A centralized model increases visibility for DSOs across all of their sites, which in turn improves clinical workflows and operational efficiency. Leaders from the dental industry discussed how a centralized cloud-based or on-premises platform provides DSOs with a centralized model to set them up for success during an Oct. 19 virtual event hosted by Becker’s Dental + DSO Review and sponsored by Henry Schein One.
The panelists were:
- Thomas Barberio, chief Information technology officer for Thinc Forward
- Sepand Hokmabadi, DDS, owner of Total Health Dental Care
- Greg Mahoney, senior director of operations service for Elite Dental Partners
Five key takeaways from their discussion:
1. A centralized platform helps DSOs establish a better relationship with their patients. Data is king, Mr. Barberio said, and the more data you have on a patient — their medical history, insurance info, etc. — the more a practice is able to have a unified approach to patient care. Having all of that data centrally and being able to be uniform in their approach to patient care is key to establishing a strong patient relationship and providing them with the best care possible. These investments affect the likelihood a patient will come back, Mr. Mahoney said.
2. A centralized platform speeds up the learning curve of a new dentist. One of the hardest things for DSOs to accomplish is getting dentists on the same page and getting them to view things the same way, Dr. Hokmabadi said. By utilizing centralization, DSOs can have all of their providers look at the same patients to discuss things such as treatment plan philosophies, which then speeds up the learning curve for newer dentists and gets dentists on the same page. Once dentists see key performance indicators, they know how to improve their performance, which in turn improves patient care and profitability.
3. Buy-in is key to successfully implementing a centralized system, Mr. Barberio said. For practices that didn’t previously have a unified system, it can be a culture shock to come into a DSO with a centralized model. It’s important to get buy-in from everyone from the executive level down to dental assistants to successfully utilize centralization and drive compliance and accountability.
4. DSOs that utilize data and technology to form a centralized model were able to adapt quickly when COVID-19 hit. They were able to see exactly how many patients they needed to see per day and how much personal protective equipment was needed. Having visibility was key to their ability to succeed through a challenging time. There’s also been a lot of cyber incidents targeting dental in the past year, which has brought to light how underinvested IT infrastructure has been in the dental industry, Mr. Barberio said.
5. By utilizing Dentrix Ascend, a cloud-based platform, or Dentrix Enterprise, a scalable on-premises system, DSOs are able to have one true data source for all of their support needs, which allows them to take away additional work from practices so they can focus on patient care. To be a support organization and grow a practice, you need to make sure you’re taking away the hurdles along the way, Mr. Mahoney said. When practices don’t have to spend time pulling reports and closing the period at the end of each month because it’s automatically done for them, they have more time to spend face-to-face with their patients. For example, within Dentrix Ascend, for every patient who checks out, the system asks if you’ve collected their demographic information and collected payment. If any of these things aren’t completed, the system asks why you didn’t do it, so it helps coach teams to be focused on the things that can drive real outcomes.
To view the virtual event panel on demand, click here.