> Artificial Intelligence
Waste not, want not DSOs have the data. With artificial intelligence, they can put it to good use. Artificial intelligence is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
How do those machines get so smart? By collecting, annotating and analyzing data. Lots of it. The kind and amount of data that some DSOs are capable of generating. “Data tells a story,” says Seth Gibree, DMD, FAGD, senior director of clinical advocacy for Heartland Dental. “It is used to analyze trends and identify potential issues and patterns of behavior – positive and negative. Obviously, the amount of data that exists is growing by the minute.”
DSOs can potentially play a big role in helping develop artificial intelligence platforms because of the amount of data that is accumulated every day, says Dr. Gibree. Heartland Dental provides non-clinical administrative support to a network that spans 37 states, with more than 1,000 supported offices and more than 1,600 supported doctors. “The more data a dental support organization has access to, the more valuable and useful we can be to strategically improve our support for the doctors and teams.”
46 Efficiency In Group Practice : ISSUE 3 • 2020
Is it enough data to justify building their own platform? “I think it’s possible – but very challenging – to build one’s own AI platform,” he says. “It all goes back to, What is your area of expertise? Ours at Heartland Dental is to support doctors and their teams as they deliver the highest quality dental care and experiences to the communities they serve. We would not build our own. Ideally, having strategic partners in a mutually beneficial relationship would be best.”
Possibilities, challenges Regardless of how DSOs resolve the make-or-buy decision, what isn’t up for discussion is the potential role AI can play in dentistry.
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