Patient & Practionner
It’s hard not to notice a change in the way we consume goods and services.
The consumer industry has shifted toward a consumer centric approach trying to better understand and fulfill their clients’ needs and expectations.
A growing number of our patients are trying to transpose the experience they have in the consumer market to healthcare. On the other hand, healthcare professionals are still largely underprepared to respond to this transition where patients want to take more responsibility.
Does consumer choice belong in dental care? Are we facing consumers or patients? These are some of the questions that are being raised.
As Gordon Moore, John A. Quelch and Emily Boudreau, explain in their book « Choice matter », a person seeking medical care can be « a patient and consumer simultaneously ».
To understand the needs of our dental care seekers better, we should address the question of their needs in both ways.
What do our patients want ?
Compassion, listening and state of the art dental care.
What does our healthcare consumer want ?
To manage and plan their spending better.
Transparency by being able to access their data.
Understand treatment options, as many different health philosophies start to coexist. These are driven by increased controversies between big pharma industries and the traditional approach.
What does this new behavior bring to healthcare ?
This will mostly lead to a better healthcare system, as patients partnering with doctors and participating in their treatments will be willing to carry out essential steps to decrease risk factors, by for example improving their lifestyle.
They will also certainly value a preventive approach, as these have often been proven to be more efficient and cost effective.
How will dentists benefit from this approach ?
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It will enable a far better practice with good long term results, as well as a greater impact on the overall patient health. This will bring the dentist back as a medical player.
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Better interaction with our patients will create a relation of trust and respect, as opposed to fear and doubt. This will undoubtedly improve dentists’ working conditions and well-being.
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A competitive advantage over other practitioners that promotes only traditional curative dentistry. Introducing new diagnostic and treatment strategies will broaden patient choice and ultimately bring patients ready to participates and invest in their health to our practices.
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OralNext understands these changes and needs, and are working to make this transition simple and efficient for the dentists by providing tools and guidelines.
Introducing OralNext’s unique web platform called the “cockpit,“ which will help practitioners easily store and exchange data with patients, thereby increasing transparency, trust, patient empowerment and overall treatment acceptance.
As part of the overall community for a better dentistry, OralNext’s mission is to communicate with patients and bring them together with dentists that share theses values.
