Experts call for consistent digitization in healthcare

Digital systems are essential for modern dentistry. But they are not consistently applied in practices. Experts including Dr. Axel Wehmeier discuss the new trends in the dental industry and how dentists can take advantage of the digital world in the new edition of VISION, the Innovation Magazine from Sirona.

Bensheim/Salzburg, 20.05.2015. In the health sector, a lot of potential for digitization is wasted, criticizes Dr. Axel Wehmeier, Managing Director of Deutsche Telekom Healthcare & Security Solutions GmbH in the new edition of VISION, the Innovation Magazine from Sirona. While Denmark, for example, has set up a patient-centered digital infrastructure and all patients in Singapore have an electronic medical record, digital networking in other areas and regions is progressing at a sluggish pace. "We take our digital X-ray images from one doctor to the next on DVDs," said Dr. Wehmeier. This inconsistent handling of patient data is anachronistic. Only those who are willing to make their patient data digitally available will be able to take part in the tremendous progress occurring in medicine and benefit from innovative, life-saving measures in emergencies. Dr. Wehmeier is one of the experts who deal with the key issue of "digitization" in the customer magazine.

The fact that digital systems are essential for modern dentistry is emphasized by Jeffrey T. Slovin, President and CEO of Sirona, in the magazine’s foreword: "Whether during diagnosis, planning or treatment – they make processes better, faster, safer, and more efficient. We believe that by integrating and combining different technologies, digitization can be the basis for completely new treatments." The customer magazine VISION shows the advantages for dentistry and patients, for example in the treatment of craniomandibular dysfunction (CMD), obstructive sleep apnea, or the production of transparent aligners to straighten teeth. In addition, users and testers describe their first experiences with the innovative ORTHOPHOS SL 3D X-ray system and the new CAD/CAM inLab MC X5 milling machine for dental laboratories. Participants from around the world report on the presentation of the new blue laser technology at the first "Sirona Laser Days".

The international customer magazine VISION informs dentists and their practice teams as well as dental technicians about news from the dental industry twice a year in German and English, has entertaining background stories about well-known personalities in the dentist's chair, and presents many ideas and suggestions. In addition to the print edition, Sirona provides the VISION magazine on the company's website as an e-paper and as a free tablet magazine for the iPad in the App Store.