William Jackson, DDS, VP of business development for Planet DDS Inc. The company has an iPhone interface available for its Web-based Denticon practice management software. The interface makes it simple to access and use the practice and patient information stored online with just a few taps of the phone’s screen. With access to the schedule, patient records, prescription information, financials and even digital images, the interface makes it easy for a dentist or an office manager to stay in touch from anywhere and respond immediately to any emergency that pops up. “The whole idea here is the convenience of remotely accessing the application,” he said. While some dentists might be cautious about the security of remote access to patient information governed by HIPAA regulation, all of these apps work through secure online connections. In fact, there has never been a proven instance of clinical information being stolen through online transfer, Hollis noted. With the capabilities of these handheld devices increasing every year, Hollis said he imagines more and more mobile software functions will become available to dentists and office managers. The biggest advantage to these features is the freedom they provide. If a task only takes a few minutes it might be able to be done from home, or even from the golf course, and if that saves the dentist an extra trip into the office, it can save them both time and piece of mind. “It gives them the confidence and security to know that wherever they are, they can access the practice,” Hollis said.
|
|
Printer Friendly
Email Article
Related Articles