From practices' top priorities to their growth plans, here are the findings of healthcare software company NexHealth's 2022 "State of Dental" report.
The report, released Feb. 10, analyzed business priorities, the way practices use technology, and how practices plan to grow and spend. It recorded the responses of 1,271 dental professionals.
Eight key findings:
1. More than 40 percent of practices spend three or more hours on schedule management daily.
2. Fifty-seven percent of respondents cited social media as the main way they plan to grow their practice in 2022.
3. Improving customer satisfaction was cited as the top priority for practices, with faster collection of payments as the second and automating insurance paperwork and verification as third.
4. Only 26 percent of practices have the option for patients to book directly online.
5. The primary reason respondents left their software providers was because of a lack of quality service and support.
6. Half of practices are using patient experience software to manage time-consuming tasks.
7. Sixty-five percent of practices reported believing that they will have greater patient volume than pre-pandemic.
8. Dentists' top priority when choosing dental software is that it is secure and reliable.