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The Cloud & Dentistry

In this article, we look into the benefits of utilizing cloud computing in dentistry. Today, you’re constantly hearing about cloud computing and the benefits of the technology. Since it’s starting to become more widely utilized, we must first understand the ways to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of moving to the cloud. The technology is a hot topic and it’s showing interest across all levels of organizations from big to small companies; more specifically, industries such as healthcare and medicine. There are several beneficial factors to using the cloud such as cost benefits.

The initial inquiry on cloud computing is usually the cost. A cloud-based software solution is typically low, thus making the experience a less costly venture. The service is commonly offered on a monthly subscription known as Software as a Service (SaaS). A key benefit to using SaaS is that you don’t have to worry about the software updates. All the software updates and technical support are included in the monthly subscription. This is a peace of mind for dental offices because they don’t have to employ technical staff and their focus will be on their patients.  So, while the overall cost is decreasing, patient focus and experience are ultimately increasing.

To get a better understanding of how the technology works, the cloud-based software relies on servers that are offsite. You will access the servers through the internet to get the patients information. This method is different than your typical process. The information was usually stored on a local server. This solution was meant to minimize the need for technical staff within the office and the reduction of a local server. The dental office will only need a local resource to store their large images and to be transferred to the cloud on a nightly basis…

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To continue reading please visit paulvigario.org

 

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The Importance of HIPAA

Today, the general public has heard of HIPAA and understand the legislation that pertains to healthcare organizations. However, most don’t understand the importance of HIPAA for the patients. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law in 1996. It was a law that applied to healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses that performed electronic transactions. Since 1996 through 2009 there have been significant updates to the HIPAA policy. Now HIPAA has expanded to cover patients privacy, uses and disclosures of patient health data, and data security.

The privacy of health data is a central focus when discussing HIPAA. Its purpose is to restrict individuals from being able to view healthcare data without obtaining a patients consent. In general, access to patient’s health care data is restricted to the healthcare employees who need to review health and personal information. This will help the employee provide healthcare services and perform any administrative duties. In addition, the privacy rule grants patients to designate an individual to obtain health data on behalf of the patient’s friends, family, or caregiver.

In reference to the security of health data, HIPAA requires healthcare organizations to safeguard any health data created, stored, maintained, or transmitted to be kept secure at all times.

The notification of data breaches is setup with healthcare organizations to prevent access to a patients data. HIPAA and the healthcare organizations are required by law to issue notifications to patients when it’s deemed their records were compromised. This gives the breach victim an opportunity to protect their identity and reduce the possibility of becoming a victim of fraud…

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To continue reading please visit paulvigario.info

 

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Data Protection in Dentistry

As a dental practice, you’re dealing with an abundance of sensitive patient information.  Your practice is fully responsible for obtaining, processes, and retaining all of the information that your patients submit to you.  Dental practices are required to comply with data protection regulations and requirement, in order to continuously protect their patient’s health information and privacy.  As technology advances, companies such as SurfCT.com provide dental practices and specialists with the most advanced technological solutions to not only improve the efficiency of their practice but help manage and comply with data protection regulations.

Whether patient information is recorded and stored on paper or electronically, it is generally deemed as confidential information and needs to be stored properly.  Cloud technology has given dental practices an efficient way to electronically store patient information to remain in compliance with data protection regulations as well as HIPAA compliance.  

Within the last few years, data protection and HIPAA violations have become extremely regulated.  Practices that do not comply correctly with HIPAA compliance face penalties and other ramifications that could hinder further practice if not corrected.  A system as simple as e-mail needs to be properly secured because it can be used regularly for sending general patient information. SurfCT.com provides dental practices with the proper security measures to protect sensitive data from with and secure e-mail systems, cloud storage, secure mobile access, all with step by step set up and integrated migration to make the process efficient and simple…

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To continue reading please visit paulvigario.org

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The Different Fields of Dentistry

For many people, the thought of dentistry consists of going to your local family dentist for a routine check-up and cleaning.  Depending on your needs, you may not have to visit another specialists office. However, aside from your general dentist, there are other areas of dentistry that require specialized training and practice many different methods of dental care.  We’ve covered a lot of information about general dentistry and past blogs. Here are major other fields of dentistry that you may not be familiar with:

Orthodontist

If you’ve gone through a period of having braces, you’re likely familiar with seeing an Orthodontist.  An Orthodontist is considered to be an alignment specialist; focusing on correcting teeth and jaws that may be out of line or crooked. There are many reasons why someone may see an orthodontist, from an overbite or underbite caused by a misaligned jaw to a full treatment plan for crooked teeth.  In addition to your general dentists, an orthodontist is probably one of the more common practices you’ve been to.

Periodontist

A Periodontist is a specialist that focuses on the health of your gums.  The health of your gums is extremely important to your wellbeing. A Periodontist focuses on preventing, diagnosing, and treating many different gums issues that an individual can develop.  From issues such as bleeding of the gums due to inflammation, or more severe issues like diagnosing and treating mild to moderate forms of gum disease. A Periodontist will also handle procedures such as dental implants or cosmetic skin grafting for gums that have seen serious infection and recession…

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To continue reading please visit paulvigario.info

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