Tech Trends

A look into the latest dental and general technology on the market

DocuSign Administrative Rights

(Starts at $10/month, DocuSign)

Managing electronic documents is a complicated task made more difficult when multiple parties need to review, sign, send and/or store said documents. Since 2003, DocuSign has been providing companies with its electronic document management solution. From its humble beginnings as a purely digital signature application, DocuSign now boasts an entire suite of integrated document management capabilities allowing users to send whatever they want, whenever they want, from most devices. It even has specific services built for health care providers wherein the company is willing to enter into business associate agreements with practitioners. Is DocuSign viable for the private practitioner looking to modernize their operations and go entirely paperless?

DocuSign’s company is predicated on the recipient user’s optimal experience. Unfortunately, that means administrator-level users will be spending most of their time digitizing workflows and creating templates, which essentially are DocuSign-friendly versions of the documents in use. Administrators can upload existing forms in PDF or picture formats, add recipients and their roles, then customize as many fillable fields as necessary, a process similar to creating fillable forms on Adobe Acrobat. Afterward, these templates can be deployed to the recipients, who then follow the directions laid forth by the administrators. Recipient users all have seamless experiences. Nothing occurs without the administrator’s permission, viewing or signing documents is intuitive with mobile devices and desktops and steps are quickly completed. DocuSign’s pricing structure has changed over the years, and it now focuses on a per “envelope” business model, which means that most users are charged per document they need to send. Even in larger organizations, this can mean that users pay up to $6 per form for every form being signed and stored. Considering the multitude of documents ranging from intake forms to individual treatment consent forms, this can be a significant reoccurring cost. Ultimately, for private practitioners looking to securely digitize their forms, DocuSign is a viable, scalable, but pricey method to manage patient forms.

— Alexander Lee, DMD

Bitmoji (Free, Snap Inc.)

Many people have avatars, which are images that represent users, to personalize their online profiles. There are endless ways to create or select these icons of expression with users favoring more options for customization. Bitmoji is an extremely popular app for iOS and Android that helps users create personalized, expressive cartoon avatars more commonly known as emojis. Bitmoji users must be age 13 and older and have a Snapchat account or email to sign up. Users first select a default avatar that most closely resembles their likeness. To make it easier for users to customize their avatar, the app offers the option to take (and retake) a selfie, which it uses to generate options to choose from. Once an avatar is chosen, users can use the editor to fine-tune or completely change their selection. The editor has a wide array of customization options that include skin tone, hair, facial hair, eyes, eyebrows, nose, jaw, face shape, mouth, ears, cheek lines, forehead lines, eye lines, body type, earrings, piercings, eye shadow, blush, lipstick, glasses, headwear, outfits, tops, bottoms, dresses, footwear, socks and outerwear. Many options can be customized even further, such as eyes, which users can select from shape, lashes, size, spacing and color. Fashion options also include outfits from brand names such as Nike, Converse and others.

When a user finally completes creating their avatar, a large library of stickers, or images of enhanced personalized emojis, is available for search. Selected stickers can be shared through text messaging or any other app. Users can enable the Bitmoji keyboard for easy access to stickers from any app. Users logged in with their Snapchat account can also enable Friendmoji, which generates stickers that include themselves and their friends together. With so many customization options for avatars and searchable expressions for one-of-a-kind stickers, this app acknowledges and represents the diverse community of today. Whether in person or virtually, it is important for people to represent themselves in a unique way. Bitmoji allows people to make avatars that unmistakably resemble themselves and share personal emoji stickers that are both fun and expressive.

— Hubert Chan, DDS