Virtual Diagnosis...online dentistry is where it's at!

I was reading The Gobe & Mail yesterday and came across an interesting article titled Virtual Diagnosis.... Basically it was about how medical doctors are using the internet to do online consultations for things like pathological diagnosis, as lots of small communities don't have pathologists.  It got me thinking about how dentistry has changed over the last decade, and how I have been using the internet for my patients benefit.

Since I am a solo practitioner, I do not have other dentists or specialists in my practice. But today with the internet I am far from alone.  As most other dentists, I refer out special cases to dental specialists to provide patients with the care they need when appropriate. example online consult letter I do many cases that involve coordinating different specialists as well as dental labs to have  treatment procced in a proper sequence.  In the past, to communicate  my patients needs I would either have to phone the specialist( try connecting two busy doctors...) or send a letter (way too slow, no one did it much) or fill in a little paper slip and give it to the patient to give the specialist ( often lost and of limited informational value).   But the internet has changed all that.

Information is critical  for diagnosis and case planning.  With the internet and digital photography my contact with other dental professionals involves a detailed email with photos, Xrays and full description of my patients history, concerns and treatment goals I am looking for.  When I started sending these online consultations to the select specialists I refer to I was startled by the response.  They loved it!  They met the patient I was sending before the patient arrived.  They were prepared for my patients and already had an ideal how they were going to have to proceed.  And often they could give me answers that saved a patient from having to go to the specialist, saving the patient time  and money ( a "free virtual appointment"!)

This is just one way that dentistry today exploits new technologies to improve care for patients.