Mike Uretz

We’re only going to be more reliant on dental software in the future, so the time to start training is now.

While dental practices are embracing The Cloud, some software vendors aren't open to making the change.

Once the deal is closed, the software is installed and payment is made, what happens when you have an issue that isn't easily resolved?

Learn how Dentimax is helping dentists navigate the ins and outs of EHR incentive claims and the associated meaningful use guidelines.

A Security Risk Assessment could save your dental practice from major repercussions and financial penalties in the event of a HIPAA violation.

Why would a five-provider dental practice throw away over $300,000 in state subsidies that they were eligible to receive? Probably because they weren't aware of a federal program administered by individual states that has been around for five years now and has distributed over $30 billion to mostly medical practices while many dental practices have stood on the sideline.

We are in the midst of a revolution in the dental software industry that is dictating the way groups and practices run their operations and do business. Some of these changes include software certification testing, advanced clinical and EHR features, cloud technology, better imaging integration, improved cash flow and risk reduction, higher levels of security and more advanced technology platforms.

The new online interface lets practices compare and evaluate EHR programs to determine the right fit.

The benefits of cloud-based imaging range from mobile access of images to a standard image format (DICOM) for transferring images to a secure portal in which to share images with referrals and members of the care team.

There has been some recent publicity regarding an online scheme where practices are having their patient database accessed by unauthorized individuals. Based on this, some providers have been worried about potential dangers of using electronic health records (EHR) that store patient data on a server database.

Incorporating oral systemic health knowledge and practice is becoming more important when it comes to improved dental and medical patient care and outcomes. The growing use of “next generation” EHRs will support its adoption into practices and groups.

In medicine, Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) is a standard feature that increases the speed and likelihood of insurer and patient payments. In dentistry, this is a relatively new feature, and one that Planet DDS, offers. It is especially powerful integrated with their Denticon software. What does that mean for a dental group? What are the services that a revenue cycle management program can offer?

The dental industry is rapidly changing with the introduction and adoption of dental EHRs. This technology affords us the ability to have functionality that we could have never done before on a manual level. One of the big changes that's happening is the introduction of new, more detailed granular and sophisticated coding sets. 

A recent proposal for certification requirements for Stage 3 Meaningful Use is meant to address the complexity of the program.

CommonWell Health Alliance is a group of the nation’s top electronic health records (EHR) vendors dedicated to creating and implementing industry-wide EHR interoperability.

Secure patient communication is a vital concern for health professionals nationwide. As the industry continues to move towards secure electronic communication methods many dental professionals are worried about maintaining HIPAA-compliant patient communications.

Having assisted practices with obtaining money through the EHR incentive program for the past few years, I regularly get calls from office managers and providers wanting more information about how to take advantage of the federal and state money available for using a certified EHR.

From the beginning of time there has been a chasm between dental software vendors and their customers. For the most part, this has been due to miscommunication between parties and limited technical knowledge on the side of the dental practice. At the end of the day, in many cases this has built up a limited trust with software vendors.

Having had the pleasure the past few years of helping practices transition to electronic health records (including prescribing systems), I was excited to see that New York State was making ePrescribing (eRX) mandatory for both medical and dental providers beginning March 27, 2016.

As most of you are aware at this point, there is a mandate for all providers in New York State to begin prescribing electronically (eRX) beginning March 27, 2015.

In 2014, I wrote a plethora of articles for Dental Products Report and Dental Practice Management about the projected future of electronic health records in dentistry. Recently, I have had the opportunity to sit in on numerous EHR vendor demos for clients ranging from small practices to large groups and DSOs. The bottom line is that I have had an insider look that most people don’t have into what 2015 will bring when it comes to EHR adoption.

Navigating the numerous EHR software options can be tricky - and selecting the correct software for your practice can be even trickier. Here are three common mistakes to avoid in your search for the best EHR software. 

As a hygienist, how beneficial would it be from both a patient care and liability standpoint if you could actually know a patient's most recent medical conditions, procedures, medications, and other health-related information real time? How about the ability to communicate with your referral partners, such as periodontists and oral surgeons electronically … and know everything that was happening with your patients? Or, even taking it a step further, sharing your patient's records with their medical primary care and medical specialty providers?

As the dental industry moves into a new era of more sophisticated dental software, including a new generation of dental electronic health records (EHRs), dentists, practice managers, and administrators are becoming increasingly confused in terms of the evaluation and selection of these new technologies.   

In the last few years, oral systemic health has gained more and more attention. Explaining the importance to dentists is something that Dental Products Report has covered before.

As many of you know there is a federal EHR incentive program available, which compensates eligible dental providers up to $63,750 for both acquisition and use of a certified dental EHR program. There is some skepticism by the dental provider community that the federal EHR incentives will actually be paid out.

I recently did a podcast with Dayna Johnson, a practice management consultant and dental software implementation and training expert with Rae Dental Management. In the podcast, we discussed best practices and how to succeed with a dental software implementation.