One of the most asked for features in today’s electronic medical record (EMR) technology is a secure built-in messaging system. This is an important feature and many providers are integrating this feature. One project aims to make that easier, Direct Project.

Communities in which health-care providers work together to coordinate evidence-based hospital discharges can see a six percent drop in hospitalizations and rehospitalizations in just the first two years, according to a new project study.

For the project, described January 22 in the Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA), the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care (CFMC) coordinated 14 of Medicare’s Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), which are funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help achieve national quality goals through focused efforts at the community and provider level.

It seems that nearly every month there's a new security threat to a company's networks and computer systems, it really never ends does it?. A lot of the recent threats have taken advantage of software bugs or glitches, but a recent warning from numerous security institutions takes aim at hardware found in every office and home.

As most of you have noticed we are slow to adopt new operating systems. Dental software tends to be about six months to a year behind the consumer and small business market software when it comes to being fully compatible with the latest operating systems. That being said Windows 7 and the consumer pc market have made a switch to 64 bit operating systems. The nice thing about the new 64 bit OS is that you can utilize more hardware in the PC. Windows 32 bit systems max out at roughly 3.5 gigabytes of ram. Ram is cheap and more is always better, and the newer processors are all optimized for the new 64 bit operating systems. You are probably saying “That’s great Clay but what does that have to do with me?” Most practice management software is now 64 bit ready. The caveat is there may be updates that need to be done to your system to “prepare” for the latest systems. Many of you have already gone through this process but if you haven’t here is a short list: PracticeWorks needs the latest version of Pervasive and PracticeWorks Software, Dentrix needs to be G4 with Productivity pack 7 and Eaglesoft needs to be version 16. There are specific updates for all of the smaller software programs and accessories as well. The good news is that once your office is over the 64 bit hurdle, you can use the best computers for the price and protect your investment by assuring your computers do not become obsolete before their time!

You may  have seen one of those small, digital-looking images in your favorite magazine, or at your local sandwich shop and you are wondering…What is it? It’s called a  “Quick Response” code or QR code for short. A QR code is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable only by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data. QR codes have been largely adopted by advertisers to target the new smart phone users. QR codes can be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user’s device, to open a URL or to compose an e-mail or text message. Users can also generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR code generating sites. So how could your practice profit from this? Many companies are using this technology to drive sales by allowing people to to buy much faster than these types of media originally offered. Others are putting QR codes on permanent coupons or on their business cards to allow would-be prospects an instant way to get more information about a business. You can get a free QR code by going to https://qrcode.kaywa.com. Some practical uses: • The back or front of your business card • Your brochure or marketing materials • Appointment Reminders • Signs – inside or out

The end of the film panorex is finally upon us.  Most panorex manufacturers no longer sell film pans and aside from retrofits and phosphor plate systems the film panorex has reached the end of its product life cycle.  The digital panorex has finally reached full maturity and has taken over the market based on its lower operational costs and increased diagnostic quality.  The market has broken roughly into three categories.  The entry level panorex, the mid-level and the 3D upgradeable units. Typically the entry level doesn’t have the ability to add feature such as Ceph arms, TMJ, Tomographic and 3D capabilities.  The mid-level will add the ability to make more custom settings for items like TMJ, sinus and bite-wings within the Pan’s interface.  Most mid-level Pans also give the ability to add Ceph arms.  The highest level pans allow for sensor upgrades to full 3d CBCT acquisition. Of course this all varies by brand and each manufacturer has slightly different configurations and options.   I tend to like the brands that have been around for a long time, like Planmeca, Sirona, and Sordex/Instrumentarium to name a few.  These units tend to be more reliable and have a tradition of customer service and parts availability that make them very easy to troubleshoot and fix.  I also see most R&D in these companies both in 2D and 3D imaging.  This assures that if you are looking at an upgrade path that these units will have a higher probability of being upgradable in the future. Digital Pans have proven to be one of the best investments both from a financial and diagnostic standpoint.  A digital panorex can really change the work flow of an office to give a more complete radiographic exam with a pan and four bite-wings.  The increased resolution and sensitivity of modern digital panorex far exceeds the quality of older film units.  This along with their almost negligible marginal cost of operation makes them a very valuable tool in almost any dental office.  I typically look at these purchases with a 20 year time frame.  Because the capital expense will be spread over such a long time a small difference in price from one manufacturer to the next is really less important as getting the features and quality that you desire.  I truly believe there should be a digital panorex in every dental practice.