Another ADA link. Two ADA links in a single day Wow. This is a story from the News that outlines the work being done to create the dental portion of the Electronic Health Record.

ADA leaders are now working to ensure that the unique character of dental practice is understood and maintained in the dental components of the electronic health record as the government moves this initiative forward.
The federal government wants to promote overall quality and cost reduction of the entire health care system by increasing the use of health information technology. Its primary focus is to develop an electronic health record for everyone in the U.S. by 2015. Complete health information will be contained in a patient’s electronic health record.
ADA.org: ADA News: Creating the dental piece of the EHR [1].

[1] http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=2642

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I have just returned from a meeting with Dentrix and many of the top consultants, speakers and researchers in the dental technology world. They showed us a sneek peak at a number of new products and updates which I will discuss in future posts.
However the most interesting aspect of the meeting was seeing the recent changes in the management team at Dentrix.
In the past few years the founders of Dentrix, Larry Gibson and Kimbal Wirig, have retired and Henry Schein has replaced them. Whenever there is a change of this significance it is difficult to predict the outcome.
I was very pleased to see that the new management team seems to be preserving the best part of the Dentrix culture and also moving ahead with improvements that are now possible with advanced technology. Dentrix aquired the Vision suite of products from Discus Dental. Thay have also changed the name of the division to Henry Schein Practice solutions. The future at Dentrix looks good. 

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The link below will take you to an online JADA article exploring 3D charting. It seems the concept is very exciting but the technology needs some refinement. Never the less what a cool idea.

Most current paper- and computer-based formats for patient documentation use a two-dimensional dental chart, a design that originated almost 150 years ago in the United States.
The feasibility of a three-dimensional charting interface for general dentistry — Schleyer et al. 138 (8): 1072 — The Journal of the American Dental Association [1].

[1] http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/abstract/138/8/1072

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