What could patients find when they visit your practice online? These six checks can help uncover security risks, accessibility issues, outdated information, and gaps you may not know are there.
Print & Go GuidanceBy Genni Burkhart, Editor
Most patients interact with a dental practice online long before they make their first phone call. They may check the practice’s hours, read reviews, visit the website, look for an appointment, complete forms, or send a secure message through what's considered your digital front door.
In many cases, patients will decide whether to contact the practice after reviewing its website, Google listing, photos, and online reputation. When that information is current and easy to use, an online search can turn into an appointment. However, outdated listings, inaccessible web pages, and poorly managed online forms are likely to cause problems if nobody is routinely managing them.
Recent cyber incidents involving dental organizations also reinforce the need for regular oversight. Criminals can gain access through stolen credentials, vulnerable software, and poorly protected email accounts. Without regular review or self-audits of these systems, you're essentially leaving your front door open to cyberattacks, security issues, and a poor patient experience.
We'll review six ways to tidy up and secure your digital front door to improve compliance, security, and patient satisfaction.
1. Review and Make a List of Every Digital Service Used
Start with the practice website, Google Business Profile, review platforms, scheduling system, digital forms, patient portal, payment platform, reminder service, social media accounts, and secure messaging tools. Essentially any account or website that pertains to your practice, be it operational or patient-facing.
Then, note the vendor, account owner (who manages it), information collected, and team members with access for each. This simple step may uncover outdated information, an unmonitored platform, or an account that's still accessible to a former employee.
2. Check Listings, Reviews, Photos, and Scheduling Links
Once the full list is in place, take a look at what patients are likely to see. Search for the practice on both a phone and a computer, then confirm the address, office hours, phone number, services, provider information, and appointment instructions wherever they appear.
Also, review the practice’s photos to make sure they still reflect the office, team, and services provided. Check recent reviews, confirm someone monitors them, and respond appropriately without discussing HIPAA-protected patient information.
Next, open the links and complete the scheduling process as a test. Make sure forms load correctly, 'clicks' work, and appointment (or contact) requests reach the right team member. Patients should also receive a clear confirmation that explains what happens next.
Remember, patients may find your practice through Google, a review site, your website, or a scheduling platform. No matter where they begin, each step should lead clearly to the next.
3. Make the Website and Mobile Tools Accessible
While dental practices must consider accessibility inside the office, their online services deserve the same attention. Patients with visual, hearing, mobility, speech, or neurological disabilities may use screen readers, captions, keyboard navigation, larger text, or other assistive features.
Ensure your website provider consistently reviews image descriptions, video captions, color contrast, form labels, keyboard controls, font resizing, and time limits. The Department of Justice’s guidance on web accessibility applies to businesses open to the public. Its new rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps requires state and local governments to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA.
However, that Title II rule doesn't set the specific standard for most private dental practices. Even so, WCAG offers a useful framework, and practices should review their Title III responsibilities with qualified legal and accessibility professionals.
4. Protect Information Submitted Online
Accessibility is only part of the review. Practices should also know what information their online forms collect and where it goes.
Appointment and contact forms collect protected health information, such as the patient's symptoms, medications, insurance details, and treatment concerns. For that reason, review what each form asks for, where submissions go, who can read them, and how long the vendor keeps them.
General forms should stay limited to basic scheduling information. Clinical details belong in a secure portal or another encrypted communication system.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requires covered entities and business associates to secure electronic protected health information through appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.
5. Secure Email and User Accounts
The same attention should extend to every email account attached to your practice as well. A good rule is to provide team members with individual logins whenever possible, limit administrative access to only those who need it, and remove access promptly when someone leaves the practice or changes roles.
Multifactor authentication also adds another layer of protection if a password is stolen. It just takes one compromised email account to expose secured and private messages, passwords, financial requests, private health information, or any connected system or account. As such, email deserves close attention and regular monitoring.
Regular software updates and email phishing education can help the team recognize problems sooner and respond appropriately.
6. Assign One Team Member to Oversee It
Outside vendors may manage the website, portal, payments, and scheduling, but someone within the practice should understand how all those services connect.
A designated team member can monitor listings and reviews, coordinate website updates, confirm that access remains current, and keep vendor contact information in one place. Anyone posting patient photos, stories, or testimonials should also understand the practice’s consent process and HIPAA responsibilities.
This person can also ensure regular reviews of your digital front door, which are likely to catch outdated information, broken links, unnecessary access, and messages that no longer reach the right person. It also ensures your practice can reach the right person when any one of these digital systems stops working or has an immediate security issue.
Goal: Keep the Patient Experience Running Smoothly
Patients should be able to easily find your practice, understand what to do next, and use your online services without difficulty. At the same time, team members need to know that messages and information reach the right place and are kept secure.
Keeping each system accurate, accessible, and secure supports the patient experience and enables your practice to run smoothly and seamlessly. With clear roles and regular attention, the digital front door of your practice can easily be kept safe, compliant, and tidy.
Useful Resources:
- ADA Information Line (U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division)
800-514-0301
1-833-610-1264 TTY - Federal cybersecurity guidance
cisa.gov/stopransomware
Author: With over 16 years as a published journalist, editor, and writer, Genni Burkhart's career has spanned politics, healthcare, law, business finance, technology, and news. She resides in Northern Colorado, where she works as the editor-in-chief of the Incisor at DOCS Education.
