By: Jennifer Shrider

Ten years ago, Bob and Liz Rondeau had a problem.

They needed a way to visually educate their patients about dental health issues. Their solution? They created CAESY–a multimedia patient education software program–for use in their practice.

Flash forward to 2003. More than 12,000 dental practitioners now use CAESY to educate their patients with powerful visuals, and to solve a myriad of other problems ranging from saving time to eliminating repetition to increasing case acceptance.

The Power of Visuals Bob Rondeau, DMD, spent 13 years as a practicing dentist in Albany, Oregon. His wife, Liz, is a former high school biology teacher and co-managed their successful practice. Both were big believers in patient education, but they were frustrated with the usual methods of delivery—models, flipcharts, and verbal explanations. They needed a way that was less awkward and delivered more impact. The Rondeaus set to work developing CAESY (an acronym for Clinically Advanced Education SYstem). The program used images and

Bob Rondeau, DMD, President of CAESY, works with head animator BJ Nartker

narration to explain the diagnosis, procedure, and alternatives for each dental topic. Because time is always at a premium, they made sure to keep the presentations short and specific to the individual patient’s needs.

Bob wrote the scripts and took the clinical photographs for the 80 presentations in the original CAESY program. Liz worked with a computer programmer to make the scripts come to life using the multimedia technology available at that time.

In 1993, they created their beta version of CAESY and began using it in their practice.

The presentations were a big hit with patients. And, as it turned out, a learning experience for the creators. “I remember one patient who was hesitant to move forward with perio treatment,” says Bob. “When we showed her CAESY, and she saw the probe with markings on it indicating the depth of the pockets, she said ‘Oh, I thought you were making up this process because I couldn’t understand how you could get millimeter readings. Now I understand.’ She moved forward with her therapy. I would never have known her doubts if we hadn’t had CAESY.”

As many entrepreneurs will attest, launching a business is challenging. As they introduced CAESY to the dental market, Bob and Liz faced several hurdles. One was the technological challenge of programming the software. Another was the challenge of marketing the entirely unfamiliar concept of multimedia patient education software to dentists. “It wasn’t easy,” says Liz. “And the investment required was much larger than we originally projected.”

“But we had a single-minded focus,” says Bob, “to produce the best patient education program in dentistry. That meant investing in the technology and the talent needed to keep the product up-to-date.”

By 1996, the company had leapt over these hurdles. The Rondeaus sold their dental practice and moved CAESY to Vancouver, Washington, with Bob at the helm as President and CEO, and Liz overseeing the daily operations as Vice President and COO.

A TECHNICAL EVOLUTION “The first version of CAESY was a stand-alone computer–the presentations took up the entire hard drive. Dentists had to buy the whole computer. It was pretty hard to sell,” says Bob. In 1994 the program was converted to CD-i, a proprietary platform by Philips that had a video signal and could be hooked to televisions. On this platform, dentists could use CAESY in conjunction with their intraoral cameras; they’d first show a picture of the patient’s own tooth, then seamlessly switch to the CAESY presentation that explained the diagnosis and recommended treatment. That’s when the product really took off.

The development team plans the next product update

In 1998, continuing technological breakthroughs allowed the Rondeaus to introduce CAESY on DVD. The first CAESY DVD had 140 multimedia presentations, hundreds of before-and-after photos, and both English and Spanish narration. The DVD platform allowed them to use full motion video, rich 3-D graphics, and computer-generated animations. “We introduced DVD when people were still asking ‘What’s DVD?’” says Bob. “In fact, we purchased our own DVD authoring system at a time when there were only a few in the state of Washington.” DVD continues to be a popular platform to this day.

When doctors began requesting multi-user and multi-tasking capabilities, the programmers at CAESY started developing a platform that would work with local area networks in dental offices. They had several challenges to overcome: sending video across a network without slowing it down; running presentations, with a lot of video and animation, on virtually any up-to-date computer with a high-quality result; and configuring the server to be compatible with the vast array of different networks in dental practices. Ultimately, they created CAESY Enterprise on The Edge server, which connects to the network hub on local area networks, allowing any of the more than 200 presentations to be played on any workstation on the network. The product was two years in development and launched in the summer of 2002.

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Introducing CAESY ENTERPRISE 2.4 One piece of equipment distributes presentations throughout your practice CAESY Enterprise 2.4 is the answer to dental practitioners’ growing requests for flexible, multi-tasking, network-based patient education. For a practice that has a computer network, this server-based delivery system allows dentists and hygienists to choose from more than 200 presentations and show different presentations simultaneously to patients throughout the office-with one piece of equipment. Both CAESY and the Smile Channel are loaded onto The Edge server, which connects to the doctor’s existing computer network. With CAESY Enterprise, there is no longer a need for a DVD disc and player in every room. More versatile than any previous version, CAESY Enterprise includes a number of features that expand the ways in which a practice can more efficiently incorporate CAESY presentations into their daily routine. The flexible features include: • Ability to import the doctor’s own digital images into on-screen photo gallery • All presentations are printable and are branded with the dentist’s practice information • Ability to create a patient-specific presentation sequence, then save it in the patient’s name • Unlimited linking of presentations, which are also savable for future use • Customizable presentation menus, so dentists can select only those topics that reflect procedures done in their practice

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Solving Problems Using CAESY
As more and more dentists integrated this multimedia program into their practices, Liz and Bob Rondeau heard countless stories from doctors who discovered what they themselves already knew about CAESY–that it solves more than just the patient education problem.

Doctors were using CAESY to train their staff, ensuring they relayed accurate, consistent information to patients. Patients were understanding their treatment options faster. Case acceptance was going up. The staff was saving time by using CAESY during every appointment to take over the repetitive tasks of explaining common dental conditions and treatments. And the presentations were being used in many practices’ informed consent programs.

“Our customers always tell us how CAESY solves problems they didn’t even know they had,” says Bob. “In fact, with all the problems that CAESY solves, more and more doctors came to realize that CAESY gave them the quickest return on investment compared to other high-tech products.”

CONTINUOUS R&D KEEPS CAESY UP-TO-DATE Whenever doctors requested a new presentation on CAESY to help solve a problem, the Rondeaus worked to come up with a solution that they could incorporate into the next product update. Topic suggestions have ranged from explaining a core build-up for a crown to systemic effects of periodontal disease to dental insurance. The practice of updating CAESY with current information and new features continues to this day. Recently a new HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) presentation and downloadable Notice of Privacy Practices and Acknowledgement Form were added to

CAESY Enterprise programmers discuss hardware options

CAESY Enterprise 2.4 to help doctors comply with the Act, which goes into effect April 14, 2003.

CAESY Enterprise on The Edge server is updated three times a year, while CAESY DVD is updated annually.

A VARIETY OF PRODUCTS
In addition to the DVD and computer-based versions of CAESY, the company offers several other patient education products. The Smile Channel, which subtly promotes the doctor’s esthetic practice, is especially popular.

“When I first came on board in 1996,” says CAESY’s Executive Vice President, Ralph Laurie, “CAESY was doing great, but customers were asking for a reception area program.” The Smile Channel was CAESY’s answer. The program, which runs on a continuous loop, features before-and-after photos of esthetic dentistry, video presentations on general dental topics, and entertaining programming that presents dentistry in a positive light. The Smile Channel often inspires patients to pursue esthetic dental treatments they didn’t know about before seeing it on the reception room television. “When we came out with the Smile Channel, it was a resounding success,” says Ralph.

CAESY Online is another product that allows doctors to extend their patient education message to their website. They can add a “Patient Education” button to their website, and append hundreds of pages of searchable information on dental topics, all branded with their own practice name. CAESY Online includes “SmileLink,” a monthly electronic newsletter that can be customized and emailed to the doctor’s patient database, and Dental Health Guides, informational e-pamphlets that can be emailed to patients.

A LIKE-MINDED TEAM Initially, when CAESY was being developed, the Rondeaus were forced to rely on outside resources for programming and graphics production. Ultimately they decided that outsourcing did not give them the level of control they wanted. When the company grew and moved to Vancouver, they began to pull more and more functions in-house, hiring a staff of experienced animators, video editors, and computer programmers. Today, the company has nearly 60 employees. “We not only do our own product development in-house, we do our own marketing, sales, shipping, tech support and customer service,” says Liz, who oversees marketing and administration. “We don’t outsource anything.”

Creative team members review before-and-after photos for the Smile Channel

“Keeping everything in-house gives us more control, higher quality, and more consistency in what we produce,” adds Bob, who oversees product development and new technologies. “It also allows me as a dentist to be shoulder-to-shoulder with the production team on a daily basis. When they produce something, I can look at it, change it, modify it, and make sure it’s appropriate for dentistry.”

CAESY has both an inside and an outside sales force. The inside sales team provides demonstrations and free phone training to customers, and is just a toll-free call away to answer questions. “I believe strongly in the little things that make the difference for our customers,” says Ralph Laurie, who manages the sales and customer service teams. “Like making sure a customer is always able to get a real person on the phone. And that the person they get is courteous and knowledgeable about the product.”

CAESY OFFERS IN-OFFICE DEMONSTRATIONS
Currently, Ralph is overseeing the addition of a direct sales force in regions throughout the country to better accommodate customers. CAESY’s regional sales force offers on-site demonstrations during which they learn as much as possible about a doctor’s practice and his or her specific needs before making product suggestions. The regional reps and dealers can see first-hand what each practice’s needs and challenges are, and then provide the best platform for them.

“Our direct reps and dealers bring CAESY to the doctor. Now they can see it and hear it and feel it—right in their own office, before they buy,” says Bob Rondeau. “Once dentists see the product and try it out for themselves, they’re usually sold on it.”

And once they do buy it, adds Liz, “Most of them say ‘I wouldn’t dream of practicing without CAESY.’”

CAESY’s tech support team is on hand to answer customers’ questions about installation and product use, and has even been known to travel to practices in other parts of the country to help fix a problem that another (non-CAESY) installer created. “We have an excellent reputation in the dental industry, and we’ll do what it takes to solve a customer’s technical problem,” says Bob.

CAESY is a strong believer in customer service. “Our customer service reps are first and foremost problem solvers,” says Ralph. “Each is personally invested in helping doctors succeed with CAESY,” says Ralph. “Customer service is the hub of our company—we stand by our products 100 percent.”

Bob agrees. “Without satisfied customers, we would not be where we are today—every problem or suggestion is seen as an opportunity to improve,” he says. Which is how CAESY has become the leader in multimedia patient education software for dentistry. “We’d be nowhere without our CAESY doctors and their staff—their success is our success.”

A POSITIVE FORCE IN EVERY DENTAL OFFICE
As for the future, the company is ready for growth and expansion. They will continue updating the content and adding features to meet their customers’ needs. New products are under development, such as CAESY at Home, which will allow doctors to burn CDs with pertinent multimedia presentations for their patients to take home.

To give something back to the dental community, CAESY donates CAESY Enterprise on The Edge server to dental schools in the name of a sponsoring doctor. The computer-based program is being installed at a rapid rate in dental schools across the country, and Bob Rondeau projects 80 percent of the schools will be using it as a clinical tool in the next five years. Which means that multimedia patient education will be an important and truly accepted part of most dental practices in years to come.

“I think in the future more and more doctors will see how CAESY can solve problems every day, help their patients, and help their practice become more successful,” says Liz Rondeau. “We’ve always seen our product as being a positive force for dentistry.”

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More information about the complete line of CAESY products is available by calling: 800-263-3319 or you can visit the company’s website at: www.caesy.com.