How to make time to connect with patients in surgery

One often overlooked aspect of the patient's experience in the practice is the way patients are treated once they are seated in the dental chair. While some practices focus heavily on attracting and welcoming patients into the chair, the crucial element of care and attention given whilst the patient is in the chair is what truly determines whether they will come back for routine check-ups or follow-up treatments.  

Patients still expect a smooth focused journey from start to finish, and the pressure is on to ensure dental practitioners have the right tools to deliver this safe and seamless experience to retain patient loyalty and prevent the risk of cancellation or unfinished treatment plans. 

How often have you found yourself preoccupied with taking notes and handling administrative tasks, leaving you with limited opportunity to truly connect with your patient? It’s okay, you’re not the only one. It’s a more common occurrence than you think. Setting out to improve the patient experience while they are in the chair is what will truly differentiate your practice from the others.   

How Dentally enhances patient experience from the dental chair 

First, we need to understand the why. As a professional within the dental field, you may have become accustomed and might not fully grasp the fear that some patients experience when they attend their dental appointments. Visiting the dentist can be an anxiety-inducing experience for many patients, especially if the dentist is solely focused on admin and thus not being able to calm their nerves.  

However, with Dentally, whilst in surgery the screen has been designed to help you deliver the best patient experience possible. Our clinically intuitive tools streamline the process of accessing clinical notes, electronic treatment and consent forms, and charting to name a few, leading to more efficient and accurate documentation. This facilitates smooth handovers between practitioners, ensuring that whoever is next treating said patient is fully informed about their treatment history, allowing for a seamless experience. 

Having these features readily accessible at the touch of a button ensures that even if you are running behind schedule and need to review a patient's history while they are in the chair, it can be done quickly and stress-free. The information is clearly and concisely displayed on the screen, providing you with a clear overview of what you need to access from a clinical perspective, leaving you fully equipped to bond with your patient.  

Dentally clinical features that can assist you in delivering a memorable patient experience   

Here are some of our clinical tools that can handle the majority of the heavy lifting, allowing you to redirect your focus back to your patients: 

• Favorite items - The ability to favorite the treatments you use regularly in Dentally, making them easy to find and quick to chart.   

• Perio comparisons - Dentally’s Perio exam has the ability for you to be able to compare any two exams on the screen at once. This tool gives you the chance to be able to educate your patients whilst they are in the chair on the progression or regression you can see across their compared exams.     

• Clinical notes - Writing notes can be a time-consuming part of any surgery experience. With Dentally you can precreate your most used clinical notes making it easy to add only the patient-specific information each time.    

• Quick charting and pre-charted plans - By using hover charting and pre-charted treatment plans you can free up surgery time to spend talking too and educating your patients.    

• Dentally Concierge – This allows your patients to sign and update consent and treatment forms, medical forms, and patient details, all from the chair.   

• Task reminders – A reminder SMS to prompt patients to sign forms before attending their appointment, the more forms signed beforehand then the more time the patient can spend asking the practitioner any questions they may have about treatment.  

Sometimes practices can overthink how to create the perfect patient experience when, in reality, it all comes down to human connection. Establishing a safe and comfortable environment while the patient is in the chair should be a top priority for all practitioners, and at Dentally we have the features to make this a reality. To learn more about Dentally’s true cloud features, and how we can create a seamless surgery experience for your practice then get in touch with us here.