Protecting Your Most Valuable Assets
Bob Dokhanchi, DDS, discusses his experience with Dentrix Ascend and why the future of dentistry inevitably entails a move to the cloud
Patient health records contain a wealth of personally identifiable information, making them a prime target for hackers who profit off the illegal sale of this data. To put things in perspective, over 93% of healthcare organizations have reported a security breach of some kind in the last 5 years, with the number of incidents each year trending upward (since the COVID-19 pandemic began, cyberattacks against healthcare providers have risen a staggering 150%). In September 2020, one DSO suffered a massive data breach in which over a million patient health records were compromised.
Based on these trends, it’s easy to see how, for under-secured practices that have yet to experience a data breach, it’s likely not a matter of “if” but “when.” Dr. Bob Dokhanchi, owner of Fox Valley Dental Care in Aurora, IL, and an avid technology enthusiast with a background in software development, tells DPS that he’s heard of fellow dentists paying “anywhere from $10,000 to $80,000” to recover data stolen in a ransomware attack. The answer to this threat, he says, lies in the cloud.
Cloud-based practice management software like Dentrix Ascend from Henry Schein One offers a way for dentists to secure one of their most valuable assets—their data—by moving it off-site and out of reach of hackers. With Dentrix Ascend, you can remotely access your data from any location, at any time, with the peace of mind that comes with knowing it is protected by a company that has the resources to keep it truly safe. “It’s the way of the future,” Dr. Dokhanchi says. “Every industry is going to the cloud. And the sooner you do it, the better.”
A Safe Bet for Security
Dr. Dokhanchi first became a Dentrix Ascend user when he moved his office to a new location and more than doubled the number of computers used in his practice. Even with his extensive tech knowledge, he knew he would still need the help of a dedicated IT company to manage this larger network and ensure the security of his data. “I realized then that I could save money by using the cloud to store my data,” he explains. “Every dentist saves money if they go to the cloud.”
As for why Dr. Dokhanchi chose Dentrix Ascend over other cloud service providers, for one, he appreciated their inclusion of what he calls “one of the best imaging modules available,” a feature that proved invaluable during the pandemic as he could access x-rays and other dental images from home. He also points to Henry Schein One’s proven track record: with smaller, less-experienced companies, you run the risk of “[becoming] a beta tester for them” or that they will eventually “disappear” altogether. But Dentrix Ascend has been around for over 7 years, and Henry Schein One, a trusted partner to dentists far longer than that. “In case something happens—a data center goes down or a breach somehow occurs,” Dr. Dokhanchi says, “Henry Schein One proactively works to protect against cyberattacks, and the company has the resources to address that.”
“It will be the best decision you have ever made in your dental business career.”
- Bob Dokhanchi, DDS
Convenience and Cost Savings
In addition to running his practice, Dr. Dokhanchi manages “Dentistry in General,” a private, dentist-exclusive Facebook group that he started as a way for Chicago-area practitioners to support one another during the pandemic. While the group began with just 50 local dentists, 18 months later, it boasts a membership of nearly 3,500 dentists from across North America. “As we speak, there is a huge discussion going on in the group about cloud computing,” he tells us. Outside of security, the two biggest hesitations dentists have surrounding the move to the cloud are “speed” and “cost.” Addressing the first concern, Dr. Dokhanchi explains that all a practice needs is “a good internet connection,” which, for most modern offices, is already a given—Dentrix Ascend takes care of the rest.
Regarding the question of cost, he says “what many don’t realize is that Dentrix Ascend is a bundled package.” Thanks to the many services available through Dentrix Ascend with just a single monthly payment, Dr. Dokhanchi was able to not only shed his office storage server and minimize the need for outside IT services, but also eliminate hundreds of dollars in monthly fees for third-party appointment reminders and insurance claims submissions. “To ensure security at your location,” he notes, “you’ll still need an IT company that can implement a hardware firewall with a live subscription. This will provide scans of incoming and outgoing data, constant monitoring and reporting, as well as end-user antivirus protection. But competent dental cloud software like Dentrix Ascend will cover 80–85% of your IT needs, significantly reducing your expenses.”
The Best Decision You Can Make
Given the security, convenience, and cost savings provided by Dentrix Ascend, Dr. Dokhanchi believes this cloud-based solution should be a “no-brainer” for practices. For dentists worried about the learning curve inherent to any new technology, he offers this advice: “Be patient—it’s going to be fine, and it will be the best decision you have ever made in your dental business career.”
This article is sponsored by Henry Schein One
