{"id":12158,"date":"2024-05-22T08:16:58","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T15:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/?p=11064"},"modified":"2024-08-16T14:00:46","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T21:00:46","slug":"e-procurement-platforms-ai-and-more-trends-from-dentalforum-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/blog\/e-procurement-platforms-ai-and-more-trends-from-dentalforum-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"E-Procurement Platforms, AI, and More Trends from DentalForum 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was written by the Planet DDS staff and originally published on DrBicuspid.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

At this year\u2019s DentalForum, leaders from more than two dozen dental service organizations (DSOs) and purchasing groups gathered for what can best be described as \u201cvendor speed dating.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They asked to be set up for one-on-one meetings with the top vendors of their choice in a rapid-fire series of fifteen-minute interviews. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an unusual event where the DSO leaders come because they want to mingle with vendors, and for two days in Austin, Texas, in late April, they built relationships over food and conversation. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They also got a sneak peek at the <\/span>Group Dentistry Now 2024 procurement survey<\/span><\/a>, which many used as a benchmark on how their own organizations are performing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Syed Shoaib, Vice President of Facilities and Procurement at Eastern Dental<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

“I was a dentist in India, and when I came to the United States. I worked as a clinical assistant and as an office manager in a dental practice while I got my master\u2019s in Health and Informatics. I also worked in the dental insurance industry and with a dental lab, so I have a well-rounded view of dentistry from multiple perspectives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The biggest challenges we\u2019re facing are the economy and inflation, and the higher costs of recruitment and retention. Those costs directly impact my procurement processes. When there\u2019s turnover, it necessitates training and retraining, and you\u2019re constantly trying to standardize your processes for ordering supplies and inventory management. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“I was happy to see in the procurement survey that we\u2019re on target with other DSOs. We\u2019ve been running a tight ship and we\u2019re spending about 4% to 6% of our revenue on supplies. We saw that more people are adopting AI<\/a> [artificial intelligence] and technology to optimize processes including procurement, inventory management, facility access, revenue cycle management<\/a> (RCM), and clinical decision-making. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“This was my third DentalForum event and the networking is remarkable. From a procurement perspective, none of the other meetings are as productive as this one. We\u2019ve piloted and implemented several solutions that we discovered through the one-to-one meetings in the past.” <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeanne Cook, 30+ Years of Experience in Dental Operations and Procurement<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

“I\u2019ve attended DentalForum for the past five or six years and this meeting is of particular interest to me because of the dedicated time I can spend with vendors. This year, I met several new companies and plan to engage with them more, including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n