DENTISTRY

The Robert W. Browne Orthodontics Clinic is the first of the School's clinics where patient information is now available electronically at chairside. Dr. Sunil Kapila (right), chair of the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, watches Dr. Scott Conley (left), who coordinated the department's transition to a paperless environment, retrieve a patient's records. Roger Gillie (center) led a Dental Informatics team that installed the hardware and software in the clinic.

In late July, the Robert W. Browne Orthodontics Clinic completed a transition from an environment where patient information, for decades, had been stored on paper to one that is now completely electronic.

The move is one of many technological initiatives in recent years

"This is a major milestone for the School," said Dr. Sunil Kapila, chair of the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, who said the paperless clinic would be a model as other clinics throughout the dental school become paperless in the future.

"Our faculty, residents, and staff are now able to electronically retrieve a wealth of information about our patients instead of having to sift through mounds of paper," he said.

"Every necessary piece of information about each patient," Kapila continued, "including his or her dental history, appointments, treatments, radiographs (x-rays), photographs, payment history, and more is now available at chairside."

The information is accessible at 27 computers in the clinic.

Being able to instantly retrieve information, Kapila added, will save valuable time, benefit patients, and help those providing oral health care.

Dr. Scott Conley, clinical assistant professor of dentistry, coordinated the Department's efforts with the School's Department of Dental Informatics.

Another Important "First" for U-M

However, there is another important "first" worth noting about the paperless clinic.

According to Roger Gillie, director of programming services in the School's Department of Dental Informatics, the School of Dentistry has become the first and only unit in the entire University of Michigan system that allows faculty members, since they have final authority for patient care, to access patient records using their university-approved identification card.

"They swipe the card in a slot near the computer monitor the same way they do when buying something at a store using a credit card," he said. "However, it's important to emphasize that there are security measures in place designed to prohibit unauthorized access."

Gillie and members of his team installed the hardware during a weekend in May and then tested the hardware and software, MiDent, for several weeks.

They also took advantage of new technology to minimize costs.

Behind each computer monitor is a "Mac mini" from Apple Inc. About seven inches square and two inches deep, the unit is the smallest desktop computer marketed by the company and can be used as a Mac or a Windows personal computer. "Their small size cuts down the need for counter space or storage space and cables too," Gillie said.