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16 I I practice management _ paperless practice The computers placed in the operatories are often different from the front desk computers in many ways. They will have dual display capabili- ties, better video cards to handle digital imaging, smaller cases to fit inside the cabinets, and wireless keyboards and mouses. An often-over- looked consideration is that the smaller the computer, the more heat it generates. Heat is the number one enemy of computers, and since many dentists will place their computers inside a cabinet at the 12 o’clock position, having proper ventilation is critical. _V Digital systems The choice of image software will dictate which systems are compatible. Digital radiogra- phy is the hot technology at this time owing to many factors. Dentists with digital radiography report greater efficiency by having the ability to capture and view images more rapidly, better diagnostics, cost savings by the elimination of film and chemicals, and higher case acceptance through patient co-diagnosis of their dental needs. All systems have pros and cons, and den- tists will have to evaluate each system based on a set of standards that are important to that practice. For some dentists, it might be image quality. For others, it may be the cost of the sys- tems, the warranty of the sensor, the company’s reputation, or the compatibility of the sensors withtheirexistingimagemanagementsoftware. Keep in mind that intra-oral cameras are still an excellent addition to any practice, since they allow patients to see the things that typically only a practitioner could see. _VI Data protection With a chartless practice, protecting data is crucial to preventing data loss due to malware or user errors. Every practice, at a minimum, should be using antivirus software to protect against the multitude of known viruses and worms, a firewalltoprotectagainsthackers,whotrytoin- filtrate the network, and have an easy-to-verify backup protocol in place to be able to recover from any disaster. The different backup proto- cols are as varied as the number of practices, but it is crucial that the backup is taken offsite daily and can be restored rapidly. The modern term is practice continuity. It is not only the data that is being backed up that is important, but also critically, the speed with which the system can be restored and the practice can be up and run- ning following a disaster such as a server crash, fire or flood. For practices that wish to be chartless or pa- perless, it is crucial to evaluate all the systems that need to be replaced with a digital counter- part, and to adopt a systematic approach to adding these new systems to the practice. Most practices would be well advised to replace one system at a time, and become comfortable with thisnewsystembeforeaddingnewtechnologies to the practice. The typical practice will take 9 to 18 months to transition from a paper-based practice to a chartless one._ CAD/CAM 1_2011 Dr Lorne Lavine 2501W.Burbank Blvd.,#303 Burbank,CA 91505 USA drlavine@thedigitaldentist.com www.thedigitaldentist.com _contact CAD/CAM