Open Dental Forum

I'm looking for options to call patients from PC.

I've used the GVdial.exe plugin in the past - it works, but it makes the phone ring and the FD still has to use the phone and tie up a line.
I'm looking for her to use a headset and make calls directly from PC.

There is a way to do it when calling from a long list - export to a spreadsheet, make the number clickable with Skype - it's clunky but it works.

Is there a better way?

Click to dial is available through DentalTek in version 15.4 and greater.
DentalTek has a few phone features that are very useful for contacting patients from within your Open Dental program: http://dentaltek.com/open-dental/

thanks Arna.

It doesn't look like Dentaltek is free

any other options?

Free option from outside Open Dental
In Google Voice, you can AD THE OPTION TO USE " HANGOUT " to place a call, it means you call from your PC.
this way GV will not call your office and you will not use a land line, you will just call from your computer

https://www.google.com/voice#inbox
When you are in GV click on the "CALL" tab
AND YOU WILL HAVE 2 OPTIONS
OPTION 1 is "Number to call" here you can type your patient name
option 2 is "Phone to call with" and here you can use "hangout" , it means use your PC.
you need just to set it up in GV

$89 / year option - from inside Open Dental
now you can use GV Notifier (more info about GV Notifier is here) viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5857
we use GV Notifier for texting or placing calls,
or use mopensoft plugin, it COST $89/YEAR to get Mopensoft plugin , can make calls and send text messages


How to ad your patients TELEPHONE / CELL numbers to Google Voice:-

In Open Dental, Run a Query to create a list of all your patients.
SELECT patient.LName AS 'Last Name', patient.FName AS 'First Name',
patient.HmPhone AS 'Home Phone', patient.WkPhone AS 'Business Phone',
patient.WirelessPhone AS 'Mobile Phone', patient.Email AS 'E-mail Address'
FROM patient WHERE PatStatus = '0'

- Export your list to a .txt file.

- In Google Contacts import your .txt file.
https://www.google.com/contacts/u/0/?cplus=0#contacts

Thanks!

What I was envisioning is using this for recall calls.
We typically run various reports twice per month and call those people 3 times.

So using hangouts, we'd be running the queries and exporting the lists, then importing them in hangouts and calling from there?

Another option

Make calls from Gmail Email
https://support.google.com/chat/answer/3379791?hl=en
phone numbers in Gmail appear as clickable links

Make a call from a Gmail email:
You can make calls directly from a Gmail email you send or receive.
1.When you open an email with a phone number in the text, the number will be blue - ckickable.
2.Click the phone number in the email.
3.In the dial pad that appears, click Call.


After I installed "hangout" I tried this, I emailed myself both my office phone number and my cell number to my Gmail email account, and when I opened the email, the phone numbers were clickable and I was able to call both numbers from the computer through hangout by just clicking on the phone numbers