Eaglesoft celebrates its 21st birthday

Las Vegas is a popular place to celebrate 21^st birthdays, and Patterson Dental chose the city as the locale to commemorate practice management software Eaglesoft’s big day. But at this event, unlike the trendy slogan, what happened in Vegas, wasn’t meant to stay in Vegas.

Patterson celebrated Eaglesoft Practice Management System’s 21st birthday by showing guest users how to get the most out of the software to enrich their practices. Nearly 200 Eaglesoft users gathered Sept. 17 to 19 at the event, held in conjunction with the CEREC 30th Anniversary celebration. They met with Eaglesoft experts and participated in training sessions focused on creating successful and profitable practices. Attendees also had the opportunity to explore features of the system that they may not use in their practices, like Eaglesoft Mobile, which allows practices to access the software anywhere at anytime.

More on Eaglesoft: 10 things you should be using in Eaglesoft but probably aren't

Providing tools

“Our goal is to help dental practices find, implement, and measure success, which is exactly what we were able to do at this event, and what we will continue to focus on for the next iteration of the software, Eaglesoft 18,” said Jana Berghoff, technology marketing manager of Patterson Dental. “We couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate Eaglesoft’s 21^st birthday, and we thank all of our attendees for joining in the celebration.”

Meredith Reese, office manager at the practice of doctors Steven McConnell, DDS, and Jake Banks, DDS, in Novato, Calif., says that her practice has used Eaglesoft for 12 years, and it is an integral tool for the practice.

“We get absolutely fantastic communication from the back to the front,” says Reese. “We have the ability to communicate through a centralized location – being the patient’s digital chart. It completely streamlines the efficiency – not just chart notes, but being able to put information in the chart – treatment planning, images, you name it.  It casts such a big net over everything. It’s been able to increase our efficiency in the office and grow our practice from one doctor and two hygienists to two doctors and four hygienists in a matter of eight years.”

Connie Kratohvil, office manager at Tri-State Family Dentistry in Hebron, KY, has used Eaglesoft for eight years, and lauds Eaglesoft’s customizability.

“Because Eaglesoft is so user-friendly, we can customize the areas we use most frequently, and add in the other features as we need them,” she says.

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Training sessions

Attendees took home over 10 hours of Eaglesoft-specific training, along with advice on how to get the most out of the software. With such a feature-rich tool, attendees were able to learn about features that they may not have known existed.

“There are a lot of things that were new to me,” says Reese. “I like to refer to them as ‘oldies but goodies,’ but they were definitely new to me.”

With Patterson trainers available, attendees had the opportunity to get answers to their questions straight from the source.

Related reading: How Eaglesoft Practice Management Software can improve your practice [VIDEO]

“The training sessions are always very useful due to the hands-on nature of the material,” says Kratohvil. “The trainers walk you, step-by-step, through the areas you may not have had time to explore before. For example, features such as: adding in new codes, or streamlining electronic claims.”

The event also provided a sneak peek of the software’s next version: Eaglesoft 18. Reese was excited to see what was coming, hoping that it would include features she lobbied Patterson to include.

“I went with the intention of going to try to look at the new version of Eaglesoft 18, because I’ve been pushing my connections with the developers with requests for enhancements, and was hoping to see that it would include some of those things. And very much to my delight, that was the case.”

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Networking opportunities

The event also provided an opportunity for Eaglesoft users to network together. Attendees were able to share stories and firsthand experiences about the ways Eaglesoft has helped their practices, along with any useful tips and tricks they’ve learned along the way, both for using the software and managing their businesses.

“I felt like I was able to ask some good questions that were supported by the group,” says Reese. “I was able to spend some time asking the developers during breaks and not have an agenda.”

Asking questions of the trainers is valuable, but being able to speak with peers about their experiences and their use is another way to get more out of the software.

Related reading: 5 ways Patterson Dental's Eaglesoft can simplify your daily routine

“This always seems to be a great part of the process,” says Kratohvil. “Because others may use different parts of the software than you do, you can always find someone who knows a new way to utilize a process that maybe you hadn’t thought of. The support team is great, and they want to be there to help you to use it as best as you can to learn all the technical options and features, but it’s great to be able to talk to your peers and get the real-life stories of what they use the best and what they’re seeing. It just gives a different perspective, rather than hearing straight from Patterson, which is always helpful and appreciated, but other users bring a new perspective.”
The weekend provided not only new insights to Eaglesoft, but also helped attendees cement their relationships with their hosts.

“I left feeling like we had such a stronger partnership with Patterson and Eaglesoft and Sirona than I already felt in the beginning,” says Reese. “We’re definitely riding the high wave of the relationship right now, and that makes us very, very happy – both me and the doctors.”