This article is sponsored content brought to you by Henry Schein One.
Your practice management software may be familiar, dependable and embedded in your team’s daily work. Changing it can feel risky, particularly when it involves confidential patient data, team training and established workflows.
But staying with your current system is not risk-free. Practices may continue absorbing server and IT costs, repetitive administration, fragmented workflows and missed opportunities. The absence of an obvious problem does not necessarily mean your software is delivering the best value.
Practices often ask what switching will cost. It is equally important to ask what standing still is costing you too.
Look beyond the licence fee
For practices using on-premise software, costs extend beyond licensing. Servers need replacing, backups require monitoring, security updates may involve external IT support, and infrastructure can become more complex as the practice grows.
The true cost should include hardware, IT support, backup services, update coordination and the team time spent managing technology behind the scenes.
There are also operational risks. Hardware failures or unsuccessful backups can interrupt access to critical information. Meanwhile, workflows reliant on manual action may be delayed during busy periods or staff absences, resulting in inconsistent follow-up and missed opportunities.
Where is value being lost?
- Manual administration
A few minutes spent writing notes, sending messages or following up recalls may seem insignificant. Multiplied across every clinician, patient and operating day, they become a substantial cost. If one process takes five team hours each week, that represents around 240 hours a year. Recovering even part of that time could create capacity for patient care, additional appointments and treatment follow-up.
Connected cloud platforms can help through AI clinical notes, automated recalls and built-in patient communications.
- Appointment gaps
Cancellations are unavoidable, but their cost increases when teams cannot fill newly available time quickly.
Dentally’s Short notice filler automates the process of identifying suitable patients, sending communications and updating the diary. Customers fill short-notice appointments for an average SMS cost of just $0.72, reducing manual effort while helping protect valuable chair time.
- Complex patient journeys
When booking, forms, reminders and communications sit outside the PMS, teams may need to switch systems, duplicate data or contact patients individually. A connected platform can bring online booking, digital forms, automated reminders, recalls, email and SMS into one workflow. The result can be less administration and a smoother patient experience.
Reducing the uncertainty of switching
Moving patient data and retraining a team should never be treated casually. A strong migration plan should explain how data will be extracted, transferred, validated and protected. Training should reflect different roles and essential workflows should be tested before go-live.
A planned transition gives practices more control than waiting until ageing infrastructure, disruption or rapid growth makes change unavoidable.
Less to maintain, more to gain
Dentally is a cloud-based PMS that connects clinical workflows, administration, patient experience, AI, automation and analytics.
Browser-based access, cloud backups and seamless updates reduce reliance on local infrastructure. Clinical AI Notes, automated recalls and integrated communications can reduce manual work, while reporting helps practices identify diary gaps, monitor recalls and track outstanding treatment. Guided migration, role-based training and support from our Australian-based team help make the transition clear and supported.
Switching carries risk but so does standing still. By considering infrastructure, administration, operational risk and missed opportunities alongside the licence fee, practices can make a more informed decision about the future.
Ready to find out if Dentally is right for your practice? Book a demo at dentally.com/en-au/contact-us
