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Industry ORTHO TRIBUNE | JUNE & JUly 201020 By Peter Kimball, DMD I n June of 1993, after I graduated from my orthodontic specialty program, the excitement of start- ing a new chapter in my life brought another set of challenges with it. Selecting a practice management system was not the most significant decision I faced, but it would cer- tainly be ranked among the most complex decisions I had to make after graduation. Even though the practice man- agement software industry was full of options, there weren’t any pro- grams that were both affordable enough to fit my budget and cus- tomizable enough for to me to run my practice the way I wanted to. Because I did not want to spend a huge sum of money on a prac- tice management system that would limit my choices of hardware/ operating systems and offer little flexibility and customization in the Bigger isn’t better; better is better exam and treatment charting areas, I decided to take a different route. Using my knowledge of program- ming and understanding of com- puter systems, I developed a prac- tice management system that later became the foundation of Orthoease. I had written the program to run my own practice more efficiently and had no intention of selling it to other practices. The plan changed quickly when some of my friends who were also orthodontists saw the program and wanted to buy it. What attracted them to the pro- gram was its intuitiveness and flex- ibility. It was written by a practicing orthodontist, so naturally the flow of steps made sense to other ortho- dontists. The fact that the program could natively run on both Macs and PCs was also appealing to many. Before long, the program was installed in dozens of practices, and I found myself looking for program- mers, customer service staff, busi- ness managers and partners to take the program to the next level. In a matter of months, Orthoease was formed. During the last 16 years, the pro- gram has evolved to become one of the leading practice management systems available to orthodontists, but we haven’t lost sight of what makes Orthoease different. It is an intuitive program that offers the most flexibility and best value. Being a privately held company allows Orthoease to stay true to its roots, while having a practicing orthodontist as the chief architect of the program gives Orthoease a look and feel that is not only clinically efficient but is also intuitive. Whether you are an established orthodontist or a new graduate, selecting the right practice manage- ment system can have a big impact on your success. So, before you commit to the bigger, I invite you to consider the better option. OT AD Dr. Peter Kimball is a graduate of Marquette University. He has more than 17 years of experience as a practicing orthodontist and operates two successful practices in Laguna Beach and Laguna Niguel, Calif. He enjoys running and has competed in the Boston Marathon six times. His other passion is technology and computer programming. It was his love for technology and orthodontics that motivated him to develop Ortho- ease Practice Management System. He is passionate about finding ways to deliver better treatment outcomes, higher clinical efficiency and greater patient satisfaction. Kimball lives in Laguna Beach with his wife, Nette, and three children. About the authorOT For more information, please call Orthoease at (800) 217-2912 or e-mail info@orthoease.com. ContactOT Practice management software from an orthodontist’s point of view