I have received many inquiries about integrating teledentistry into your practices at this time. Using teledentistry for ortho progress checks, emergency assessments, and other patient concerns is very prudent. I also understand the desire to best communicate with your staff about work and statuses. As a result, I have provided the following guidelines to ensure the safety and security of your information, and your patients.

Video Meetings

Professional appearance – when meeting with your staff or with patients it is a good idea to maintain professional appearance as much as possible. This includes reducing ambient noise and striving to establish a professional background, attire, and camera setup. If you do not possess a mounted camera setup in your home office, there are a variety of setups you can use, I recommend an iPad with a stand. Please avoid relying on your mobile phone, as this can be shaky, can contain off-putting angles, and does not give the best impression. Regarding your background, make a dedicated space that is professional as possible. Again, wearing appropriate business casual attire is highly recommended.

Also, you should select a HIPAA Compliant communication tool. There are various tools that may, or may not, enable secure calls, but what you should be looking for is a Business Associates Agreement (BAA) for that service. So, if a provider is not willing to give you a BAA, it is not compliant. For example, mediums such as Amazon, Facetime, Skype and Facebook Messenger are NOT compliant. Based on my personal experience, Zoom is the most popular and professional I have seen, and I highly recommend it. That said, you must obtain Zoom’s Healthcare Plan to acquire the BAA, as this feature is not offered through Zoom’s free service. If you have a question on whether a tool is compliant, please reach out.

Emailing Files and Forms

Many of you might be receiving various forms and pictures from your patients, especially ortho offices. Please ensure files and pictures are sent through your secure website. Or, I encourage you to communicate with an initial email sent from your secure email provider. This way, a patient is able to reply back through a secure portal with important files. If you do not utilize a secure email, the staff at PerCSoft can guide you through a quick setup with one of our recommended providers.

Agenda / Process

Most importantly, having a plan around these meetings is critical. Whether this is with your staff or your patients, follow a process for how you will conduct meetings and who will be participating/contributing. I encourage you to include a staff member with you on patient conferences to give a more complete and professional meeting appearance.

Additional Help

As always, please reach out to me or the PerCSoft team with any questions. For your convenience, we do have cameras in stock and can provide equipment if you need it.