Patient feedback inspires orthodontist-developed Aligner Reminders to help doctors keep patients on track with treatment.
By Steven Martinez
Like many orthodontists, Rishi Popat, DMD, DMSc, of Popat Orthodontics in Phoenix, Ariz, says he enjoys the relationships he forms while treating patients. Known for his penchant for prominent bowties that also adorn the logo of his practice, Popat jokes that “To be honest, I don’t have many friends,” and when his patients come in for a check-up, he feels like it’s his time to hang out, catch up on their lives, and connect.
It was during these interactions that Popat was inspired to develop Aligner Reminders, a patient reminder/remote monitoring platform to help doctors keep patients on track during aligner treatment while also reducing the number of in-office visits.
Check-ins from a patient perspective
Aligner Reminders co-founder Ross Novotny is one of Popat’s friends and a former patient. He has a background in systems and automation and works with small businesses to streamline and automate their operations. Popat was treating Novotny’s children when his wife told him about the friendly orthodontist and suggested that he would like to talk to him.
“I remember my wife saying, I think you’re going to like Dr Popat,” says Novotny. “I think you guys will get along well, and sure enough, we did. We started off just chatting about business in general, but then I became a patient using Invisalign treatments.”
Knowing his background, Popat asked Novotny about his experience as a patient to see if he could provide any useful feedback. That’s when the topic of frequent check-ins came up. Novotny noted that the check-ins would last only 5 minutes, with Popat telling him that everything looked great in the end. But on the day of the appointment, he would have to leave work and drive over, and when all was said and done, he’d lose an hour or two just for Popat to tell him it was fine.
Popat says Novotny’s feedback inspired him, and the two began to work on a way to ensure the patient experience was positive while adhering to good treatment protocol.
“We were taught and trained in residency to see our patients every 8 weeks or so. They come in for a minute, just to make sure the aligner is sitting okay, and to make sure they’re tracking. [We] pat them on the back and say, we’ll see you in 8 weeks,” says Popat. “But I didn’t understand Ross’s perspective as a patient, like, oh yeah, this is a lot of time that he’s taken out of his schedule.”
READ MORE: Remote Monitoring Yields Practice Growth Benefits
Keeping patients on track
Aligner Reminders gets its name from the first function Popat and Novotny built into the platform; a system for reminding patients when to change to the next aligner. It’s a simple request, wearing an aligner for a certain number of days before switching to the next one. As Popat points out, patients often set up an automatic reminder for themselves through their smartphone calendar or reminders app, or they’ll write out the schedule on the box, but then life happens, and they forget. Or worse, they don’t wear their aligners as often as they should, so when it’s time to change to the next one, they can’t.
“It becomes a miscommunication for the patient and miscommunication for the practice, that they come back at that 12-week interval, and you say, ‘Hey, you’re done, right?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh no, I’m only at number four,’ and they’re supposed to be done,” says Popat.
Aligner Reminders allows the practice to set up regular reminders at intervals determined by the doctor that are sent out via email, text, or both. The message comes with a link the patient follows where they are required to take and upload a picture of their mouth with the aligners, which is time- and date-stamped, so the doctor can see if their treatment is progressing according to schedule. Practices can review the images and tell patients they’re doing a good job, or they can use them to document if a patient is not adhering to their end of the deal.
Popat explains that having this documentation is great when the orthodontist has to talk to a patient about compliance and why they aren’t done with treatment and instead doing another refinement. “A patient might ask why they’re on their 7th refinement, and you can go back to the images and show them that they are not wearing them. It’s about responsibility on the patient’s part, but also ensuring that the care is delivered,” he says.
Streamlining the treatment process
Patients using Aligner Reminders are given a cheek retractor and a set of instructions with sample images so they can understand what the photos should look like. Popat says he tried other methods, like specially designed imaging devices, but in practice, the simple method Aligner Reminders uses works perfectly to check how an aligner is seated and how attachments are tracking.
Every time a patient checks in, the practice is sent an email notification. In addition, the practice has access to an online dashboard to track which patients are doing their check-ins and which are not. Patients can also send a message with their check-in with any questions and concerns. The system is asynchronous, which Novotny says allows patients to do their check-ins whenever it is most convenient for them.
“Every morning, I just log in, check my emails, look at my Aligner Reminders dashboard, and see a list of all my patients, what aligner they’re on, who’s towards the finishing stage of treatment,” says Popat. “The front office also has a dashboard so that they can schedule appointments for patients that are almost done.”
When a practice signs up with Aligner Reminders, the backend can be customized with the practice’s branding and colors. The software is white-labeled, and, so as far as the patient is concerned, it’s all an extension of the practice.
Popat says the convenience of Aligner Reminders is a great selling point for patients and can make the practice seem “high-tech” and patient-focused. But patients only know what you tell them, and while having to come in less frequently is an obvious benefit for them, patients probably won’t realize it unless they’ve been through the process before. Popat likes to tell them how he and Novotny came up with the idea and developed it with the patient in mind. He also says that any practice using Aligner Reminders shouldn’t hesitate to use the story for their benefit.
“Other practices can also steal this story and say, ‘An orthodontist designed it,’ or ‘We developed it for our patients,’” says Popat. “If they want to take our story, that’s fine with us; we just want to make sure it helps, that it works, and that it’s working for their practice.”
Photo courtesy of Popat Orthodontics
