Five Key Questions To Ask Your Dental Imaging Vendor

Five Key Questions to Ask Your Imaging Vendor?

‘Tis the time of year when you may be looking to invest in your practice and take advantage of the Section 179 Election to reduce 2018 taxes.  Here are five things to ask your potential vendor before purchasing crucial imaging hardware or software as part of a holiday shopping spree:

1.​Is your solution designed to be plug and play?

Vendors are in two camps today.  Those that sell closed proprietary systems and those that provideopen platforms.  You may be buying new hardware or upgrading your imaging software. In either case, you need to know if the new software system integrates with your existing hardware or will that new piece of hardware play nicely with your existing imaging software.  

This is especially important because high-quality hardware solutions are now available at significantly reduced costs . . . but only if you’re not locked into expensive premium brands. This trend will continue, and you want to be positioned to take advantage of new products, with advanced features, at the best value.  Ask “Do you integrate with everybody or only a select set of products?”

2.​Can you convert my existing data?

You don’t want to maintain two different imaging software systems for any significant period of time. Be sure that your potential vendor has expertise in merging x-rays, scans, photos, and templates from your legacy system, so you can manage all your images from a single database. A good database conversion service will maintain image quality and embedded information such as patient demographic data, tooth numbers and acquisition dates. Ask about the cost of conversion services, the time the conversion will require, and what steps the vendor takes to ensure that the conversion will not disrupt to office productivity.

3. ​What is your warranty or replacement policy?

Some companies sell hardware and some sell service.  It’s not uncommon to find two-yearwarranties included in hardware purchases – I’ve even seen three years offered in some cases. Be sure to find out if there are on-going monthly or yearly fees that come along with a specific imaging hardware purchase.

4.​How does your technical support work?

When your team needs support, you need to know they can pick up the phone and get timely and effective resolution.  In some cases, the company selling you hardware is reselling someone else’s software. That may be okay, but you should know if you’ll be working with someone else for support. Be sure you’ll have access to high quality first, second, and third level technical support from people that know the system top to bottom.  Also ask what associated fees for support will be - if you shop smartly you may be able to get six months to a year of support free of charge.

5.​What additional capabilities do I get with your hardware or software?

It's one thing to have a platform that will take and store your images. It’s entirely another matter as to whether that platform supports or improves your practice workflow. How easy is it to work with the data once it’s been acquired?  Is submitting images to insurance companies or running reportsstraight forward? Can information be easily forwarded to a specialist? If working with CBCT scans,is 3D viewing supported?  If you're on vacation and somebody needs a referral how easily can you access that data? If universal remote access is important a cloud-based solution may be of interest.  

The major imaging suppliers typically offer attractive year end specials. Here’s one (Holiday Sensor Special) that appears to check all the boxes, from Apteryx - the company that has developed about half of all the imaging software in the market (sold under 15 brand names including Xrayvision, Prof Suni, and Cliniview).

Shop Wisely and Have A Happy Holiday!