Budget for Training

by Larry Emmott on January 27, 2012

in Dental Speaker, Management

In my humble opinion there is no high tech investment that will pay off faster than training. If you have not had some sort of high tech training in the last 12 to 18 months you are holding the office back and costing yourself thousands in lost productivity.

Plan for some training this year by budgeting the money for it right now. A full day of onsite training will cost less than $1,000 and could easily save you tens of thousands. And…this is very important…training day is not Dr. golf day. To be most effective training must include the dentist .

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When evaluating high tech for the dental office there are three things to consider before making a big purchase.

  1. Does this technology system enhance the human system? That is to say does it make the job easier and faster or even just more rewarding for the dentist the staff or the patient?
  2. Does this technology system improve the overall quality of patient care?
  3. Will this technology pay for itself? Is there a reasonable ROI?

The final question is often the most difficult to determine. Direct ROI results can be straight forward, such as reduced lab fees, reduced spending on film and chemicals or reduced printing and posting. Yet even these are sometimes hard to extract from the practice data. It is even harder to determine indirect savings such as reduced time in finding a record or increased income such as a referral based on some impressive WOW technology..

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Waay Cool !

The T-ray beam could be integrated into portable scanners, like a real-life Tricorder, the researchers say.

Electromagnetic waves in the terahertz range, known as T-rays, are used in highly sensitive security scanners, … — they could sense molecules associated with cancer or other diseases, for instance.

via Tiny Tunable Terahertz Beam Could Enable Real Handheld Tricorders | Popular Science.

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AWC Barbados Trip

by Larry Emmott on January 25, 2012

in AWC

From: Robert Priddy, President
American World Clinics

Just follow this link for reservations: AWC Hilton Barbados

If you have any questions about the trip, please email me. rpriddy@americanworldclinics.com

WHO: Physicians and dentists interested in practicing at American World Clinics, Barbados
WHAT: Introduction to American World Clinics and Living and Working in Barbados
WHEN: February 12, 13, 14 – make your reservations by Friday, January 27th.
WHERE: Hilton, Needham Point, Bridgetown, Barbados
WHY: Because you want to practice your best medicine and dentistry in the best environment
HOW: Register your hotel, book your airline and join us for three interesting, informative and fun days

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Value Proposition for Nomad

by Larry Emmott on January 25, 2012

in Office Design, Radiography

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Guest blog from Deploy Dental

Choosing the right domain name is vital in establishing your online presence. Here are six helpful tips to consider before purchasing a domain name for your dental practice.

1.         Keyword Brainstorm

Write down the top 5 or so keywords related to your business.  Start adding simple prefixes and suffixes to your keywords.  For example, if you are a dentist who specializes in implant dentistry procedures, your keywords could be something like this: dentist, implant dentist, tooth replacement, and implants.  You then need to consider incorporating your geographic location into your keyword choices, as this is one of the major ways potential patients search for dentists online.  (Editor’s Note from Dr. Emmott. I agree with the suggestions here on sample keywords and domains, however I strongly suggest you get your actual name and obvious variations whenever possible as a domain name as well. You are not limited to a single domain but should have several that all point to your web page.) For example, if you are located in New York City, your domain choices should look something like this: NewYorkCityDentist.us, NYCDentist.com, ImplantsNYC.com, and so on.  Just play with different combinations until you find an available domain name. (This step may be harder than you think, as many of the prime domain names have already been bought, especially in larger markets)

2.         Make It Unique

Failing to perform basic market research before choosing a domain name can result in unintended consequences.  For instance, if an existing dental practice uses the domain name NewYorkDentalCare.com, the available domain name of DentalCareNewYork.com would not be the best choice.  That is because, when considering people’s search habits, if you tell a patient your site’s address they will often enter that term into a search engine instead of typing in the direct URL.  In many cases, the search results will bring back your competition’s website ahead of yours.  So make sure to research your competitive market before settling on a domain name.

3.      Only Purchase a Dot-Com if Available

There are numerous gTLD’s (generic top level domain) to choose from.  The most common of which are .com, .net, .org, and .us.  However, generally speaking, the Dot-Com is always your best bet as it is most widely recognized by almost everyone.  Google, Yahoo, and Bing usually do not weight your domain selection as long as it is a gTLD, but the advantage to selecting a Dot-Com is that almost every person will generally assume that your website ends in “.com”.  If you’re website’s address isn’t the Dot-Com, you could be very well be sending valuable traffic to your competition.  When in doubt, it is advisable to purchase more than one domain name, as they are usually less than $10 per year.

4.      Make it Memorable

Both word of mouth and dominance marketing rely on the ease of remembering your domain name and capitalizing on keywords in your URL.  Successful strategies for this include making it rhyme, using alliterations (SeattleSmiles.com, BrentwoodBraces.com), having a play-on-words (RespectYourMouth.com, VineyardDentalUrgentCare.com), and just KIS (Keep it Simple).  Keep in mind that this is your online identity and will be used in your print collateral and on practice signage as well.

5.      Set Yourself Apart With Your Brand

You can use a unique nickname or alias for your website like WebMD.com or FreeCreditReport.com.  They accomplish the goal of letting your audience know what it is you do with out them ever having to visit your website.  Industry examples would be “TampaTeethWhitening.com’”, “DenverDentalImplants.com” or “CelebrityDentist.com”. Those are great domain names since they let your audience know exactly what procedures and service areas you provide.

6.    Tools & Research

Here are a few tools to help speed up the process of checking the availability of domain names.

A dental domain name is a valuable asset and a marketing tool for a practice, and choosing the right one is maybe the most important first step to establishing your online presence.

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Anti-Buzz: Social Media of the Future

January 24, 2012

The Buzz: Social media is trending down and of no use to your business.
The Anti-Buzz: It is still be a good tool and will undoubtedly be more so in the future.
Once again we are abuzz about social media and its use for you, the dentist and so I thought I would weigh in again, as [...]

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More American World Clinics

January 23, 2012

From Business Barbados 2012
American World Clinics.

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Reputational Management

January 23, 2012

Following is an excerpt from my Dentrix Magazine Article.

If you do find some negative malicious reviews what can you do? Actually it is easier to tell you what not to do.
Don’t Sue: As reported in the ADA News Dr. Yvonne Wong decided to file suit when she received a negative review on Yelp which she [...]

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Does Online Communication Work?

January 23, 2012

One of my favorite online companies is Sesame Communications. One reason for that is that Sesame does actual research to determine if their communication tools are working. Here are some recent numbers that they have discovered.
First the question, does online marketing actually work?
This can be measured in several ways. You can just measure web site [...]

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Doctors Going Broke

January 21, 2012

Just a few years ago this would have seemed impossible.
Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke.
via Small Business: Doctors going broke – Jan. 5, 2012.
The CNN Money article linked above presents a number of reasons US physicians are struggling including reduced and delayed payments from government and third [...]

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CES 2012: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

January 21, 2012

A fun in cheek wrap up of CES 2012 from PC Mag
CES 2012: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.

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Who’s Online?

January 20, 2012

According to recent research almost 80% of US adults are online every day.

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Groupon

January 20, 2012

Groupon was the topic of a 60 minutes segment which included reference to how doctors are using it to attract patients. The segment mostly featured the CEO Andrew Mason and speculated on the long term viability of the company. As to doctors and dentists using Groupon there are some nagging legal issues. Does a Groupon discount constitute [...]

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How to Reuse or Recycle Your Old Tech

January 20, 2012

The article linked below discusses a number of ways older computers can be re-purposed. Many of these ideas could be put to work in a dental office. For example an out of date treatment room computer could be re-purposed as a media center to provide on demand music for patients.
However if you must get rid [...]

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Magnetic storage systems shrink from a million atoms per bit to twelve

January 19, 2012

Of interest mostly to geeks but truly amazing none the less.
Magnetic storage systems shrink from a million atoms per bit to twelve
via the Foresight Institute » Blog Archive » Magnetic storage systems shrink from a million atoms per bit to twelve.

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Putting Medical Records Into Patients’ Hands

January 19, 2012

Interesting article at Slashdot.
But what would happen if patients were encouraged not just to see their medical records but to take them home, study them and really own them?
via Putting Medical Records Into Patients’ Hands – Slashdot.
This relates to many of the articles I have written about EHR, data safety, and ownership. Strictly speaking this [...]

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5 Great Tablets at CES 2012

January 18, 2012

From PC Magazine.
 Tablets are becoming thinner, lighter, more powerful, and more affordable than ever. Whether it’s a new dual-screen form factor, transforming dock, or sub-$200 price tag, tablets are poised to make significant strides in 2012.
via 5 Great Tablets at CES 2012 – Slideshow from PCMag.com.
Tablets were big news at CES last year. They are [...]

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Study Again Shows Hand Helds are Safe

January 18, 2012

From Dr. Bicuspid (Registration Required). The article notes that the research  confirms the safety of Nomad (one of my favorite products) and that there are 6000 handheld devices in use in the US.
January 16, 2012 — Dental care providers and their patients need not worry about radiation exposure when using the Nomad handheld intraoral xray device [...]

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The Best Antivirus for 2012

January 18, 2012

From PC Magazine

The Best Antivirus for 2012 | PCMag.com.

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