Channel:D the key to greater treatment uptake

Dr Michael Sernik is no fool. Starting life as a dentist and later switching roles to become, arguably, Australia's most-accomplished practice management consultant, he knows a thing or two about the issues facing contemporary Australian dental practices.

One issue all practices commonly face is how to get patients to commit to treatment. How do you ensure that every time you present treatment, the patient accepts? In fact, even better, how do you motivate patients to ask you about treatment at the start of their appointment, instead of - hopefully - at the end of the sometimes exhaustive process of creating demand through diagnosis and extensive explanation. Or after follow up, after follow up. Dr Sernik's solution to this is called Channel:D and it's available now. Channel:D is a video delivery system that plays on the TV in your waiting room... and it's been cleverly crafted to compete with "devices" for the attention of your patients as they await their appointment. Channel:D is different to anything that's been available before. It's silent - so as not to distract reception staff - and it's funny and engaging, to capture your patient's interest. It's also personalised to your individual practice. There's no advertising from third parties - just a continual stream of videos that create interest in dental procedures. The videos feature images of your practitioners and team - as you can see from the screen grabs on the left. When you sign up to Channel:D, you load up the images as part of the set-up process and they are incorporated into videos you can select to play. Channel:D is controlled and delivered via a media player that connects to the internet and your TV using an HDMI cable. The 80+ videos currently available relate to common dental procedures as well as subjects like asking for Google reviews or to give notice when cancelling an appointment. You can try it free for a month and receive a media player by registering at www.channeld.com and entering coupon code MA56.