Joretta Beanland is the president of New Horizons Software.
Orthodontic Products: What products and services does New Horizons Software offer orthodontic practices?
Joretta Beanland: Our flagship product, OrthoExec® Advanced Series, is a fully integrated suite of expert, customizable features and tools that make practice management easier for front- and back-office staff in both single- and multioffice practices. There’s nothing “extra” to purchase to make things work the way you want them to. For example, many systems require third-party software to send automated text and e-mail reminders, or they charge for each message sent. Not OrthoExec. Our customers use our integrated OrthoMinder function to send reminders, recalls, even patient statements.
OrthoExec Advanced automates many daily tasks—patient check-in, patient reminders, payments, and insurance billing, to name just a few—as well as offering multiple built-in features such as customizable electronic treatment cards and charting, image and patient file storage, and a range of accounting and insurance reports.
Perhaps most important of all, we have a close relationship with our users, and we have deep orthodontic practice experience. We can put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and discuss ways that we can help them fine-tune their processes with OrthoExec. Because we are a smaller company, customization is truly customized and we can turn around results in short order.
OP: How can orthodontic practices benefit from these products and services?
JB: All practice-management systems have certain similar features, such as accounting, scheduling, and insurance-processing functions. However, OrthoExec has the capability of storing more information on each patient. The more areas you have to store information, the less paper you have to have in the office. All information is secure and quickly accessible.
Another included benefit is OrthoMC—the OrthoExec Market Center. Keep tabs on your referral base, understand your patient demographics, and help keep practice consulting costs down by tracking data and keeping it at your fingertips.
OP: What kind of customer support does NHS provide users?
JB: New Horizons Software is proud to offer the friendly, expert, 24/7 in-house technical support that has received customer accolades for over 23 years. Ninety percent of all calls are answered by a live person—someone who knows what they’re talking about—within three rings. Our customer service will assist with account audits, help to teach new staff how to use OrthoExec, clean up accounts and data, create custom mail merge letters, and more.
In addition to the 24/7 telephone support, our customers can get help online or sign up for webinars designed to help them get the most of out of OrthoExec Advanced. Woven throughout the webinars are ways to cut overhead and be more productive.
OP: Can your products be integrated into systems that practices already use?
JB: Absolutely. Even though OrthoExec has imaging and document storage capabilities, it allows seamless interface with major imaging systems. Clicking a button automatically opens the interfaced software displaying the selected patient’s information, as well as interfaces with several credit card and ACH processing systems.
OP: What do you see as the “next big thing” in orthodontic practice-management software?
JB: Software that successfully and intelligently integrates functions across all front- and back-office needs is no longer an option for today’s practice: It’s a must. We also see an increase in the ongoing move toward paperless offices, with a similar increase in technologies that allow doctors and patients to connect via digital and mobile devices versus traditional paper methods. Practice- management software that makes it easy for orthodontists to digitally track, manage, market, and communicate with patients will become increasingly vital.
We already have clients using mobile devices to access their data, and we expect many more. There are so many different configurations that a doctor can choose from to build specifically what he or she needs for their practice. The future holds more options.
For more information on this and other orthodontic companies, visit our online Buyer’s Guide.
More and more, patients want to be able to electronically communicate with their doctor. It’s vital that every practice have a web presence, allowing patients to look up their balance, pay online, find appointments, and directly communicate questions and concerns. NHS presently offers several Web presence solutions. More companies will be adding apps for their patients to communicate directly with the office.
Enhanced communication and interfacing is not just a fad; it’s vital and here to stay. And NHS has solutions and options to help.
