We know that the UK is an incredibly litigious environment in which to practice dentistry. We know that much of our written record is there only to protect us in the case of a complaint. For any of us going back through notes from many years ago, we wish we had written more, even when the written notes may have surpassed the standards of their time.
The trend is to require more and more records, but in a busy practicing environment there is so little time to be able to make the written record an accurate representation of the complex and nuanced discussions that we have with our patients on a daily basis.
Dental Audio Notes uses technology to make that complete record. By having encrypted recording of the conversations and storing them securely for 11 years in a format that makes it easy to find and listen back to them, you can listen to the actual conversation that took place. You can reflect on whether that patient’s concerns are justified or not, and you can make decisions as to how to move forward from a fully informed position.
We envisage that by having this complete record, DAN will help to resolve complaints locally better. Because patients know if you are saying sorry whilst thinking “oh but I must have told them the risks, I always do,” or whether you are apologising because you genuinely feel that you could have made things more clear. On the other side, when the patient simply hasn’t remembered the conversation, what a lovely position to be in to be able to recall the entire discussion, and to resolve the situation amicably from there.
And because you’re not stressed about recording the information, you can instead concentrate on taking the time with the patient to ensure that they have understood the discussions about risks and alternatives in the depth and detail that they need.
