Communication has become easy, accessible, and free of time limits. Individuals aren’t the only people benefiting from instant and frequent communication. These communication developments have helped foster dentist and patient relationships as well.

But like other technological advancements, there are positives and drawbacks to these as well. Keep reading to learn about some of the dos and don’ts you need to practice while having a dentist-patient email communication.

Let’s explore.

DO: Consider Legal Constraints

The healthcare industry has several legal constraints in regard to practice, behavior, and provisions. Communication between patient and doctor is also subjected to several guidelines from HIPAA. They require a doctor or a healthcare provider to protect any electronic communication with the patient.

A doctor needs to constantly remind their patient about guidelines and how they need to ensure their own safety when communicating with doctors around the world.

DO: Provide Updates About the Office

A person typing on their laptop.

Patients wait a long time before they can secure an appointment with their healthcare providers, so it’s important that you take some time out and send emails updating them about office hours and the clinic’s availability.

If you’ve got a busy day, or your schedule has to change last-minute, make sure you personally email all your appointments about the schedule change.

Don’t: Let Emails of Recipients Be Visible to All

Don’t add all your patients or correspondents to the recipient line. Instead, make sure you send the email to multiple patients by adding them to the BCC list. These help keep the email addresses of multiple patients safe and hidden from others.

Not only does this reduce information theft, but can also keep you out of any legal drama that can harm the clinic. You can even employ some IT security services for dental practices for accuracy.

Don’t: Give Out Medical Advice via Email

This is very important: no matter how much a patient asks for advice, make sure you tell them to visit you in person before handing out prescriptions online. You have to make sure that nobody gets access to medicines or incorrect medical advice.

Remember, a patient’s condition and treatment are highly confidential, and you have to maintain that confidentiality online as well.

Get Top Rated Dental IT Services at Foris

Trying to find some top-rated dental IT services that can provide a safe and encrypted mode of email communication for you and your patients?  Check out the different products and services at Foris IT management.

We provide reliable and affordable general IT services for dental practices in Texas. Our consistent commitment to providing quality products paired with constant support and monitoring services to all our dental practice clients is what sets up apart from other network and IT providers.

For more information about our products and services, get in touch with our experts.