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Your 2021 Backup Audit

Posted March 24, 2021 by Beth

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It is that time of year again! World Backup Day is on Wednesday, March 31 this year. It is a great time to review your backup procedure and disaster recovery plan with a 2021 Backup Audit. The following questions are what you need to know your backup solution is on track for the coming year.

 

1) Is my practice creating a backup?

If you are not sure of the answer, you’ll want to find out as soon as possible. Backups are the only way to protect your practice from catastrophic data loss of all your patient charts and health information. To find out that your practice is not creating a backup of any kind should be a wake-up call to prioritize a new process. 

 

2) How is your backup created?

Practices can create backups in a variety of ways. One might manually run a backup using a software program at regular intervals. They might store those backups both on an external device and offsite to the cloud to create a reliable redundancy. Backups should always be encrypted, and you should also know the process for restoring a backup and test that the process and your backup files both work. 

 

Make a list of your answers to these questions so that you can review your current backup plan for any flaws:

  • Who is in charge of running the backups? 
  • What software program, if any, is running the backups? 
  • Where is it installed? 
  • When and how often do the backups run? 
  • Where does the backup go? 
  • Flash drive, external hard drive, network storage appliance, offsite to the cloud? 
  • Are the backups only on one device, or is there redundancy?
  • Is there a time in which data expires from the backup? 
  • If a file was deleted several months ago, would I be able to restore it from a backup? 
  • Are the backups encrypted? 
  • What is the process for restoring data from the backup?

 

What does the backup include?

Make a list of all your most important programs and where the resulting data is stored. Compare that list to what is included within each backup that you create. You may already back up your practice management database and patient x-rays but overlook data from your accounting software or email. Include anything that you would want to restore to a brand new computer in your backup. 

 

Does your backup work?

The only way to make sure that your backups are reliable is to conduct a periodic audit. An audit should check to see that the backup is complete of all of the data you need to include, that the backup is correct, that the backup file is not corrupt or too large for the external and cloud spaces in which it will be saved, and that your restore process is functional.

 

Could this process be more manageable?

With the help of a trusted solution like XLBackup, your backups are already sorted. From secure encrypted data transmission to an offsite location, daily monitoring to ensure your backups are running without error, annual audits of your backups to restoring your data in a disaster recovery situation, XLDent makes your backups our business. 

 

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New Features and Improvements at XLDent

Posted October 22, 2020 by Beth

New Features and Tech Improvements

 

Here at XLDent, we dedicate ourselves to providing software features and solutions focused on our clients’ success. We express that dedication in our commitment to the continual enhancement and redevelopment of the tools we create. As a company, we focus our time and attention on solutions in our clients’ best interests, and technology improvements are often a part of that. We are continually re-evaluating the current development landscape with a strong emphasis on using proven, secure technologies and features to the advantage of the dental practices that partner with us. 

 

We are continually assessing the user experience of each tool we create to maximize clinical efficiency, stay current with new technologies, and improve the overall experience. This past summer, XLDent launched a Feature Request Survey initiative to gather input on creating better tools to make the practices we partner with even more successful. These ideas from XLDent practices have now been reviewed, tracked, and prioritized for possible future development. We can’t wait to tell you more about planned features to our next version of XLDent. For now, we’d like to point out some of the technological improvements and features we’ve released in 2020.

 

XLDent Cloud

XLDent Cloud was released in early 2020 to provide a scalable solution to cloud technology. Our advancement combines our leading dental practice management software with the latest cloud data management technology. It takes all that XLDent practice management software offers and delivers it in the cloud so you and your team can work from anywhere. 

XLDent Cloud allows your practice to:

  • Use a cloud solution for single or multiple locations
  • Centralize data management
  • Streamline software updates, backups, and server needs
  • Integrate with a full suite of comprehensive eServices, such as Real-Time Insurance Eligibility, Electronic Remittance Advice, Patient and Doctor Portals, Encrypted Email, and more

 

XLDentIT

In April of 2020, XLDent launched our already popular service XLDentIT. From the beginning of its development, we envisioned managed IT services that would help your practice save money while improving the ability to focus on patient care. We also recognize that the budget is overextended for the average dental practice at the same time that dentists find themselves relying on technology more often. At this intersection is an opportunity to hire managed IT services like XLDentIT that pay for themselves. XLDentIT empowers you to keep your dental practice running smoothly with comprehensive remote monitoring and management. XLDentIT is an all-in-one solution that meets the IT needs of dental practices, including anti-virus, remote system monitoring, Windows OS patch and updates, installation, and IT support services.

 

XLCharge Updates

XLDent took significant care to upgrade the XLCharge credit card processing platform and terminal. Not only did we design our improvements to ensure this tool is using the latest security protocols for payment processing, but we also expanded the types of payments XLDent practices can accept. XLCharge now allows you to take even more payments, including contactless and web payments through XLPortal! XLCharge gives you the tools to expedite cash flow, reduce accounts receivable, minimize check-out time, and increase office efficiency in one solution powered by Global Payments Integrated, a healthcare-specific payment processing firm.

 

Internal Tools

Some of our proudest accomplishments in 2020 are those you may not even notice at all. Throughout the year, we’ve made significant improvements to internal development tools to track and prioritize enhancement requests. We were also quick to implement digital tools for the XLDent team that allowed for a seamless transition to remote work environments when we needed to do so for the Coronavirus pandemic. 

 

XLBackup

An impressive change still underway is our new platform for XLBackup. Existing backup service customers are now being migrated to this new system, while new customers are onboarded with the new solution already in place. This new platform was launched to improve client resolve time, uptime, and more responsive support.

 

 

Thank you!

This was a year of adaptation for a lot of us. We are proud to come through it with all of you! Thank you to each of our clients who inspired us to continue innovating our tools for your success. We also wish to thank each of our employees for their continued dedication to our practices, platforms, and products. We look forward to another successful quarter to end this year and continued prosperity in the new year. 

 

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We have a lot to celebrate here at XLDent!

Posted October 7, 2016 by Danielle H

Customer Service Week 2016 is wrapping up and we’ve had a great time learning from each other.

This year, each of our business teams hosted an open house for the entire company. A few highlights from the week…

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Bingo with the Admin Team

 

xldent-chocolate-fountain-with-software-training

Chocolate fountain with the Software & Training Team

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Alexa & Katie are now XLDent Certified!

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Even those who work remotely made an appearance

The open houses gave us an opportunity to learn about the contributions each team makes to the success of XLDent. We’ve shared a lot of laughs and taken extra time to appreciate each other.

Thank you to the XLDent team for everything you do to support successful dental practices!

To see more of what we’ve been up to this week, check out our Facebook page.

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3 Ways to Create a Happier Team

Posted October 4, 2016 by Danielle H

Happy National Customer Service Week! This week kicks off a time where we recognize the efforts and achievements of ourhappy-teamteam and say thanks. Specifically, we are focused on the theme – Great Attitude, Great Team, Great Results. The XLDent team is taking time to learn from each other, strengthen their skills and have a little fun along the way. We know that a happy team is more likely to provide even better service to our customers. Want to learn more about how to create a happier team in your dental office? Here are 3 ways to help you get started:

1  Say thank you

Ok… this is an obvious one, but, how often do you actually thank your team? Make it a point to show your appreciation on a regular basis and remember to be specific.

Don’t say: “Thank you for the hard work today!”

Do say: “You did an excellent job making Justin comfortable during his procedure today, thank you!”

2  Eat together

A Gallup Study from 2013 found that about 2/3 of employees would stay at a job because they had good relationships with their coworkers. When people have the chance to connect with each other socially, they are happier at work. So spend the money to provide lunch for your group once in a while. Consider adding in the occasional after-work activity as a show of appreciation.

3  Invest in people

All team members need to be given the opportunity to advance personal growth.  This can be especially challenging for dental practice owners. The nature of small dental practices and the focus on production time will force you to be more creative to fulfill this need for your team.

Start by engaging with your employees and learning about their educational interests. Ask each team member to think about educational opportunities that interest them. Then, schedule a team meeting to openly discuss the ideas or courses that each person is interested in. This is your time to listen so encourage the group to share. Finally, find ways to apply these ideas and offer new opportunities for your team. If your budget is small, focus on web based training opportunities.

While many things seem like a greater challenge when you’re a small business owner, engaging with your team may actually be easier. You have the ability to get to know each employee on a personal level. Use these ideas to create strong relationships with your team members. Your practice will be more successful (and profitable) when your team is happy.

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