A hot topic these past few months that we have been getting a lot of inquiries on is Practice Management Software. There are over 30 different Practice Management Software companies, so it is not surprising that you may be solicited every few months by these companies.
From our experience and research there are three levels of Practice Management Software. We will call these levels coach, business and first class. If you choose the coach class such as Genesis or Easy Dental, you’ll get where you need to go, but there are no frills (not even a bag of pretzel’s). The business class, like Practice Works or Mogo have a few more frills than the coach class at a slightly higher price. The First Class level of software, Dentrix and Eaglesoft, will get you there with all the additional perks, but it will cost you much more.
So, which one do you choose? The answer is…..it depends. It depends on your level of technical expertise, what types of treatment your practice will be performing and the technical capabilities of your staff. A good way to determine if you need the bells and whistles of a First Class Practice Management software is to put together a list of requirements of your practice. You can begin by looking at treatments you spend 80% of your time on. If you’re spending 80% of your time doing general dentistry such as crowns and bridges, you can get by with a coach or business class software. You will also want the input of the staff. Certain software is much more user friendly than others. Your staff will want to be in on the selection process since they will be the ones using the software.
Our recommendation when you are first starting in the practice is to begin with a coach or business class software package. You can generally get into Genesis, Mogo or Easy Dental for under $5,000. After you have been in the practice for a while, you can then evaluate whether your needs are being met by the software program.
As one of the benefits of being part of Doctor’s Mentor Network, we have negotiated favorable pricing with a number of Practice Management Software vendors. Reach out to discuss your needs.