Now that tele-dentistry has been accepted as a viable option for the modern patient and looks like it’s here to stay, the question is…
“How can dentists make sure that they’re still really connecting with their patients through a screen?”
First of all, it’s important to remember that all of this is still relatively new. Prior to COVID-19 introducing us to the broader benefits of tele-health as a concept, it wasn’t at all the norm. We’re still navigating how tele-medicine will continue to mature and how we can continue to offer care from a safe distance.
There are a few ways that tele-health has shown its merits, some of which are:
- Live video chat
Talk to a dentist online anytime by mobile app, phone or web. Seeing a
professional “face-to-face” via video chat makes patients feel like they’re still getting the same level of care they would in an office.
- Remote patient monitoring & electronic delivery of supportive care information
Patient data is electronically sent to a provider for supportive care. This can help dentists make diagnoses and determine if someone needs to be seen in the chair for more hands-on work.
- Secure storage of all images and digital impressions taken during the tele-visit
Before treatment, a patient might complete a short online questionnaire. If any physical information needs to be recorded, patients could be mailed an at-home impression kit before their appointment. The patient could then upload their
results to the practice’s website for their dentist to review as opposed to having digital impressions taken in the dental office.
One of the obvious players here is Zoom – they have an entire branch of their company dedicated to servicing providers and organizations in the healthcare space. They offer secure video that keeps things not only confidential but complaint. Organizations like Magellan Healthcare and even Johns Hopkins are all Zoom tele-health advocates. There are also software packages (like Simplifeye and Solutionreach, to name just a few) that combine things like live web chat, a virtual front desk, and online payment processing.
The benefits continue to reveal themselves. Dental providers are now able to treat patients in a variety of health compromised situations, provide virtual access to preventative care screenings and easily connect patients with specialists they might have less access to offline.
As technology continues to get smarter, the applications will only continue to multiply.
Younger patients will gravitate to this more quickly than their older counterparts for the simple reason that their lives already are online in a much larger sense. However, older patients are actually set to benefit most from remote dentistry. Mobility challenges and other health complications routinely force elderly people to postpone needed dental consultation until it’s too late. Virtual appointments could be the perfect solution.
The faster that dental practices can inform their patients of all their tele-dentistry options, the faster they can start filling appointments. Especially in the COVID-19 era, patients need extra reassurance that someone can connect them with a medical professional quickly – and that the person they’re matched with can offer the help they need.
Waiting rooms are awful, whether they’re virtual or not. And no one wants to wait. With Help On Demand, they won’t have to… ever.
