I received this comment on the message board in response to the question "What is keeping you from implementing intra-oral photography in your practice?" and thought the answer was well worth posting here on my blog:
"my issue is getting them [dental images] on the computer and into some kind of database quickly, ideally your regular imaging or practice management software. Last time I tried to load extraoral images into Eaglesoft imaging it took forever and the pics were so slow to load it wasn't practical. It should be as easy as taking a bitewing.
Does open dental or sidexis 4 make this process any easier?"
I recommend using the following workflow. Once you set it up and everyone uses it it actually makes the import process easier! The key is to make an investment in a workflow that streamlines the process. If you're currently making photos, you're already:
- Importing them from your camera to some location on your computer
- (Hopefully) placing them in a folder where you can find them
- (Hopefully) renaming them so you can tell which patient the image is associated with
- (Probably) importing them into your patient management software from the folder you've imported them to on your computer
As long as your doing these things anyway, why not use software to manage and automate parts of the process to get these additional benefits:
- Automatically place the files in the correct place within a Master Folder Structure on your computer so you'll easily be able to locate patient images whenever you need them.
- Automatically rename the files with the patient's name so you'll be able to search the database for all of the images for a particular patient for easy recall.
- Automatically add procedure keywords that you select during import to the images so you can automatically recall all of your images for a particular type of case (e.g., crowns, implants, dentures, etc.).
All of this can be done during the process of importing images from your memory card to your computer which you are currently doing. Then, you can Import the images to your patient management software. So far with very minimal minimal effort you have gained much in the way of image management.
Now, because the images are in and managed by an application you can do the following without leaving the software:
- Show a full-screen slideshow of images to your patient during a consultation
- Email images to your Lab or another doctor
- Export images to your patient management software
- Export images for use on your website, blog, or Powerpoint presentation
- Export images to your printer
- Easily crop, straighten, enhance images
and more!
I'm a huge proponent of implementing systems with consistent processes so everyone involved knows exactly what to do and performs the task the same way every time. I also believe in automating repetitive processes as much as possible to improve productivity and reduce errors. It's something I've helped may doctors with. Let me know if you have any questions or would like my help.