Ask Marty: How does Lighthouse PLZ stack up against the other patient communication systems?

A: You cannot go wrong with the Lighthouse PLZ patient communication system from Lighthouse Practice Management Group.

I run it in my office, and it is great for managing recare and other aspects of patient communication -- electronic and otherwise.

When it comes to installing a system like this, the first thing you need to decide is what are the needs of the office? Do you have e-mail addresses already? Most offices will never achieve 100% e-mail addresses, so some other patient contact system has to be maintained as well.

Lighhouse PLZ automates your entire recare system, not just the electronic part. That is what sold me on the system from the start. When my office first implemented Lighthouse PLZ, we had zero e-mail addresses. So I needed a system that could handle both electronic and regular mail communications. This way, no matter what the patient's preference, the service can handle all of your recare needs. Currently, we have about 60% of the patients on our electronic recare system.

Lighthouse PLZ also sends postcards to new homebuyers in my area, along with letters to reactivate patients who we have not seen in a while. No one is ever forgotten. You can also use the system to survey your patients to see how your office is doing (we have actually made changes in my office based on survey results). And monthly electronic newsletters and related communication tools help you stay in contact with your patients.

The best part is that my office staff no longer has to make end-of-day reminder phone calls. A patient receives a reminder e-mail, confirmation telephone call, or text message. They can then confirm the appointment, and Lighthouse PLZ updates the information in my Dentrix appointment book. There have been days in our office where every patient has confirmed electronically.

Other companies offering similar services are Demandforce, Smile Reminder, Sesame Communications, and Dental Senders (Dental Senders is unique in that their electronic reminder system is advertising supported so it is free to the dental office).

All of these services offer advantages to a dental office. They are more efficient than any manual system could be. Review each one and choose the service that makes the most sense for you and your office.

Martin Jablow, D.M.D., is a practicing dentist and a self-professed technophile who lectures and blogs on a variety of technologies used in dentistry (dentechblog.blogspot.com). If you have a technology question for Dr. Jablow, e-mail it to us at [email protected]. If we use your question, you'll receive a $10 gift card from Amazon or Starbucks!

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