Leading DSO Launches Digital Check-In Experience to Increase Practice Efficiency & Safety in 830 Offices

As consumers head back to the dentist, Aspen Dental recently unveiled the first completely digital check-in experience to be offered across a dental network of scale. Available in Aspen Dental’s more than 830 offices in 41 states, patients can manage their dental visit as they do much of their lives – digitally, saving them time – an average of 15 minutes per patient – while dental care teams can provide a more integrated patient experience.

With the new system, Aspen Dental patients simply provide the Patient Service Representative (PSR) with their driver’s license and insurance card at check-in. The PSR quickly scans both forms of identification and in under 10 seconds, the required information is auto-populated into the patient management system.

Using an iPad provided in the office, the patient reviews their personal information and the needed consent forms, before providing an electronic signature – a process that takes two minutes on average. Since the patient’s information is instantly available in the integrated patient management system, it follows them to the treatment room, where the doctor completes the process, reviewing the patients’ medical history in a direct care setting. The paperless check-in system reduces patient wait time, supports safety and improves overall treatment experience.

“The new digital system is a benefit for both patients and care team members. It means practitioners no longer have to enter the data manually, so patient wait time is reduced significantly and the doctor gets more quality face time with the patient, translating to a more convenient and overall better care experience. And because the system rollout is nationwide, patients know they can expect the same seamless experience regardless of the Aspen Dental office they visit.” -Yogish Suvarna, CIO, Aspen Dental Management

Learning from offices who participated in the pilot, time and motion studies show overall patient experience improvements, including:

Average patient wait time was reduced by half – an average reduction of 15 minutes per patient
Potential to eliminate more than 1,000 hours of non-patient support time per office per year

The launch of digital check-in comes at a time when patients value convenience and going-green, just as experts advise that less time in waiting rooms is better for community wellness. Digital patient check-in is just one of Aspen Dental’s community wellbeing commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic. View Aspen Dental’s complete Smile Wide, Smile Safe Promise here.

Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI), the dental support organization providing practice management and non-clinical support to care teams in Aspen Dental offices, developed the digital check-in technology suite in-house and the rollout is a part of Aspen Dental’s move to a more digitally integrated patient experience. Digital charting and notes through the Perio charting system, are currently being tested in several Aspen Dental locations, while artificial intelligence (AI) enhancements, such as biometrics and fingerprint/facial recognition, are being evaluated to continue to improve check-in and check-out.

“Digital patient check-in is just one more example of Aspen Dental’s commitment to remove friction and barriers from the patient’s treatment experience, getting them the care they need,” said Suvarna. “We are delighted that the new technology has been warmly received by patients and staff.”

Watch how Aspen Dental does perio charting:

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