Change is Difficult

YAY!! Our office is officially CHARTLESS! Thanks to Dentrix, our world-class dental charting and administrative software, Dexis, our digital X-ray system and to the hard work of our front desk staff over the past 5 years, all of our patient records are now digital. Several thousand paper charts have been scanned and are stored and backed up on encrypted servers.

This is a big change for any office…we had to leave behind many procedures we have been used to for decades and suffice it to say, it has been difficult…but worth it! We found that change is good is for our practice. We cannot expect to thrive in today’s competitive market unless we stay current with modern trends. In this way, we must not only accept change, we must embrace it. Change should be seen as an opportunity to grow the practice and keep us up-to-date in the field of dentistry. We are constantly seeking to learn more about the technology that is available to us, and we use this information to make informed decisions regarding the need for that technology in our office. The thought of change is scary, but not changing is even scarier. We have not let the fear of change keep us from growing.

Additionally, a powerful motivator to go paperless has grown out of concern for the environment. Consider a few of the environmental impacts of using paper in our business:

• The U.S. pulp and paper industry is the second largest consumer of energy.
• 56,000 gallons of oil are used for every 10 million pages.
• More than 400 million ink and 100 million toner cartridges end up in landfills each year.

(Data Sources: www.epa.gov, Dentrix Magazine, Lisa Marie Spradley, FAADOM)