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According to "Dr. Wo" Benjamin Lund, Editor, Hygienetown Magazine

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The Digital Revolution


Wm. Randol Womack, DDS
Editorial Director,
Orthotown Magazine 		Last month I discussed how technology can help patients find your office [Editor’s Note: See "Internet Marketing" in the May 2008 issue of Orthotown Magazine]. Now, let’s explore how your office technology should impress them and set you apart from your colleagues. It gives the terms "digital" and "paperless" new meaning.

What about the "paperless" office? Getting rid of "charts" was the goal of my practice when we moved into our new office last year. So, a more descriptive term today might be the "chartless" office. It is not realistic, possible, or even that advisable to strive to go completely "paperless" (Would you consider a "paperless" bathroom?). Actually, paper is good! We still need the advantage of paper to print the digital photos and panos that we use for our initial exam appointments. I spend 120 seconds examining the patient’s occlusion and oral tissues and the rest of the exam appointment talking about what I find on the photos and pano. Not only is it easier for the patients/parents to see these diagnostic aids on the consultation table, but I can also draw and annotate on the paper. These are items that they will take with them at the end of this appointment. In addition, the key points of the exam are easily shared with the absent parent or reviewed later on because of the paper they take home.
"The ‘chartless/digital’
office is available, more affordable and possibly more critical to your future than ever before." 		I am convinced that my digital camera and digital pano are the most effective tools we use for initial exams. Often, I don’t have to point out problems to patients/parents – they see them for themselves. Digital radiography and photography have become the standard by which patients judge a modern office. It is more common today for patients to choose a dental office because of its integration of technology.

The digital enhancement of the way I practice is easily perceived by our patients. We are a society of instant gratification. Increasingly, patients are aware of, and looking for, how you have embraced technology in every aspect of your office. Everything we need for treatment or for discussions with patients/parents is instantly available at every one of the 15 work stations in our office. After being in our new office for a little more than one year, I am so amazed at how technology has simplified and enhanced the effectiveness of the way we treat and communicate with our patients. Technology definitely gives us the advantage and dramatically increases our case acceptances.

The result of all of this is better patient care with less effort and more efficiency. In the past, some have questioned, "Are digital records acceptable over written records?" The answer today is an un-qualified yes. In fact, a U.S. News and World Report article in 2005 quoted a federal government goal for all medical records to be paperless by 2014. And an article in the February 29, 2008, edition USA Today described the plans for Microsoft and Google to digitize medical records, stating that "paper records are more likely to be tampered with."

So in case you have missed my point, the "chartless/digital" office is available, more affordable and possibly more critical to your future than ever before. What is the advantage? Better patient care with less effort and more efficiency. Your patients, your staff and you deserve it.
Orthotown Magazine
September 2025
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