Consultants’ Comments

• “I like the idea of a HIPAA-compliant site to send x-rays and referrals. ”
• “This system has good graphic features.”
• “The customer service staff was very nice and helpful.”
• “I did not like having to send login and password information to each specialist before posting files/images.”
• “There was not a help menu, except in the folder section.”

Description

QTX is a secure, encrypted internet-based file-sharing application. It allows dentists to send and view electronic data such as patient referrals, files and digital images using a more secure method than traditional e-mail. QTX utilizes SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), which is the same technology used for online credit card transactions. SSL creates a secure connection between a client and a server so file sharing is made HIPAA-compliant. With this application, the user can choose to share files; upload and view radiographs, images and documents; or upload a broad range of standard file types. It works with most common imaging software and is accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. The application does not allow for audio files to be uploaded and shared. QTX is designed to provide patients with time-saving access to specialists; low-cost access to digital imaging; real-time consultations with multiple treatment plans and multiple specialists to help the user gain insight on complex cases; and elimination of x-ray duplication, printing and postage costs. Setting up an office with the system begins with an off-site appointment with the QTX technical support. They provide verbal step-by-step instruction on setup and use of the system. The system also offers clinical treatment and instant messaging services as well as an image enhancement tool bar. Clinical consultants in eight dental offices evaluated QTX over a six-month period. This system received an 86% clinical rating.

Product Features

Overall, consultants spent an average of 45 minutes for QTX setup and the instructional process and felt the initial setup was simple. One office experienced difficulty with establishing passwords. The instructions were found to be very good, although some consultants commented on the desire to have “help” menus on each page of the web site to decrease the learning curve. Customer service was rated as very good. Integration of QTX with consultants’ current office protocol was also found to be very good. However, QTX was limited to use only with Internet Explorer and not other web browsers and was not able to be used on Apple Macintosh operating systems. Ease of uploading files, adding notes to files, and opening files sent to the consultants were rated as excellent. Sharing files with other offices was cumbersome if the colleague’s office was not using the same system. Consultants liked the idea of gaining immediate peer insight to cases and found the system to be fairly reliable, but did not deem QTX to be a necessity. Twenty-five percent of consultants would recommend QTX to a colleague and 38% found it equivalent to or better than their current method of sharing patient records and images.Editors’ Note: Help menus and the ability to utilize the Macintosh operating system are currently under development.