The dental industry is rapidly transforming as dental practices look to integrate the latest cutting-edge technologies to increase efficiency and create an experience that’s more inviting and accessible to patients.
Companies in all sectors are curious about how digitization can be best applied to enhance business outcomes and dentistry is no different. The American Dental Association released a whitepaper providing guidance on the uses of AI and augmented intelligence for analyzing dental images to help providers in making diagnoses, potentially elevating the field of dentistry as we know it. Already, the adoption of AI to improve dental processes has led to numerous companies launching new programs to help with tasks from patient intake to second opinion diagnoses, insurance eligibility and claims adjudication.
With the use of AI and other digital capabilities becoming more common in the dental industry, there are a few key areas where these tools could boost your practice’s operations including improving patient care, addressing workforce challenges and simplifying the patient payment process.
3 Ways Integrating Technology Can Help Strengthen Your Dental Practice
- Improving Patient Care
Many people surveyed view dental care as an unaffordable expense that they would hold off on due to costs, with specific concerns about navigating services not covered by insurance, which can often lead to additional complications. But people aren’t just delaying dental care due to costs, many find a trip to the dentist to be anxiety-inducing based on previous experiences or lack of control, with those feelings only amplified by their financial concerns. There are efforts to use tech to combat these problems to improve not only care outcomes, but the overall patient journey.
AI-driven diagnostic tools have spearheaded digital dentistry, allowing dental providers to offer more personalized, precise and efficient care so their patients don’t have to spend as much time in the chair. An example of this is software systems that use ‘second look’ AI to monitor care in between appointments or provide assessments of a patient’s oral health. Utilizing these systems can help reassure patients about their diagnoses, removing the burden of seeking additional in-person opinions for anyone hesitant to receive treatment. Ultimately, this can save patients time and money, while encouraging them to receive care sooner.
Another area digital integration can help address patient concerns is managing costs associated with their dental care. This is where a third-party digital financing solution, like the CareCredit credit card, can help. Being able to pay for dental expenses that aren’t covered by insurance in ways that help fit their budget is important to help patients move forward with care, as more than 90% of people have considered holding off on general dental care due to costs, according to Synchrony research.
- Addressing Workforce Challenges
As staffing shortages and inflation continue to plague the dental industry, it’s important to see how technology can help fill the gaps in employment and reduce costs. Streamlining services with technology to make jobs more efficient is one way to lift some of the administrative burden from your staff and prevent burnout.
Streamlining front and back-end operations, automating tasks, such as appointment reminders, scheduling and billing, can help staff focus on engaging with patients and providing quality care. This is another area where AI has been implemented to make systems more efficient, with some companies launching programs specifically aimed at improving clinical documentation or insurance eligibility checks. Accepting the CareCredit credit card can also help make these administrative operations a bit smoother by simplifying the processes used to determine if patients have a CareCredit card or are preapproved.
- Simplifying the Payment Process
Dental practices looking for more efficient ways to handle patient payments should consider solutions that seamlessly integrate with their digital ecosystems. CareCredit is already integrated into the top practice management software, making it easy for providers to check patient eligibility for credit and to process transactions.
In addition, CareCredit offers digital tools to enable patients to make payments and view billing either online at home or on the go with a mobile device. Unique QR codes and links can direct patients straight to their providers’ payment portals to make contactless payments simple and straightforward. With CareCredit’s mobile app and website, patients can also manage their account balance, recent transactions, available credit, promotional purchases or payments due with ease.
Digital dentistry is an evolving landscape, but a promising one, with digital tools that help improve operations and fulfill business needs becoming more critical to the long-term success of your team and patients. To learn more about how CareCredit helps practices and continues to innovate alongside dentists, their staff and their patients, visit https://www.carecredit.com/providers/.