One advantage of digital work is developing routines and systems to improve our work as orthodontists and gain productivity. Augmented digital workflow helps us to alleviate routine tasks and redundant work. Once we establish a treatment plan, we can set it and forget it. But we must remember that workflows, office systems, and orthodontic processes should not follow the set and forget philosophy.
There can be a misunderstanding between automating work vs. setting work on autopilot. Automation is amazing. Autopilot brings risk and disappointment. Work to optimize instead of depending on autopilot to deliver results. Let’s review the two ways to approach your orthodontic digital workflow.
Measure
When we add digital workflows to our orthodontic work, we aim to improve what we do. What we measure, we can improve. Therefore, don’t set and forget your digital workflow. Track and measure its output and ensure it is helping you and delivering the best results. Sometimes we onboard a great new process, only to realize after measuring results that we need a new way to approach the problem to gain the best outcomes.
Update
Regular maintenance is important both for hardware, equipment, and digital workflow. Just like our equipment needs a tune-up regularly, our processes need care. Consider that digital work evolves, and there are continuing changes on software platforms and improvements in workflow. Updating your digital work is critical to improving and having the latest advances.
Sometimes doctors feel that once they have made the journey into digital work, they have reached the goal and can let things be. Unfortunately, constant improvement is key to improvements and a tenet of digital work. Think of what you used to do on your smartphone just a few years ago compared to today. The evolution of the hardware and the new applications available to us quickly change that workflow. In-kind, your orthodontic digital workflow should continually update.
