Transitioning to a New System Problem

The orthodontic provider needs to be able to transition to a new system efficiently and reliably. Currently, this is not the case. There are many situation in which transitioning from one system to another is complex and not fully developed, resulting in partial transfers, or requiring a lot of manual clean up. This page describes the development and maintenance issues which are related to data conversions.

The photograph below was taken outside of a US university when the department decided to switch from one management system to another. The vendor of the new software was not able to import data from the old one. The patients were standing in line for hours waiting for their turn to re-register into their new system.

Cue for re-registration outside of Orthodontic department

This is just one example, but changing systems is always a traumatic experience. This shouldn’t necessarily be the case. It is not about cost: it is perfectly acceptable for software vendors to charge for importing data into their new system. But from the provider’s side, the conversion has to be flawless painless, otherwise this will impact their ability to work properly and to take proper care of their patients. See Ethical Problem.