9/27/06
A biometric scanner, part of the new ViewPoint™ patient-management system, allows orthodontic patients to “sign in” with their fingerprints when they arrive for appointments. With the scanner, patients don’t speak to a receptionist, they simply touch a fingerprint keypad at the front desk, which is connected to a computer network that relays a message to the staff that the patient is waiting.
“If a patient waits for more than 15 minutes, the computer will flag that the patient has been waiting a long time,” says Billy Wiltshire, DDS, head of orthodontics at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
The ViewPoint patient-management system allows patients to access virtual dental records without having to refer to traditional paper charts. The technology will also eventually include access to digital dental x-rays.
[www.newswise.com, August 29, 2006]
