Dugoni School of Dentistry goes paperless

Jul 14, 2009

After more than a year of planning and development, the University of the Pacific (UOP) Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry has launched a new clinic information system called AxiUm.

The new system integrates multiple functions and processes across a wide range of departments within the dental clinics and the dental school as a whole, the university announced. It is part of a school initiative called the Future of the Clinic Information System.

In addition to the clinic information system, the project delivered a computer terminal, keyboard, and mouse to every operatory in the school's dental clinics in San Francisco. Union City and Stockton clinics will come on board in September 2009, the university said. On the back end, all information has been integrated into one secure system that is hosted in UOP's data center in Stockton.

Using AxiUm, UOP dental students are now able to pull up the entire patient chart chairside and enter all treatment information while the patient is present. The ability to easily pull up digital charts and radiographs will result in better supervision of care and more consistent processes across the school's various clinics, according to school officials.

Prior to the collaboration, 14 different clinics had 14 different sets of business rules, noted Richard Fredekind, D.M.D., associate dean for clinical services at dental school. "Centralization will lead us to more consistent work processes and more consistent performance across clinics. Consistency creates easier understanding for students and patients."

"This is an exciting step for our school's dental clinics and will benefit our entire community of patients, students, and faculty," said Patrick Ferrillo Jr., D.D.S., dean of the dental school. "Medical and dental clinics across the country are exploring ways to implement electronic health records, so we're glad to be staying on the forefront of this important issue. The new system will also give our students up-to-date experience working within a paperless office and using new forms of medical records technology."