November 13, 2012 – Willamette Dental Group, the Pacific Northwest’s largest multi-specialty group dental practice, has undergone significant organizational improvements over the past year. The latest in their efforts to increase customer satisfaction and deliver proactive patient care is with the implementation of Electronic Dental Records (EDRs).
“Technology has changed the way the world does business. It’s also made significant impacts in the field of dentistry”
“Technology has changed the way the world does business. It’s also made significant impacts in the field of dentistry,” said Dr. Eugene Skourtes, DMD, CEO and President of Willamette Dental Group. “Our mission is to stop the disease repair cycle by evidence-based methods of prevention and treatment. With axiUm, we will be able to have better health outcomes for our patients.”
EDRs will benefit both providers and patients, ensuring dental records are completely up-to-date, error-free, and instantly available whenever or wherever they are needed. Issues that arose from traditional recordkeeping such as hard-to-read handwriting, loose papers, or physically pulling or filing charts will now be obsolete. It'll also mean reduced wait times for specialty services, eliminating the wait for a physical chart to be delivered to another location. EDRs will provide a better visual of each patient’s oral health and will eliminate the need for unnecessary tests as providers can see test results in real time. This pairing encourages open dialogue between doctors and patients, providing a visible reference point to support discussion on the individual needs of each patient.
The EDR program was first piloted in select offices to test and learn the system and ensure the company-wide launch is successful and as seamless as possible. It was important to Willamette Dental Group to assess the new system with employees to identify best practices before going live at all locations. EDRs will launch at all offices in early November 2012.
EDRs will allow Willamette Dental Group to practice the proactive philosophy they pioneered, by better allowing them to more accurately and efficiently measure the results of treatment methods. It will support the providers by using scientific data to learn what is working best to maintain natural tooth structure – their ultimate goal.
In the holistic approach that Willamette Dental Group is known for, EDRs also provide the possibility for future secure exchanges of health information between its dentists and outside health care providers.
