If You Struggle with Multi-Site Technology Difficulties, Read This 

Dental Practice Expanding through Mergers and Acquisitions? Here’s What You Need to Know… 

Whether you’re a new dentist or an experienced dentist looking to expand, mergers and acquisitions may be on your mind more than ever before. They’re happening more frequently than we’ve ever seen in the industry – and we’ve been working with dental practices for over two decades! Here’s the thing… Growth is an important part of your personal AND professional life. You want to positively impact more communities, provide a better lifestyle for your team and their families, and of course, become more profitable as time goes on.

We get that. That’s why we put together a guide for those who are buying or selling a dental practice. In that guide, we cover ten things to avoid costly missteps because let’s be real… Buying or selling a dental practice is a HUGE deal, especially when that dental practice has its own set of technology:

• Servers and computers
• Phone systems
• Network and Data Security
• Practice management systems
• Digital X-ray systems
• And much more

If you’re not prepared to make those systems work cohesively, you might be in for a much costlier endeavor than you originally planned. We typically recommend reaching out to schedule a technology audit so we can help you get ahead of any challenges that may come up during or after the sale.

But you can head over to that guide to learn more about that… In this article, we’ll be focusing on addressing the challenges that come along with owning multiple sites, and in turn, multiple technology environments.

What Multi-Site Technology Difficulties Exist?

If you’re the owner of multiple dental practices across various locations, one or more of the following will likely be relatable:

• You struggle with managing and maintaining various technologies at multiple different practice locations.
• You struggle with ensuring all employees, whether onsite or remote, have access to quality technology support.
• You struggle with handling multiple different technology vendors at each practice location.
• You struggle with standardization in terms of ensuring the same systems are available at each location.
• You struggle with data availability as employees can’t easily access and/or share information with one another.
• You struggle with keeping data secure as you have more entry points due to having multiple devices, networks, and internet connections across locations.

How Do You Resolve These Multi-Site Technology Difficulties?

If you’re purchasing another location or multiple locations, chances are, you love the business side of dentistry. After all, overseeing multiple locations is far different compared to working as a solo practitioner. Suddenly, you’re tasked with a lot more management duties than you were while you were the CEO of one location.

Step 1: Gather Technology Documentation 

First and foremost, resolving multi-site technology difficulties starts with assessing the environment at each location to gather details regarding:

1. Software and licenses
2. Equipment and network settings
3. Data storage and/or backup solutions
4. Access controls and/or cybersecurity measures
5. Vendor agreements
6. Technology support contracts

Keep in mind, no two practices are the same. You need to understand the technical details behind the operations within each practice. Then, it’s time to work toward standardization. Here’s our recommendations based on years of working with multi-site practice owners:

Step 2: Address Any Security Vulnerabilities 

Next, it’s time to address any security vulnerabilities that exist within any location. This is pertinent to preventing a data breach. This means each location should have a standardized cybersecurity approach that includes:

• Firewalls
• Anti-virus software
• Multi-factor authentication
• Intrusion prevention software
• Spam filtering
• Encryption

Step 3: Update Your Phone Systems

Now it’s time to ensure your phone system is multi-location friendly. This means team members can schedule patients, regardless what location they’re in. A cloud-based phone system is ideal as you can easily:

• Add or remove features within a user-friendly interface
• Use call forwarding, transferring, and other capabilities
• Pay roughly 54% less than traditional phone lines

Step 4: Invest in Cloud-Based Practice Management Software

If you’re not using cloud-based practice management software throughout all locations, it’s time to start. This makes it easy for anyone, anywhere to access what they need, whether they need to run some reports or find patient information. Cloud-based practice management software gives you the ability to:

• See the same information in the same format, no matter where you’re logging in from.
• Work after-hours or on the road with ease.
• Rest assured that your data is backed up and protected with built-in security measures.

Step 5: Adopt the Same Dental Technologies Across the Board

For dental technologies, such as x-rays, CAD/CAM software, and more, it’s helpful to have standardization across the board. If you’re not sure which systems to use and implement in all locations, you need guidance from a technology support company like our team that knows the industry inside and out.

Step 6: Make Sure Technology Support is Available for Everyone 

Lastly, make sure technology support is available for everyone, regardless of location. If your locations are spread apart geographically, you can still use the same technology support provider – and we recommend doing so because they will be able to standardize, secure, and support your environments much better and more cohesively. They can provide remote support as needed, and in the rare event that onsite support is needed, they can travel to the location in need.

Get Expert Dental Technology Guidance for ALL Your Locations…

NOVA Computer Solutions has over two decades of in-depth knowledge and experience assisting dental practices like yours. We provide professional IT support that takes into account the unique challenges you face – from standardizing multi-practice locations to ensuring HIPAA compliance. Get started now…

1. Book a meeting with our team of dental technology experts
2. Find out which IT services are right for you
3. Enjoy standardization that helps ALL of your locations thrive