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MailAugust 2022--Patient Prism’s CEO, Amol Nirgudkar, interviewed Tom Terronez from Medix Dental IT at the Dykema Definitive DSO Conference in July 2022.
Amol Nirgudkar: Tom, we've known each other for about a year now, and I'm fascinated by how you've grown this company and helped so many dental offices with some of the most critical needs they have in terms of building and maintaining their IT infrastructure. So, tell us a little bit about what Medix Dental IT does and why people are choosing you more than anyone else in this business.
Tom Terronez: Well, I think to put it simply we stabilize and secure IT first off, and then we help the organization leverage technology to solve operational problems. And that's a gap that's not typically filled in the IT space. We got started about 20 years ago working with independent practices, and we still work with 700 to 800 of them. Today we work with thousands of doctors. I think they choose us because of our passion, our consistency, and the ability to do field service on a national level.
Amol Nirgudkar: At what point does a DSO or dental practice engage your IT services?
Tom Terronez: It can vary. It could be a scenario where they're creating a new location and they need IT support from the ground up, putting all the equipment in. Sometimes though, DSOs that are scaling up are having challenges. They're hitting roadblocks. They're having friction. And we're able to come in and evaluate where they're hitting those roadblocks and provide some suggestions and guidance.
Amol Nirgudkar: How long does the typical engagement last?
Tom Terronez: They are typically long-term engagements. We have a high retention rate, and we also have a program with some of our larger DSOs in which we help them build out their own IT support. At a certain scale, it makes sense.
Amol Nirgudkar: What are the top problems dental practices or DSOs are facing right now in terms of their IT infrastructure?
Tom Terronez: Security is a common one. But honestly, it’s viewing their organization-wide data. If they have a model where locations are using different practice management systems, it's a big challenge. So, we've been working with organizations to get that problem solved. And then, we work on how they leverage the PMS data once they have it, and integrate data from other sources, like accounting and marketing.
Amol Nirgudkar: You said security is a big risk right now in running a dental practice but are there other big risks you see today?
Tom Terronez: While DSOs are on the quest for EBITDA and delaying investment in IT and equipment, the risk of failure increases, especially if they use a local server. And ultimately, we're trying to eliminate the local server. They don’t need that anymore, and delayed investment is a common issue that some organizations don’t pay attention to until they get burned.
Amol Nirgudkar: What is your view on the shift towards cloud computing in the PMS world?
Tom Terronez: I'm all for it. There's no real need to have practice data on the premises and all the management and the security that goes with it. If you look at a lot of other industries, the data has been off premises for a long time. The technology has matured by several generations, and ultimately, we’re leading them to the future.
To contact Tom Terronez, email tom@medixdental.com.
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