1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,980 Hi, everyone. Welcome to Becker's Healthcare podcast. 2 00:00:03,439 --> 00:00:05,279 I'm very excited for this episode. I have 3 00:00:05,279 --> 00:00:08,160 a very special guest today, Rob Jerome. He's 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,559 the senior vice president and chief digital officer 5 00:00:10,559 --> 00:00:12,960 at Heartland Dental. Rob, thanks so much for 6 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:13,779 joining us. 7 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:14,820 You're welcome. 8 00:00:15,425 --> 00:00:17,345 A lot to cover here. We we have 9 00:00:17,345 --> 00:00:19,425 a ton a ton of great questions for 10 00:00:19,425 --> 00:00:21,664 you, and a lot of things that certainly 11 00:00:21,664 --> 00:00:23,585 have an impact today in the industry itself. 12 00:00:23,585 --> 00:00:25,345 But before we get started, can you just 13 00:00:25,345 --> 00:00:26,804 give us a little bit of a background 14 00:00:26,864 --> 00:00:29,250 of your role, what you currently do, and 15 00:00:29,250 --> 00:00:31,089 just a little bit about your experience in 16 00:00:31,089 --> 00:00:31,989 in health care? 17 00:00:32,530 --> 00:00:34,929 Yeah. So, first, you can call me RJ. 18 00:00:34,929 --> 00:00:38,049 Everybody does. But, my my role so the 19 00:00:38,049 --> 00:00:40,609 chief digital officer role was created about three 20 00:00:40,609 --> 00:00:42,530 and a half years ago at Harland. And 21 00:00:42,530 --> 00:00:43,875 the way that I would describe it is 22 00:00:43,875 --> 00:00:46,435 the word digital is really important. And what 23 00:00:46,435 --> 00:00:47,335 it what it really 24 00:00:47,715 --> 00:00:49,335 refers to is digital transformation. 25 00:00:49,875 --> 00:00:52,274 And so Harland is a very high growth 26 00:00:52,274 --> 00:00:54,215 company. We are about a $4,000,000,000 27 00:00:54,755 --> 00:00:56,215 company. We support 28 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,700 almost 1800 dental practices across the United States. 29 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:00,740 And 30 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:02,420 as we've grown, 31 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,219 so has our need to evolve 32 00:01:05,599 --> 00:01:07,060 how we think about technology, 33 00:01:07,439 --> 00:01:08,900 how we implement technology. 34 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,200 And so my role was created to do 35 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:12,825 that. And I have a background. 36 00:01:13,364 --> 00:01:14,884 I was in the consulting in the software 37 00:01:14,884 --> 00:01:17,045 world for about 20 years, the better part 38 00:01:17,045 --> 00:01:18,104 of 21 years. 39 00:01:18,484 --> 00:01:18,984 And, 40 00:01:19,604 --> 00:01:21,765 Heartland was my customer. So I had this 41 00:01:21,765 --> 00:01:24,325 amazing opportunity to take all those experiences, how 42 00:01:24,325 --> 00:01:25,384 world class companies 43 00:01:25,844 --> 00:01:26,344 apply 44 00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:29,280 technology to solve for business problems, but also 45 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:29,780 opportunities 46 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:31,540 and come into Heartland, 47 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,099 and apply that experience in this role. 48 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,599 Yeah. And you've mentioned, obviously, so much 2 49 00:01:37,599 --> 00:01:38,099 decades, 50 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:41,280 in in this space, lots of developments within 51 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:41,935 that time frame. 52 00:01:42,814 --> 00:01:44,034 How have you seen 53 00:01:45,935 --> 00:01:46,435 technology 54 00:01:47,454 --> 00:01:50,034 change the way business is done 55 00:01:50,495 --> 00:01:52,495 within the dental world? And and what are 56 00:01:52,495 --> 00:01:54,015 some of those what are some of those 57 00:01:54,015 --> 00:01:55,954 changes that really have made a significant 58 00:01:56,255 --> 00:01:56,670 impact 59 00:01:57,469 --> 00:01:58,369 in your perspective? 60 00:01:58,989 --> 00:02:01,390 Yeah. Well what's interesting in those 2 decades 61 00:02:01,390 --> 00:02:02,909 or so, the majority of my time was 62 00:02:02,909 --> 00:02:04,829 not spent in health care. Not was mostly 63 00:02:04,829 --> 00:02:07,310 spent in manufacturing and distribution and frankly the 64 00:02:07,310 --> 00:02:09,090 public sector and the defense sector. 65 00:02:09,685 --> 00:02:11,224 But when I came into healthcare 66 00:02:12,564 --> 00:02:14,644 my observation was that there was this absolute 67 00:02:14,644 --> 00:02:18,185 massive opportunity for things like process automation 68 00:02:18,644 --> 00:02:19,144 standardization 69 00:02:20,405 --> 00:02:22,485 and Heartland is a company that really has 70 00:02:22,485 --> 00:02:24,959 led in those areas so for me I 71 00:02:24,959 --> 00:02:27,039 would say that that that you know an 72 00:02:27,039 --> 00:02:29,840 observation was that medical and dental specifically in 73 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:30,500 some cases 74 00:02:30,879 --> 00:02:32,580 trail from a technology perspective 75 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:34,019 other industries 76 00:02:34,479 --> 00:02:36,500 and so I just saw this massive opportunity 77 00:02:36,959 --> 00:02:39,044 to take the foundations of what Heartland has 78 00:02:39,044 --> 00:02:41,284 done from a technology perspective and just kind 79 00:02:41,284 --> 00:02:43,125 of maybe apply some of those lessons learned 80 00:02:43,125 --> 00:02:44,824 that other industries have have 81 00:02:45,125 --> 00:02:47,465 capitalized on and and apply to Heartland. 82 00:02:47,925 --> 00:02:49,925 Yeah. I just it's interesting because we were 83 00:02:49,925 --> 00:02:52,080 just coming off of our big, big dental 84 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:53,759 conference in Chicago, and a and a lot 85 00:02:53,759 --> 00:02:55,439 of the folks were saying or one of 86 00:02:55,439 --> 00:02:56,719 the one of the one of the quotes 87 00:02:56,719 --> 00:02:58,239 that really stuck with me was, like, yeah. 88 00:02:58,239 --> 00:02:59,759 Yeah. We're just coming out of the stone 89 00:02:59,759 --> 00:03:02,000 ages. We're just coming out of the we're 90 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,334 just starting to scratch the surface on what's 91 00:03:04,334 --> 00:03:06,254 possible with some of these technologies, which is 92 00:03:06,254 --> 00:03:06,995 really interesting, 93 00:03:07,454 --> 00:03:09,454 to me because I think one of the 94 00:03:09,454 --> 00:03:10,974 key things too is it's all about the 95 00:03:10,974 --> 00:03:13,134 patient. Right? It's making the experience better for 96 00:03:13,134 --> 00:03:15,830 the folks that come into the facilities themselves. 97 00:03:16,530 --> 00:03:20,210 How is this contributing to enhancing the patient 98 00:03:20,210 --> 00:03:20,710 experiences, 99 00:03:21,250 --> 00:03:23,750 and where have you seen those impactful outcomes 100 00:03:24,129 --> 00:03:24,629 yourself? 101 00:03:25,330 --> 00:03:27,250 Yeah. That's a that's a great question, and 102 00:03:27,250 --> 00:03:28,469 I would say there's probably 103 00:03:28,824 --> 00:03:30,844 50 ways that I can answer that question. 104 00:03:31,465 --> 00:03:32,905 I would say that when you think about 105 00:03:32,905 --> 00:03:34,824 Heartland and you think about our approach to 106 00:03:34,824 --> 00:03:35,324 technology, 107 00:03:35,704 --> 00:03:36,844 I'd say the foundation 108 00:03:37,144 --> 00:03:39,465 in everything that impacts our doctors and their 109 00:03:39,465 --> 00:03:41,164 teams and ultimately their patients 110 00:03:41,544 --> 00:03:43,620 goes back to, I'll say, our foundation of 111 00:03:43,620 --> 00:03:45,479 technology, which is really standardization. 112 00:03:45,860 --> 00:03:47,939 So, like, we have a standard practice management 113 00:03:47,939 --> 00:03:50,340 software system, which allows us to have all 114 00:03:50,340 --> 00:03:53,139 this this common data that we can then 115 00:03:53,139 --> 00:03:55,400 use to enable the dental practice. 116 00:03:55,699 --> 00:03:57,375 And so if I'm were to think about 117 00:03:57,375 --> 00:03:58,275 patient experience, 118 00:03:58,655 --> 00:04:00,094 I think about it through the lens of 119 00:04:00,094 --> 00:04:02,114 from the moment they walk into the door, 120 00:04:02,655 --> 00:04:04,814 through when they're in the chair, and when 121 00:04:04,814 --> 00:04:06,414 they leave. And when you think about some 122 00:04:06,414 --> 00:04:08,514 of the technologies that we've applied, 123 00:04:08,974 --> 00:04:10,354 somebody walks through the door, 124 00:04:10,729 --> 00:04:13,129 the business assistant could know say hey RJ's 125 00:04:13,129 --> 00:04:14,509 walking in and you know what 126 00:04:14,889 --> 00:04:16,509 he's coming in today for cleaning 127 00:04:16,810 --> 00:04:19,289 but 2 months ago he was in for 128 00:04:19,289 --> 00:04:21,769 Invisalign and there was a treatment plan was 129 00:04:21,769 --> 00:04:23,769 established for him but he never did anything 130 00:04:23,769 --> 00:04:25,449 with that let me have a conversation with 131 00:04:25,449 --> 00:04:25,949 RJ 132 00:04:26,250 --> 00:04:28,704 let me talk to him. And so if 133 00:04:28,704 --> 00:04:30,625 you think about that, we at the front 134 00:04:30,625 --> 00:04:32,785 end we've got the BA we're enabling them 135 00:04:32,785 --> 00:04:35,045 to have a better conversation with the patient, 136 00:04:35,185 --> 00:04:36,944 then they go to the chair and now 137 00:04:36,944 --> 00:04:39,125 when you think about things like artificial intelligence, 138 00:04:39,264 --> 00:04:40,245 clinical AI, 139 00:04:40,704 --> 00:04:43,000 now you've got the patient looking at a 140 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:43,500 screen 141 00:04:43,959 --> 00:04:46,680 with doctor and seeing things that the naked 142 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,240 eye can't see because artificial intelligence is more 143 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,959 effective than human eye when viewing x rays. 144 00:04:51,959 --> 00:04:53,560 So now you think about that patient. They're 145 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:55,420 like, wow, look at that. 146 00:04:55,805 --> 00:04:58,045 And that drives case acceptance and the patient 147 00:04:58,045 --> 00:04:59,645 is happier because they understand it then they 148 00:04:59,645 --> 00:05:01,404 go to leave and we think of when 149 00:05:01,404 --> 00:05:02,225 they go to leave. 150 00:05:02,845 --> 00:05:03,345 Okay, 151 00:05:03,805 --> 00:05:05,404 what do you care about the most? Well, 152 00:05:05,404 --> 00:05:06,524 okay, what do I owe you? What do 153 00:05:06,524 --> 00:05:08,125 I have to pay? So then you start 154 00:05:08,125 --> 00:05:10,444 to think about technologies associated with like insurance 155 00:05:10,444 --> 00:05:10,944 verification 156 00:05:11,310 --> 00:05:13,889 and eligibility. So when we think about technology 157 00:05:14,430 --> 00:05:16,290 and when I look at the most impact 158 00:05:16,430 --> 00:05:18,670 to the offices and impact to the patient, 159 00:05:18,670 --> 00:05:20,449 you gotta look at the whole system. 160 00:05:20,990 --> 00:05:22,430 Yeah. Those are the some of the things 161 00:05:22,430 --> 00:05:23,944 that we see. Yeah. Yeah. It's almost like 162 00:05:23,944 --> 00:05:26,425 a it's a symbiotic relationship. Everything works together. 163 00:05:26,425 --> 00:05:28,745 If one thing doesn't work, it affects the 164 00:05:28,745 --> 00:05:30,504 chain of things. I think that that's really 165 00:05:30,504 --> 00:05:32,345 key to it. It affects everything around the 166 00:05:32,345 --> 00:05:34,665 practice, I would assume. Absolutely. You can't look 167 00:05:34,665 --> 00:05:37,404 at technology in silos. We we are very, 168 00:05:37,699 --> 00:05:39,620 at Heartland focused on what we call our 169 00:05:39,620 --> 00:05:42,100 operation systems and we say systems, we're not 170 00:05:42,100 --> 00:05:44,019 talking about technology systems. We're talking about the 171 00:05:44,019 --> 00:05:46,040 things we know work in a dental practice. 172 00:05:46,339 --> 00:05:48,740 So then how do you apply technology to 173 00:05:48,740 --> 00:05:51,139 those systems? So along that I'll use the 174 00:05:51,139 --> 00:05:53,384 word value stream along with the steps in 175 00:05:53,384 --> 00:05:56,345 the process, where can technology enable that for 176 00:05:56,345 --> 00:05:58,345 both the patient, but also those doctors and 177 00:05:58,345 --> 00:06:00,745 those teams that are trying to do so 178 00:06:00,745 --> 00:06:03,224 many things on any given day. At the 179 00:06:03,224 --> 00:06:04,125 end of the day, 180 00:06:04,504 --> 00:06:06,745 their mission is to really provide world class 181 00:06:06,745 --> 00:06:07,564 patient care. 182 00:06:07,899 --> 00:06:09,740 Yeah. And and I was gonna touch on 183 00:06:09,740 --> 00:06:11,439 that too in the next step as well. 184 00:06:11,579 --> 00:06:14,379 How is is this piece, this technology piece 185 00:06:14,379 --> 00:06:15,199 also enabling 186 00:06:15,740 --> 00:06:16,959 the clinicians themselves, 187 00:06:17,339 --> 00:06:19,740 the doctors themselves? Right? Is it is it 188 00:06:19,740 --> 00:06:20,595 having an impact 189 00:06:21,074 --> 00:06:23,235 on on administrative burdens? We talk so much 190 00:06:23,235 --> 00:06:25,314 about burnout. We talk so much about how 191 00:06:25,314 --> 00:06:27,394 technology can help, how AI can help. How 192 00:06:27,394 --> 00:06:29,714 are you seeing that effect affect that as 193 00:06:29,714 --> 00:06:31,415 well in terms of workflows, etcetera? 194 00:06:32,274 --> 00:06:34,230 Yeah. So so I'll take a a macro 195 00:06:34,230 --> 00:06:36,310 view for a second, and then we'll talk 196 00:06:36,310 --> 00:06:38,470 about the the doctors and the doctors and 197 00:06:38,470 --> 00:06:40,870 their teams. You know, when you think about 198 00:06:40,870 --> 00:06:43,370 what it takes to operate a dental practice, 199 00:06:43,430 --> 00:06:45,589 our goal our goal is to remove the 200 00:06:45,589 --> 00:06:48,165 administrative burden. We want doctors to be doctors. 201 00:07:00,750 --> 00:07:02,029 So if the phone rings in the in 202 00:07:02,029 --> 00:07:03,949 the office and they can't get to the 203 00:07:03,949 --> 00:07:06,269 to the call, it goes to the, to 204 00:07:06,269 --> 00:07:07,170 patient services. 205 00:07:07,709 --> 00:07:08,209 And 206 00:07:08,509 --> 00:07:09,009 they 207 00:07:09,790 --> 00:07:12,610 they have about, I think, 4, 4,000,000 interactions 208 00:07:12,670 --> 00:07:14,209 a year. That's like 17,000 209 00:07:14,509 --> 00:07:17,144 or 18,000 a day. And when you think 210 00:07:17,144 --> 00:07:20,024 about that, that results in like 12,000 new 211 00:07:20,024 --> 00:07:23,004 patient schedules a week. Now what's my point? 212 00:07:23,144 --> 00:07:24,284 Yeah. We have technologies 213 00:07:24,664 --> 00:07:27,224 that's called like proximity scheduling. So when that 214 00:07:27,224 --> 00:07:30,204 call comes in and that that PSR representative, 215 00:07:30,425 --> 00:07:32,610 a screen will come up And if they're 216 00:07:32,610 --> 00:07:34,370 trying to get a patient in to see 217 00:07:34,370 --> 00:07:36,529 a dentist, see a doctor, and they can't 218 00:07:36,529 --> 00:07:38,449 in their primary location based on a map, 219 00:07:38,449 --> 00:07:39,810 we'll say, well, hey. There's these two other 220 00:07:39,810 --> 00:07:41,990 offices, Heartland offices that have openings. 221 00:07:42,449 --> 00:07:44,610 And so how does that help? That's helping 222 00:07:44,610 --> 00:07:47,935 fill schedules, and that that's helping where where 223 00:07:47,935 --> 00:07:50,175 we're trying to get new patients in. We're 224 00:07:50,175 --> 00:07:52,414 trying to, have our doctors be able to 225 00:07:52,414 --> 00:07:55,074 provide that patient care. They wouldn't know that. 226 00:07:55,214 --> 00:07:57,454 And so for us, we can facilitate that 227 00:07:57,454 --> 00:07:59,535 not just for one dental practice, but among 228 00:07:59,535 --> 00:08:02,279 the community of dental practices at Heartland. That's 229 00:08:02,279 --> 00:08:04,139 just one little example there. 230 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:06,199 But when you think about if you go 231 00:08:06,199 --> 00:08:07,180 into the office, 232 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:09,800 think about the BA behind that the counter. 233 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:11,159 The person you go and you talk to 234 00:08:11,159 --> 00:08:12,360 when you go in and they take your 235 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:13,879 insurance card, you know what I'm talking about. 236 00:08:13,879 --> 00:08:15,975 They they have very high turnover in that 237 00:08:15,975 --> 00:08:18,055 role and the person that's that is serving 238 00:08:18,055 --> 00:08:19,115 in the BA role, 239 00:08:19,735 --> 00:08:21,334 could have been working in retail the week 240 00:08:21,334 --> 00:08:23,514 before. They don't necessarily have a clinical background. 241 00:08:24,935 --> 00:08:26,555 They touch literally 242 00:08:27,014 --> 00:08:29,355 over 30 different technology systems. 243 00:08:30,009 --> 00:08:32,910 So what did Heartland do? We've consolidated that 244 00:08:33,049 --> 00:08:36,110 into what we call a common digital experience 245 00:08:36,649 --> 00:08:38,990 and so we've got a consolidated view 246 00:08:39,529 --> 00:08:42,750 of those applications. So we've simplified the job 247 00:08:43,144 --> 00:08:44,745 And so if you think about that, we 248 00:08:44,745 --> 00:08:46,585 remove the burden. They don't have to go 249 00:08:46,585 --> 00:08:48,825 to 15 websites. They don't have to go 250 00:08:48,825 --> 00:08:51,304 to portals. They just go to this one 251 00:08:51,304 --> 00:08:54,605 view that is aligned to a Heartland system. 252 00:08:54,664 --> 00:08:55,164 Schedule, 253 00:08:55,529 --> 00:08:56,750 produce, collect. 254 00:08:57,289 --> 00:08:58,990 And then when you think about the doctor 255 00:08:59,129 --> 00:09:00,429 and you talk about AI, 256 00:09:01,049 --> 00:09:03,529 now you've got and and and we are 257 00:09:03,529 --> 00:09:05,370 doctor led. So we have to be very 258 00:09:05,370 --> 00:09:07,289 clear that we don't see clinical AI as 259 00:09:07,289 --> 00:09:09,850 like replacing the doctor or things or overriding 260 00:09:09,850 --> 00:09:11,865 them. No. The doctor makes the decision. 261 00:09:12,404 --> 00:09:15,384 But the doctor now has this augmented capability 262 00:09:16,245 --> 00:09:18,964 to facilitate a conversation with the with the 263 00:09:18,964 --> 00:09:19,464 patient 264 00:09:19,924 --> 00:09:22,024 about about their dental care. 265 00:09:22,899 --> 00:09:24,580 And so you got to think about it 266 00:09:24,580 --> 00:09:26,500 holistically, but those are a few examples as 267 00:09:26,500 --> 00:09:28,120 to how we kind of remove the burden 268 00:09:28,259 --> 00:09:30,440 and we simplify the roles, but we also 269 00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:32,279 we focus on our core, 270 00:09:32,899 --> 00:09:34,820 our vision to be a world class company 271 00:09:34,820 --> 00:09:36,040 and the leader in dentistry 272 00:09:37,034 --> 00:09:39,695 by empowering those in the office to be 273 00:09:39,754 --> 00:09:40,254 doctors. 274 00:09:41,754 --> 00:09:43,674 Yeah. And I think that that's really the 275 00:09:43,674 --> 00:09:46,475 key piece is, again, focusing on being a 276 00:09:46,475 --> 00:09:48,554 doctor and then being able to carry that 277 00:09:48,554 --> 00:09:51,115 over to over to the patient and and 278 00:09:51,115 --> 00:09:53,190 really improve the patient experience. I think that 279 00:09:53,190 --> 00:09:54,870 that's really the the key piece is being 280 00:09:54,870 --> 00:09:57,470 able to improve the patient experiences along those 281 00:09:57,829 --> 00:09:58,329 along 282 00:09:58,789 --> 00:10:01,029 improving the experience for for the doctors as 283 00:10:01,029 --> 00:10:02,789 well. And I I want you to elaborate 284 00:10:02,789 --> 00:10:05,289 a little bit on on your role specifically 285 00:10:06,945 --> 00:10:09,044 as Heartland Dental, as an organization, 286 00:10:10,144 --> 00:10:10,644 really. 287 00:10:11,345 --> 00:10:13,924 What are you hearing from dentists on 288 00:10:14,865 --> 00:10:15,365 why 289 00:10:15,745 --> 00:10:18,225 having you folks and working with you is 290 00:10:18,225 --> 00:10:18,964 an advantage? 291 00:10:20,059 --> 00:10:22,220 And you mentioned, obviously, the the workflow piece 292 00:10:22,220 --> 00:10:23,980 and the the the pieces where you're able 293 00:10:23,980 --> 00:10:25,820 to make a difference for them. But why 294 00:10:25,820 --> 00:10:27,500 do they why should they work with you? 295 00:10:27,500 --> 00:10:28,700 Why do they want to work with you? 296 00:10:28,700 --> 00:10:30,300 And what have you heard from practices that 297 00:10:30,300 --> 00:10:32,634 already have you in in the offices that 298 00:10:32,634 --> 00:10:35,075 really work with you, on a detailed basis? 299 00:10:35,855 --> 00:10:37,455 Yeah. So I I think the first thing 300 00:10:37,455 --> 00:10:38,735 I would say in regard to that is 301 00:10:38,735 --> 00:10:40,894 is our size and scale. We we are 302 00:10:40,894 --> 00:10:41,955 the largest DSO, 303 00:10:42,894 --> 00:10:44,195 and and 304 00:10:44,575 --> 00:10:47,215 that size and scale allows us to, I'll 305 00:10:47,215 --> 00:10:49,980 say, leverage relationships with technology providers. We have 306 00:10:49,980 --> 00:10:51,919 a lot of influence in the industry, so 307 00:10:52,059 --> 00:10:53,039 we're in a position 308 00:10:53,340 --> 00:10:55,340 to be able to support doctors and their 309 00:10:55,340 --> 00:10:57,039 teams more effectively than others. 310 00:10:57,340 --> 00:10:59,580 I also think that going back to what 311 00:10:59,580 --> 00:11:01,834 I said earlier that we're doctor led, we 312 00:11:01,834 --> 00:11:04,414 don't do technology for the sake of technology. 313 00:11:04,554 --> 00:11:06,554 That in my view is a is a 314 00:11:06,554 --> 00:11:08,954 recipe for disaster. So that everything that we 315 00:11:08,954 --> 00:11:09,454 do 316 00:11:09,834 --> 00:11:12,154 is intended to make their lives easier. And 317 00:11:12,154 --> 00:11:14,309 we never forget that what what is the 318 00:11:14,309 --> 00:11:16,550 the the what is the business that we're 319 00:11:16,550 --> 00:11:18,809 in to support doctors and their teams? 320 00:11:19,110 --> 00:11:20,790 So I I would I would say that 321 00:11:20,790 --> 00:11:22,070 if you were to talk to some of 322 00:11:22,070 --> 00:11:22,970 our our doctors, 323 00:11:23,350 --> 00:11:25,269 they would get very excited about things like 324 00:11:25,269 --> 00:11:26,745 artificial intelligence, and us 325 00:11:27,464 --> 00:11:30,424 now working on automating the revenue cycle, like 326 00:11:30,424 --> 00:11:32,044 with insurance payment automation 327 00:11:32,745 --> 00:11:33,065 and, 328 00:11:33,705 --> 00:11:35,565 real time insurance, verification. 329 00:11:36,264 --> 00:11:38,985 They'll celebrate things like that. What they may 330 00:11:38,985 --> 00:11:41,144 or may not know is that in in 331 00:11:41,144 --> 00:11:44,129 cases like AI, that was studied for the 332 00:11:44,129 --> 00:11:46,210 better part of 5 years by our clinical 333 00:11:46,210 --> 00:11:47,830 team before we did a massive 334 00:11:48,290 --> 00:11:50,690 rollout. So my point is that we're very 335 00:11:50,690 --> 00:11:51,190 purposeful. 336 00:11:51,809 --> 00:11:54,129 We're we are an entrepreneurial company, we will 337 00:11:54,129 --> 00:11:55,029 take risk, 338 00:11:55,649 --> 00:11:56,710 but we're protective 339 00:11:57,545 --> 00:11:59,545 of the relationships that we have with our 340 00:11:59,545 --> 00:12:01,004 doctors because they 341 00:12:01,785 --> 00:12:04,024 they have to provide world class patient care, 342 00:12:04,024 --> 00:12:06,184 and they have to maintain the relationships with 343 00:12:06,184 --> 00:12:08,845 their patients. We don't wanna Yeah. Introduce risk 344 00:12:09,305 --> 00:12:11,945 by being reckless or doing technology for the 345 00:12:11,945 --> 00:12:12,764 sake of technology. 346 00:12:13,490 --> 00:12:15,409 Yeah. Absolutely. And you mentioned sort of the 347 00:12:15,409 --> 00:12:18,049 the rollout process. Right? Looking at things in 348 00:12:18,049 --> 00:12:20,209 detail. Hey. We we spent 5 years looking 349 00:12:20,209 --> 00:12:21,889 at this before we rolled this out for 350 00:12:21,889 --> 00:12:23,509 you to have access to it. 351 00:12:23,889 --> 00:12:26,324 It is a longer process itself. And what 352 00:12:26,324 --> 00:12:28,004 are you seeing sort of as the next 353 00:12:28,004 --> 00:12:30,105 big thing? Where are you seeing this going? 354 00:12:30,485 --> 00:12:33,204 Certainly everybody talks about AI and how AI 355 00:12:33,204 --> 00:12:35,784 will be more intelligent and become more intelligent. 356 00:12:35,924 --> 00:12:37,605 Right? But what do you what do you 357 00:12:37,605 --> 00:12:39,044 see as the next big thing? What are 358 00:12:39,044 --> 00:12:40,804 you excited about as as you look at 359 00:12:40,804 --> 00:12:41,464 this space? 360 00:12:41,980 --> 00:12:45,039 I'm extremely excited about, I'll say, the advancement 361 00:12:45,179 --> 00:12:48,559 in technology regarding automation of of the revenue 362 00:12:48,620 --> 00:12:50,539 cycle. And that's kind of a nebulous term, 363 00:12:50,539 --> 00:12:53,259 but for us, it's really the insurance payment 364 00:12:53,259 --> 00:12:53,759 automation 365 00:12:54,379 --> 00:12:55,419 like electronic remittance advice and and and, electronic 366 00:12:55,419 --> 00:12:56,240 payments automating 367 00:12:56,774 --> 00:12:57,914 advice and, 368 00:12:58,774 --> 00:13:01,434 electronic payments automating that. You would be shocked 369 00:13:01,815 --> 00:13:03,195 at how many dental practices 370 00:13:03,575 --> 00:13:06,315 literally have stacks of checks mailed to them, 371 00:13:06,934 --> 00:13:09,339 that are then reconciled and posted. So So 372 00:13:09,339 --> 00:13:10,700 that would be 1, and the other would 373 00:13:10,700 --> 00:13:13,679 be the verification of insurance. There's been significant 374 00:13:14,139 --> 00:13:16,940 improvements in technologies that allow for real time 375 00:13:16,940 --> 00:13:17,419 and accurate 376 00:13:17,980 --> 00:13:19,580 there's 2 ways to look at that, accuracy 377 00:13:19,580 --> 00:13:22,059 and completeness of verification of insurance, and we're 378 00:13:22,059 --> 00:13:24,960 studying all of those things now. I'm super 379 00:13:25,034 --> 00:13:26,875 excited about that because I think I think 380 00:13:26,875 --> 00:13:29,274 it's time. And I think the technology and 381 00:13:29,274 --> 00:13:31,595 capabilities have evolved and we can effectively solve 382 00:13:31,595 --> 00:13:33,454 for that. That will remove a massive 383 00:13:34,154 --> 00:13:35,855 administrative burden on the offices. 384 00:13:36,475 --> 00:13:38,350 And the the other opportunity I would say 385 00:13:38,350 --> 00:13:40,750 is in generally in generative AI, and people 386 00:13:40,750 --> 00:13:42,350 throw that term around and use it and 387 00:13:42,350 --> 00:13:44,750 use chat GPT. And there's all these technologies 388 00:13:44,750 --> 00:13:46,669 out there, but that that is I would 389 00:13:46,669 --> 00:13:48,669 argue that we are in the middle of 390 00:13:48,669 --> 00:13:49,329 a technology, 391 00:13:50,189 --> 00:13:50,654 shift, 392 00:13:51,134 --> 00:13:52,415 not in the beginning of it. People like 393 00:13:52,415 --> 00:13:54,095 to say, well, that's new. Well, it's it 394 00:13:54,095 --> 00:13:55,855 it may seem new, but it's we use 395 00:13:55,855 --> 00:13:57,935 it every day already. And so when we 396 00:13:57,935 --> 00:13:59,394 think of generative AI 397 00:13:59,774 --> 00:14:02,335 beyond, like, clinical applications, when you think of 398 00:14:02,335 --> 00:14:04,355 things like how we process invoices, 399 00:14:05,055 --> 00:14:08,480 how we perhaps could introduce AI agents into 400 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:09,940 the that call center 401 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:12,419 when we think about how we could introduce 402 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,959 AI agents into that those applications that the 403 00:14:14,959 --> 00:14:17,759 BAs use, making it easier. I have I 404 00:14:17,759 --> 00:14:19,919 have an operations partner. I I love when 405 00:14:19,919 --> 00:14:21,375 she says this. It's RJ. I just wanna 406 00:14:21,375 --> 00:14:22,674 ask the system a question. 407 00:14:23,455 --> 00:14:25,855 So making it easier for people to do 408 00:14:25,855 --> 00:14:26,514 their job. 409 00:14:27,375 --> 00:14:29,154 Automated claims narratives 410 00:14:29,455 --> 00:14:31,774 through artificial intelligence. So think about that. If 411 00:14:31,774 --> 00:14:32,914 you do that well, 412 00:14:33,460 --> 00:14:36,100 now you're developing a a narrative automatically that 413 00:14:36,179 --> 00:14:39,700 so what perhaps that will, reduce rejections of 414 00:14:39,700 --> 00:14:40,200 claims. 415 00:14:40,740 --> 00:14:42,820 And so there's all of these things that 416 00:14:42,820 --> 00:14:45,460 generative AI will apply to, whether it be 417 00:14:45,460 --> 00:14:47,720 on the back end from an administrative perspective 418 00:14:48,174 --> 00:14:49,634 or actually in the office. 419 00:14:50,174 --> 00:14:52,254 I'm super excited about that and we we 420 00:14:52,254 --> 00:14:52,995 have a, 421 00:14:53,295 --> 00:14:55,315 I believe in an obligation 422 00:14:55,934 --> 00:14:57,715 to think about how we will use generative 423 00:14:57,774 --> 00:14:59,634 AI effectively, but also responsibly. 424 00:15:00,495 --> 00:15:03,075 Patient data is something we take extremely seriously 425 00:15:03,740 --> 00:15:05,659 And so we we we need to make 426 00:15:05,659 --> 00:15:07,839 sure that we're continuing to protect that data. 427 00:15:08,779 --> 00:15:10,620 Yeah. It's I agree. And that's why I 428 00:15:10,620 --> 00:15:13,120 I think your process of saying, hey. This 429 00:15:13,579 --> 00:15:15,500 we have a rollout process. Right? We're not 430 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:16,720 just giving you something. 431 00:15:17,045 --> 00:15:18,485 You're not just gonna get something that I 432 00:15:18,485 --> 00:15:20,485 think is great here. Use it. There's a 433 00:15:20,485 --> 00:15:23,045 process involved. We're not gonna just give you 434 00:15:23,045 --> 00:15:25,365 something that's not refined, that's not at a 435 00:15:25,365 --> 00:15:27,125 place where I would want to use it 436 00:15:27,125 --> 00:15:29,524 myself as a user. I think that's that's 437 00:15:29,524 --> 00:15:31,205 really key. And as you mentioned, so many 438 00:15:31,205 --> 00:15:33,870 opportunities there. I think we could, probably keep 439 00:15:33,870 --> 00:15:35,789 going here for another hour or so, and 440 00:15:35,789 --> 00:15:37,789 I certainly have more questions, which, RJ, that 441 00:15:37,789 --> 00:15:39,550 just means you'll have to come back. That's 442 00:15:39,710 --> 00:15:41,649 I think I love to come back. 443 00:15:42,029 --> 00:15:43,250 We'll just have to elaborate, 444 00:15:43,870 --> 00:15:45,549 again, and I wanna thank you for your 445 00:15:45,549 --> 00:15:47,309 time, certainly. I wanna thank you for joining 446 00:15:47,309 --> 00:15:48,884 us today. I think this is a very 447 00:15:48,884 --> 00:15:51,304 insightful conversation. Thanks so much for being here. 448 00:15:51,445 --> 00:15:54,245 You're welcome. Absolutely. RJ, thanks again for joining 449 00:15:54,245 --> 00:15:55,865 me, and I want to thank our listeners 450 00:15:56,084 --> 00:15:58,404 for joining us today and certainly Heartland Dental 451 00:15:58,404 --> 00:16:01,365 for sponsoring today's podcast. Make sure to check 452 00:16:01,365 --> 00:16:03,467 out our other podcast on our site, and 453 00:16:03,467 --> 00:16:05,007 we'll see you again soon.