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Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

P ractice management software (PMS) has al- ready proven itself to be an asset to any principal, increasing efficiency and pro- ductivity at all levels of the business and reducing pa- perwork. Continual software advances offer ever more op- portunities to cut expenditure and improve the running of the practice; however, one of the latest developments in this field directly addresses the issue of data security. Data Management Services, which provide offsite data storage, can take on the responsibil- ity of the smooth running of your PMS as well as industry- approved protection of your clinical and patient data. A crucial benefit of allo- cating hosting responsibility externally is the assurance of complete data protection, re- moving any doubts or fears of missing or incomplete clinical or patient information. Data management in the practice is open to human error via keystroke mistakes, poor han- dling of storage devices, or incorrect responses to com- puter malfunction. In addition to this, there are unforeseen events such as flooding or fire, which in-house systems cannot cope with, while a re- mote server would remain un- affected. For absolute peace of mind, Data Management Ser- vices also encrypt the informa- tion and store it in numerous offsite locations so that your data can always be retrieved, but only by pre-approved staff. These safety precautions also provide demonstrable adher- ence to standards of quality outlined by outcome 21 of the CQC, which aims to protect patients from harm as a result of poor recordkeeping. Remote servers enable multi-practice organisations to be compared and contrast- ed in terms of performance and efficiency, and provide a sound basis for important business decision-making. Communication is free flow- ing between the practices, too, allowing dentists to swiftly ac- cess information from any lo- cation within the group, such as patient data for referrals. It is not only members of the dental team who can take advantage of a Data Manage- ment Service. Patients are able to choose a convenient time to organise their next check-up thanks to the online appoint- ment book facility, which fa- cilitates web-based browsing and booking of vacant slots. Empowering patients in this way promotes a positive per- ception of the practice while easing the administrative bur- den on staff. Further support to the on- line appointment book feature comes in the form of auto- mated reminders. Once an ap- pointment has been made, the system ensures that text mes- sages are generated and sent to the patient’s mobile shortly before the date of the appoint- ment. If the patient is running late or wants to cancel the ap- Neil Sanderson discusses data management services Your data in safe hands ‘A crucial benefit of allocating host- ing responsibility externally is the assurance of complete data protection’’ February 6-12, 201216 United Kingdom EditionPractice Management convenient& pr ofessional for all your Core Subject needs visit www.corecpd.com Email info@smile-on.com or call 020 7400 8989 wherev erandwhenever