Part 2 of 3
It’s difficult for patients to make informed decisions about their dental care if they don’t know the facts behind a dentist or hygienist’s recommendation. Patients have steadily increased their requests for detailed information concerning their oral health care. It used to be that a dentist or hygienist simply told a patient, “You have a cavity and it needs to be filled.” Today’s patients want to know why they need the filling, what type of filling will be used, what steps will be taken to place the filling, how long it will last, and what it will look like.
It is often the hygienist’s responsibility to explain these recommendations and procedures to patients. Unfortunately, many of us simply do not have time to give the proper explanation to every patient. Adult recare appointments generally range from 40 to 60 minutes. These average times have not changed, even though we are often responsible for more than we have been in the past (i.e., explaining treatment, HIPAA and consent forms, collecting more extensive patient histories, and completing more chart notes). We are doing, and will continue to do, more at each appointment, but appointment lengths have not increased.
So we need to find ways to reduce these demands on our time. This is one of the many ways patient education systems can help. Patient education systems, on video or DVD, give patients the information they require while the hygienist performs other tasks. Once a patient has watched the video, the hygienist can answer questions about the patient’s situation. With the CAESY Enterprise system, an office can even burn a DVD of patient education videos for patients to watch at home.
While saving you time, the educational videos also offer benefits to your patients. The videos ensure patients do not miss any information due to time limitations or inconsistencies between staff members. Providing patients with videos also offers visual support and demonstrates a dental practice’s use of technology. It is easier for patients to understand procedures when they can see and hear what the procedure is like.
Patient education systems like CAESY offer a variety of time-saving features. When used within Patterson’s EagleSoft, the CAESY system automatically queues the appropriate videos for viewing and tracks what videos a patient has seen. This helps prevent repetitive viewing and makes legal documentation simple and efficient.
In recent years, children have become immersed in technology. CAESY’s customized presentations offer a high-tech way to ensure children’s dental visits are informative and memorable.
It is vital for oral health professionals to stay abreast of the latest indicators, patient trends, and research. It is also vital that this information be shared with patients. CAESY Education Systems and Patterson EagleSoft automatically build in the latest information to keep the office staff informed, so that they can keep patients informed. Patient education systems offer a variety of tangible features, but the most important is that they allow dentists and hygienists to concentrate on their main focus - the patient.
