Seb Evans asks Greg Paysden about the new Ismile dental software and how it has helped Greg’s practice.
Seb Evans (SE): Why did you chose Ismile software?
Greg Paysden (GP): I saw a demonstration at a dental show.
I use R4 in my other practices and I decided to go with Ismile this time because the guys were really approachable that were administrating the software, and it was a small local group of people. The software also had interactive features that were really good.
I started a new practice from scratch so I was deciding which software to use; Ismile was much better value. It also meant going 99% paperless with these guys because the Botox filler chart was in there. Ismile also has the signpads meaning you can do digital signatures.
We were quite capable of feeding back to the guys at Ismile and they were able to do some changes specifically for us, unlike some of the bigger chain software companies where you have to take what’s given. These guys are happy to work with us to make things better and make the program better.
SE: How easy was it to install once you’d chosen to go with Ismile?
GP: Yeah brilliant, they did it all. I bought the computers, these guys installed it, it was really straightforward. Then they came in and did a day’s training for us.
The ongoing support is really good as well – the team at Ismile is easy to get in contact with. I’ve used other software providers but Ismile is pretty good at helping us out really quickly. If there’s any problems with it or something that we need to change, Ismile will get in touch and modify it just for us.
SE: How has Ismile helped your practice?
GP: I think we’ve got the security of knowing that all our patient information is backed up and protected. That way we know that if the worst happens we’ve got all that information there.
Ismile helps businesses from a recall point of view too with some of the features that are built within it, for example the ability to send text reminders, the ability to have the patient fill in their medical history beforehand and also to send out birthday reminders.
There are lots of really nice features within it that helps to build rapport with patients. It also helps with invoicing and billing, seeing where you’re up to with completed treatments and what’s outstanding. There’s a really good link on the dashboard that shows you what outstanding finance there is at the moment, so you can quickly get to that and find out which patients owe you money.
You can set it up so that for a patient’s birthday it will send them out a text message or an email. It’s a nice little touch and we give them some sort of birthday offer too. It makes it a bit more patient friendly.
We’ve got a clever thing going on now where it’ll actually manage reminders. So it will send out reminders and follow that up with another reminder etc, each one slightly different.
SE: What’s your favourite part of Ismile?
GP: Definitely the Botox chart is really useful.
The interactive part where you can find out about the patient’s finances and the text message reminders is really easy and simple to send texts to patients, which they just find really invaluable.
I think the way that it’s laid out is really good as well. It’s really clear and really easy for my dental nurse to use and for her to see where she should write down notes, where she should chart, etc. Everything’s on one page, whereas for a lot of the other programs you have to go in and out of other pages and find the information you need.
SE: How easy have you found it to use compared to the other systems?
GP: It’s an absolute doddle to use. It’s slightly different to the other systems I use in other practices. It’s really straightforward, the chart is straightforward, to add a treatment, edit a treatment, treatment costs is really easy.
Printing from the screen or emailing the treatment plan is brilliant. The digital e-signs for medical histories and consent forms is really good for treatment plans. The signpad works really well so you can keep that within the program and you can just send out the treatment plan by email to the patient with just a couple of mouse clicks.
SE: Anything else you’d like to add?
GP: I think it’s good that it’s a small local business and the guys are all very approachable. They listen to you whenever you have a problem and they do their best to try and resolve it quickly.
For more information on Ismile, visit www.ismiledental.co.uk.
