Smooth and proper data flow is essential for any area of life and business, including clinic management.
We all know how easy it is to use a smartphone equipped with a user-friendly interface and a high level of OS optimization, allowing you to control apps and make quick shifts between them without complicated steps. Similarly, the information exchange process becomes very convenient if your operating system – is the hub, fully controlling the data traffic between the apps and information repositories.
Just imagine that you, as a dentist, have a well-optimized digital ecosystem that makes data exchange effortless, allowing you to receive any file in a few clicks. It sounds simple, but this requirement is quite challenging due to the vast amount of data that needs to be transferred and processed for each patient in contemporary digital dentistry:
- X-rays and photos
- 3D models (STL files)
- medical history, etc
This information and capturing devices must be connected and allocated in one clinic's digital environment.
The Problematics
The wide variety of providers on the market still experienced a lack of examples of a standardized ecosystem that may become a "blueprint" for a unified format or process architecture. This factor reduces the current quality level of integration, causing hassles when you try to acquire new technology in your clinic!
Additionally, API integration and other bridging solutions must be more consistent and avoid unnecessary steps and complicated mechanics. PHI privacy is another crucial and sensitive issue (you should consider when dealing with different information exchange protocols) that you can resolve using a single utilized hub.
Closed ecosystems are more successful in the mentioned fields as they are correctly debugged and well-optimized. However, they may experience a lack of tools, and receiving some optimized features may take a long time. Such systems ensure seamless workflow, but new device connection or data set integration may face some complications.
Trios, Medit Link, Itero, and Align Tech – are some providers with closed, well-optimized (but not universal) ecosystems with good in-build tools and features.
We are still waiting for an IOS-like system to foster and unify different dental software under one umbrella.
