Willamette Dental
Expands Facilities

In a response to a growing patient base, Willamette Dental Group continues to expand facilities.

Our Northgate Specialty office opened in March 2008 to better serve our Seattle-area patients by offering specialists including Orthodontists, Oral Surgeons, Periodontists, and Endodontists under one roof.

To view Willamette Dental office locations in all four states click here.

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Patient Reminder
Calls Are Automated

Every now and then, everybody needs a little reminder. Because of this, it has long been Willamette Dental’s policy to give patients a reminder call before their dental appointment. Traditionally, it was the job of the staff at each dental office to juggle this task along with their other duties, however we recognized the need to introduce efficient, new technology to assist with this task. By looking to automation, Willamette Dental has made another improvement in dental office efficiency company-wide.

Through a partnership with one of the leaders in computerized telephone systems, Willamette Dental is now using the latest in telecommunications technology to make appointment reminder calls.

Daily, patient and appointment data is up-loaded to the system that places the pre-scheduled telephone calls. The natural sounding voice reminds patients of the time and place of their future dental appointment, and if they wish, it connects them to a live representative to assist them. When a call is received by an answering machine an appointment reminder is left.

By having calls placed from 6 PM to 8 PM weekdays and 1 PM to 4 PM Saturdays, more patients are contacted at a time that they are home to receive the call. In most cases, patients are called three days prior to their dental appointment. This automated appointment reminder call system is beneficial to both Willamette Dental patients and providers. With the task of physically making reminder calls lifted from the office staff, they can spend more of their time serving the dental health needs of their patients. With more patients hearing their appointment reminder, Willamette Dental is hoping to have less missed appointments at each office. With less missed appointments, more patients can be seen sooner.

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Social Security
Numbers Are Retired

Willamette Dental has ceased the use of Social Security numbers (SSN) as a patient identifier. Today, each new dental plan member is assigned a unique 10 digit patient identification number that references their records. By the end of 2006, all existing plan members’ records were transferred to the unique Willamette Dental patient identification number.

The original purpose of a Social Security number was to track individuals’ accounts within the US Social Security Program. Currently, more than 277 million individuals have a unique Social Security number, and its use has become more of a US national identification number. Employee records, patient records, student records and credit records are often indexed by a SSN. Because SSNs are unique to the holder, they have been used as patient record numbers by medical providers, dental providers and insurance carriers for decades. A Social Security number is also generally required by financial institutions for bank accounts, credit cards and to obtain loans.

Today, the disclosure and use of Social Security numbers is becoming more and more of a concern to many US Citizens, as well as privacy advocates. This is because the SSN is frequently used by people involved in identity theft due to its interconnection with so many other forms of identification.

The US Federal Government has passed law mandating a unique patient record number system; however, it hasn’t implemented any law to create this system. Because of this, some US States have mandated that the use of Social Security numbers should be replaced with a new record number system for use by providers and insurance companies. Yet, none of the states in which Willamette Dental operates have taken these actions.

With consideration to all of these factors, Willamette Dental has been proactive on this issue and has replaced Social Security number identifiers with its own patient identification number. The by product of this commitment to plan members will be greater information security for all Willamette Dental patients.

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April Kniess, Yuen Chin, Steve Petruzelli and
Eugene Skourtes cut the ribbon officially
opening the new Willamette Dental
Corporate Headquarters.

New Corporate Headquarters Celebrated

Willamette Dental showcased its new corporate headquarters by hosting a grand opening event. More than 100 representatives of member groups and business associates along with local government dignitaries were on hand to celebrate the new facilities with a ribbon cutting ceremony. They also took part in refreshments and guided tours of the new facility.

In his address to the attendees, Dr. Eugene Skourtes recognized the work of those who assisted in making the move a smooth transition. He attributed several factors that led to the expansion of facilities and eventual move. He said, “foremost was an increasing need for work space for the more than 120 administrative workers. After 14 years of company growth at the Farmington Road offices, there just wasn’t enough room to expand within those facilities.”

The corporate headquarters houses the administration functions of executive management, insurance, human resources, marketing, billing, clinical support, accounting, finance, information technology and patient relations. All of these functions support the operation of Willamette Dental’s insurance companies and the 60 dental offices throughout the States of Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

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