OK first post here
I'm looking to start from scratch in this lousy Economy!!! Would love to use a MAC and write my own ODMac OK im not too smart (opening from scratch LOL)
I may be lucky to get 500 new patients in 1st year. Should I consider OPEN DENTAL for any other reason than cost? I respect any and all feedback
Thanks in advance
Looking for Paperless system
Re: Looking for Paperless system
Cutting edge features, a very responsive developer,as well as a hightly scalable and stable program and outstanding support are others that come to mind.
You can't go wrong with Open Dental.
You can't go wrong with Open Dental.
Cheers,
Bill Starck, DDS
Big Idea Software, LLC
Developer, EASy(Electronic Anesthesia System) for Open Dental
817-807-1709
TX, USA
Bill Starck, DDS
Big Idea Software, LLC
Developer, EASy(Electronic Anesthesia System) for Open Dental
817-807-1709
TX, USA
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Rickliftig
- Posts: 764
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:50 pm
- Location: West Hartford, CT
- Contact:
Re: Looking for Paperless system
Robert - you've got the choir singing here! We are all avid fans of Open Dental - many of us are veterans of several decades of computer systems. It won't let you down. Should you ever need access to Open Dental's data structure, it is all available for you. Open Dental is very easy to administer on your own - many on the forum do their own IT.
Here's a suggestion - rather than a native Mac version of Open Dental, see if you can port a viewer to an Ipad app. IOW, we could all do our data entry on nice little Ipads in our offices. Several of us use a tablet (Windows XP and up), but they aren't as sexy. Then see if you can come up with an IPad app for the inexpensive intra-oral cameras that can be found on e-bay - (HK780). If you do that, you might just have re-invented your business model.
Now all that being said - some practical advice. You won't make your money in IT or program development (well maybe if your name is Jordan Sparks), but you will make money in dentistry. Use your extra time to get out into the community, visit schools, visit senior centers, visit and even join the Rotary Club, Lions or Kiwanis.I have read of several dentists who got their start-up going by visiting door-to-door in their neighborhood dropping off a card and maybe a small gift. Go to the Dentaltown website, look at their marketing section and/or do a search on new practices. There is a treasure trove of info there. Most of all - get a good website going.
Enjoy your new profession. I am a 32 year veteran. You'll never be super-rich, but you'll never be poor. You'll work hard for your money, but you can structure your practice however you want. And I guarantee you that it is NEVER boring.
best,
Rick
Here's a suggestion - rather than a native Mac version of Open Dental, see if you can port a viewer to an Ipad app. IOW, we could all do our data entry on nice little Ipads in our offices. Several of us use a tablet (Windows XP and up), but they aren't as sexy. Then see if you can come up with an IPad app for the inexpensive intra-oral cameras that can be found on e-bay - (HK780). If you do that, you might just have re-invented your business model.
Now all that being said - some practical advice. You won't make your money in IT or program development (well maybe if your name is Jordan Sparks), but you will make money in dentistry. Use your extra time to get out into the community, visit schools, visit senior centers, visit and even join the Rotary Club, Lions or Kiwanis.I have read of several dentists who got their start-up going by visiting door-to-door in their neighborhood dropping off a card and maybe a small gift. Go to the Dentaltown website, look at their marketing section and/or do a search on new practices. There is a treasure trove of info there. Most of all - get a good website going.
Enjoy your new profession. I am a 32 year veteran. You'll never be super-rich, but you'll never be poor. You'll work hard for your money, but you can structure your practice however you want. And I guarantee you that it is NEVER boring.
best,
Rick
Another Happy Open Dental User!
Rick Liftig, DMD FAGD
University of CT 1979
West Hartford, CT 06110
srick@snet.net
Rick Liftig, DMD FAGD
University of CT 1979
West Hartford, CT 06110
srick@snet.net
Re: Looking for Paperless system
Amen Rick!
Tom Zaccaria
drtmz Temple '71
Tom Zaccaria
drtmz Temple '71
Re: Looking for Paperless system
Go with OD...pay Jordan and his team for support and you will not be disappointed. Or...if you are a programmer, you can compile it yourself for no cost while you get your feet wet! I have experience with the two biggies out there (Dentrix and EagleSoft) and OpenDental is by far a better program. Don't be fooled by the lower cost. We used Dentrix for 12 years at my dad's practice and then when I joined 6 years ago we went with Open Dental; never looked back and love it!
Re: Looking for Paperless system
every other dentist that visits my office gets a no commission sales pitch by me to switch to OpenDental.
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RobertBiancoDDS
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue May 10, 2011 7:02 pm
Re: Looking for Paperless system
OK i'm sold on OD. Thanks to the forum and Dr Stark. Love that Anesthesia add on!
BUT I hate investing in Windows hardware. Will this run on Boot Camp? Meaning is anyone in the Forun doing it???
BUT I hate investing in Windows hardware. Will this run on Boot Camp? Meaning is anyone in the Forun doing it???
Re: Looking for Paperless system
bootcamp runs windows natively, as in Mac OSX isnt running at all during bootcamp, its as if you are using a 100% windows machine. It wont have any issues at all with OD. I run it through bootcamp when I verify my backups at home, works great... biggest issue for me is that bootcamp is very very flaky with booting into windows7 64bit, but that has nothing to do with OD.
Re: Looking for Paperless system
Robert,
Did I respond to your post previously? We use VMware Fusion. It works just fine. Keep the MacOS in the background. I like the MacOS and use MobileMe and Remote Desktop (from Apple) to manage my computers over the net and over the local network. Also, using OD inside a virtual machine means that if that particular VM is infected you can just toss it and copy it from another workstation. We have one octocore MacPro, 7 imacs and 4 dells. The Macpro serves as the repository for the SQL database. Also the Macpro is built with server class Xeon quad core CPUs so your MacPro never needs to be shut down.
Did I respond to your post previously? We use VMware Fusion. It works just fine. Keep the MacOS in the background. I like the MacOS and use MobileMe and Remote Desktop (from Apple) to manage my computers over the net and over the local network. Also, using OD inside a virtual machine means that if that particular VM is infected you can just toss it and copy it from another workstation. We have one octocore MacPro, 7 imacs and 4 dells. The Macpro serves as the repository for the SQL database. Also the Macpro is built with server class Xeon quad core CPUs so your MacPro never needs to be shut down.