Here is a hypothetical sure to make your dentist’s skin crawl – the patient sits in the chair awaiting their new crown but the precious cargo still sits at the dental lab several hundred miles away. No representative from the lab has called, forcing the office manager to call and complain. The dentist is then tasked with delivering the bad news – the patient will need to reschedule, juggling work and childcare, to receive the crown they were promised today.
Will lab miscommunication ever be resolved? Apparently one solution already exists – dental lab-provided online software that includes client portals that dental offices can utilize for case management. Dental offices looking to keep up with current technology are now turning their gaze toward the future, delivering a better customer service experience in the process.
Online client portals are already saving dentists time and money. These cloud-based portals are based on providing real-time case updates and other tracking information between offices. Requiring an encrypted browser connection, dental offices can review records throughout all cases sent to the lab.
New scheduling calendars allow dentists to see when cases are returned while shipment tracking links deliver location information across cases delivered by a third party. Offices can use the cloud-based technology to directly manage their cases and even print receipts to coincide with case impressions, models and more.
Perhaps the greatest perk for dentists using client portals is the massive improvement in communication between dentists and corresponding labs. Dentists can use file sharing, case tracking and HIPAA-compliant messaging in order to communicate directly. It might not sound like much, but it could mean the difference in a patient forced to reschedule their crown fitting in the midst of their appointment.
Cloud-Based Client Portals Saving Dentists Headaches
