​Philips has partnered with FollowApp to use next-generation artificial intelligence to help dental practices follow up after treatments to check on patients and encourage positive feedback.

Following a successful pilot scheme with Philips, they are expanding the award-winning pre-emptive aftercare technology to share product recommendations and offer patients a direct opportunity to purchase them from a personalised online practice shop. This will help ensure that patients buy the right products straight from their dentist.

Jessica Puckett, Philips dental professional lead for the UK and Ireland, outlines how the partnership will support both healthcare professionals and patients alike and explains why the new business model will ‘close the loop’ between recommendation and purchase.

Jessica said, “We know preventative care is the best way to improve oral health and prevent oral diseases. However, in the UK, basic oral health education is not available for everyone, limiting the population's ability to make empowered choices. The average UK adult is missing 7.5 teeth and brushes for around 40 seconds a day! It is clear that there is a missing link between clinician recommendation and customer purchase.

“In the UK, 60 per cent of people are still using a manual toothbrush, despite the majority of clinicians recommending an electric toothbrush. There are a host of reasons why people don’t always listen to expert recommendation – some believe electric toothbrushes are too expensive, they may not believe they work, or they might not know which brush to buy. Our research shows there is often not enough clarity for patients. We partnered with FollowApp to provide that clarity and make the journey really easy for patients.

“Twenty-seven per cent of all electric toothbrush sales in the UK are the result of clinical recommendation. We know that patients want to follow their dentists’ advice – our job is to make that easier for them, and to empower clinicians in the advice they give - and to directly benefit from it.”

The Philips FollowApp partnership delivers automated notifications to patients’ post-appointment. The pre-emptive technology, based on each dental experience, checks in on patients and provides tailored post-procedural recommendations – which now include outlining the Philips products the clinician recommends for the patient.

“From a patient perspective, it provides an accurate recommendation and an easy route to purchase”, Jessica added. “It brings together Philips's 133 years of innovation with the latest AI communications technology to deliver the best product via expert recommendation. From a clinical perspective, there are multiple ways the partnership can support practitioners. Firstly, it documents their oral health advice, helping to protect the clinician from a legal perspective. “They are also helping patients to follow oral health advice more easily. And finally, it provides a profit for the practice, which is important. The practice is benefiting from their recommendation - without the need to buy or stock any products, which is really empowering and positive.”

The Philips FollowApp pilot included both private and mixed practices. “We expected to see a correlation between income, private practice usage and manual toothbrush usage”, said Jessica. “We actually found that using a manual toothbrush is a UK wide issue, no matter your demographic. However, the data from the pilot shows that 75 per cent of patients want to see what products their dentists recommend. It’s a perfect statistic to show just how much the clinicians’ recommendation really does matter.”

David Holmes, dentist and founder of FollowApp, added, “Patients want to follow their dentist’s recommendations, they just want an easy way to do so. Patients are often told verbally what to purchase, but can forget what they are specifically recommended, and can be overwhelmed by choice. We know that patients benefit from better oral health through having the right products, and via this partnership, we have evidence that dentists benefit from seeing a financial return from their recommendations.”

David highlighted that the streamlined patient journey also reflects increased efficiency for the clinician. “The dental practice doesn’t have to do anything differently. We at FollowApp deal with all the logistics; responding to orders, stock keeping, packing, postage and returns.”

The pilot between Philips and FollowApp was conducted with 25 practices in Scotland, a mix of totally private practice and mixed practices. Forty-nine per cent of respondents reported using a manual toothbrush, however the data showed a desire for conversion – nearly a third (31 per cent) of patients wanted more recommended product information.

Seventy-five per cent of those engaged patients then clicked through to a store. “This showcases the appetite to buy from patients is there, we just need to provide them with the opportunity”, said David.

The pilot scheme is the first step in the Philips x FollowApp partnership. The two companies are now developing a personalised online shop front, to allow clinicians to provide tailored product recommendations.

For more information visit www.followapp.care

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