Welcome to July! This is the time of year when Americans celebrate Independence Day, try to find time for the beach and maybe, if we’re lucky, take a vacation.
I recently took a short break myself and was reminded while packing my suitcase just how much technology has advanced in recent years.
I thought: If this were 1995, I would have packed a camcorder, a Walkman, a camera, some tapes, some CDs, a big cell phone, a few books and maybe a radio. But this week, while packing, I just carried my smartphone.
The point I’m trying to make is that I can still carry of all those devices, but why would I? The smart phone I carry in my pocket puts all of those systems on one device. I can take a video, listen to music, read the newspaper, take photographs and maybe even read for enjoyment.
At SurfCT, many of the of the dental practices we see that have been open for many years have a variety of gadgets that they’ve acquired over time as their practice has launched and grown. But unlike the smartphone, they are not necessarily working as a complete system. As the practice grew, gadgets were added over time. But no one ever thought to take a holistic view of all of the gadgets and technology and make them work together.
As I sit here on vacation with my on smartphone – writing much of this blog post – it reminds me of what SurfCT does for dental practices. We create systems designed with purpose. In a nutshell, that means we take the technology you currently have and optimize it so that it serves a purpose and is working as a clean process from beginning to end. Our engineers come in and take a look at your technology. Often times, this is the first time any engineer has ever taken a holistic view of the entire spectrum of technology in your practice, and also the way your practice operates, from the moment your patient walks in, to the moment he or she walks out. We take a complete look at your network and how your and team uses the technology you have.
Our engineers work to optimize the technology so it can help you communicate with your patient and educate your patient, which increases treatment acceptance and makes your team more efficient. Our approach is not about selling you more stuff; it’s not about giving you more gadgets; it’s about making sure all of the technology you currently have is working together fluidly to fulfill your vision, practice goals and patient communication and treatment needs.
The analogy I like to tell our clients is that you only score a touchdown when you run the full 100 yards. You can run 95 yards every time, every day and still not score. All the effort, but no victory, no satisfaction, but still 95 percent of the effort. What fun is that? By this I mean, you may be doing everything within your power to get close to your goal, but without a complete system designed with your practice’s specific purpose in mind, you might not achieve the success you had hoped for.
Anyone can make a computer turn on or glow. Most other IT companies do a decent job of networking your schedule so it shows up when you request it. Great! But still not a touchdown. The real question is how do you make the schedule, X-rays, photographs, practice management, paperless patient information and technology work together to achieve your goals? When I meet my clients I always say, we want you to have a system in place that helps you accomplish any vision that you have set forth for your practice. We want to help you achieve your practice goals, whether you have recently launched a dental practice or you have been established for decades.
If you are a brand new practice, we can select all of the new technologies with you and make sure your system is designed to accomplish whatever vision you have set forth for your practice. If your goal is more patients walking through the door, more treatment acceptance, better communication with your patients, increased efficiency throughout your practice or a combination of all four – we can help.
If you are an existing practice, most likely through the years you’ve grown and have acquired different pieces of technology as your practice budget has allowed. This is real life; Rome wasn’t built in a day. I get that. Like most small businesses, you couldn’t do it all at once, so you kind of piece-mealed it and added the technology you wanted over time based upon what you could budget – more gadgets, more technology but not necessarily all working together.
Our engineers take the time with you to understand and develop your process, examine practice work flow closely and see if your technology is working toward the same goal and working for you. We can take all of your technologies, tie them together and build a system designed with a purpose to help you increase your most desired goals.
We normally hear from our clients that increased treatment options, more new patients, better communications and higher efficiency with the team make for a more fun work environment, healthier practice and more treatment acceptance. That’s the touchdown! You are putting in the same amount of effort but you now have a system that supports your vision and allows for a highly successful practice.
Ultra-successful businesses these days are about three things: people, product and process. We know dentistry is a great product. We know that most practices have very caring people. But we also know that most of them fall short on the process. When a patient walks into your practice, it all depends on who they see and what the mood of the person is at the time. The process to ensure a complete, productive visit is not always in-tact and too dependent on the sole dentist versus the entire team. And that is what makes a business successful. You need all three.
Have you ever wondered: “I am a dental practice, so why add technology?”
As I sit here and think about it, the answer is simple: To create your vision.
You may want to work more, you may want to work less, you may want your team to be on the same page, you may not want to be saying the same thing over and over, and be the sole producer. Whatever your reason, a system designed with your vision in mind will greatly benefit the entire culture of your practice.
At SurfCT, we’re engineers. We engineer systems. And before we go and add a bunch of computers and monitors to your practice, we like to ask you, “What is your vision for the practice?” We can help you establish one if you are unsure. And when we identify the vision and see the hurdles you have to clear on a daily basis, we properly apply technology to lower those hurdles. And we can build you a thoughtfully designed system that ensures a clean process for success.
If you want to know more or you are curious, give us a call and we’ll help. We’ll blow your mind with how much we can help your practice and make you say “wow!”
So as I sit here on vacation amazed by my iPhone and how much it helps me accomplish my vision, I realize that what it does for me is the same thing SurfCT does for dental practices. Give us a call and I know you will be WOWed!
Have a wonderful summer and ask yourself, is your technology working for you?
— Paul Vigario
Paul Vigario, the founder and president of SurfCT.com – the Dental Information Technology Company. SurfCT.com has helped expand the Dental IT field by educating and supporting the dental community since it launched in 2003. Vigario is widely identified an industry leader in the areas of dental technology, ergonomics, integration, installation, paperless practices, technical support and complete technology office design. Email him at Paul@SurfCT.com
SurfCT Blog with Paul Vigario 
March 10, 2017 at 3:22 pm
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