San Diego-based Dental Technology Provider Responds to National Study Revealing Gaps in Dental Specialist/Patient Care

    SAN DIEGO, CA, October 13, 2008/ 24-7 PressRelease/ -- DDS Ventures, Inc., a San Diego-based dental services company, today responded to a recent national survey on dentist-to-specialist referrals.

The study, released by Kelton Research on June 24, 2008 states that a startling one in two specialty referrals goes unfulfilled in the United States today. The survey indicates that lost and unfulfilled referrals adversely affect patients by presenting larger health concerns down the road and results in lost revenue for specialists, averaging anywhere from $953.00 to $4,150.00 every time a patient neglects to follow through on a specialty referral. DDS Ventures, Inc., dba ddsWebLink is a company very well versed in dentist-to-specialist and dentist-to-laboratory communications and contends that a method of accurate, predictable and effective communication among dentists and their care partners should be formally adopted by the dental industry as a whole.

"In many instances, dentists rely on the skills and expertise of specialists and dental laboratory technicians to provide care and services as part of an interdisciplinary treatment regimen. It's imperative that a collaborative dialogue, preferably in written form, is open and kept flowing from the moment a referral is made or a laboratory prescription submitted. When communication breaks down or members of the care team are not kept abreast of changes, updates and evolutions in the treatment plan, the course of care or outcome of a patient's case can become immediately compromised," states Ms. Kelly Frederickson, President of ddsWebLink. "Additionally, lack of written and concise instructions before, during and even after care presents legal risks of significant proportions, places unnecessary strain on referral relationships and can ultimately cause discontent among patients of record who are the dentist's primary source of new patients. Industry-specific technology solutions that help address and eliminate these concerns are readily available and have the potential to pay off in the first month of service. Dental professionals should consider embracing these applications just as the health, business and other sectors have done."

One such application, ddsWebLink offers a comprehensive solution unmatched by other vendors in this market sector. Unique and robust, this tool is the only one of its kind and allows dentists, specialists and dental laboratory professionals to consolidate their interdisciplinary case files into a single, centralized workspace for easy and optimal care coordination, information sharing and clinical case management. ddsWebLink was released in June, 2008 and already is being used in individual and group practices and dental laboratories, both large and small. It has also generated significant interest from non-profit dental clinics, dental schools and state-run foundations.

"Referrals and laboratory case requests where communication is informal and not well-documented is a risky business. Not only can it result in lost revenue from unfulfilled referrals as the Kelton Research study points out, it also increases the risk of loss due to malpractice litigation, and increases the probability of compromised relationships with referral partners. Dentists owe it to themselves to put a system in place that can help them avoid these costly outcomes," adds Ms. Frederickson. "It's important to point out that when communication breaks down it's the patients who suffer - and at ddsWebLink we're doing everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen."

To learn more about ddsWebLink and the benefits of online collaboration tools, please visit http://www.ddsWebLink.com.

About DDS Ventures, Inc.
ddsWebLink is subsidiary of DDS Ventures, Inc., a privately-held company headquartered in San Diego, California. The company is committed to helping dental professionals leverage the value of today's innovative technology via its progressive online service offerings and world-class educational programs.

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