For the Laboratory Owners – FAQ’s

What is CHAIR?

Think of CHAIR as dentistry Uber for “immediate load full arch cases” available when and where the doctor needs it. Doctors schedule online, on-demand, and are matched with the closest, most competent, and available technician for the requested procedure and CHAIR takes care of the rest.

How does chair work?

CHAIR is a community of skilled lab technicians across the country, following a professional code of conduct, covering a span of differing in-office procedures that dental practices need. CHAIR will market these services to dentists nationally. When a doctor request is submitted (date, location service requested, etc.) CHAIR will offer the job to the lab technician community with the goal of quickly aligning a lab technician to the service request. Once the technician has been assigned, the doctor confirms the service request and pays for the order. CHAIR then coordinates between the doctor and the technician both before and after the chairside service to ensure everything goes well. If you register as a lab

Why would my company use CHAIR?

CHAIR is great for lab owners, particularly larger organizations since you can use CHAIR in multiple ways. First, you can use Chair to supplement your clinical support staff when you are overscheduled or unable to attend a requested office visit. Second, you can register your clinical support staff on CHAIR so during slower times you can generate income by sending out your staff for a paid fee to requested CHAIR office visits. CHAIR is a perfect match for labs with dedicated clinical support staff or labs that no longer want to carry the weekly burden of dedicated team members on the payroll.

CHAIR is not a competitor to your business but rather an asset.

If you are the one that performs clinical work at your lab, leaving the lab for the day to work with a client chairside can be a rewarding experience but sometimes the aftermath can be stressful. The work can pile up, phone calls and emails need returned, and you often must work long hours or weekends just to catch up. For larger organizations, having key technicians out of the lab can be a huge burden, as assisting with one case can cause countless others to get behind schedule. If you have enough demand to have dedicated staff for clinical support, it can be a nightmare managing packed schedules or keeping these costly staff members busy. All these problems go away with CHAIR, we are here for you on demand, CHAIR lets you work on your business while CHAIR works for it.

When did CHAIR start?

CHAIR is a new cloud-based company that is made up of a network of labs, lab technicians and dentists. CHAIR is created after recognizing a need for the lab technician full arch clinical support by the dental community nationwide.

Are any special credentials required?

CHAIR requires experience and knowledge from all its participating technicians. This experience and talent are thoroughly evaluated as part of the onboarding validation procedure. CHAIR members are expected to have a great chairside manner to understand and anticipate what needs to be done. They are also comfortable speaking up in a respectful way to ensure your client’s case goes well.

How do I register or pay for CHAIR?

You can have your client register and work with CHAIR directly removing yourself from the process to focus on other things, or you can hire CHAIR to work for you and manage your clinical support visits. In that instance, you would book the clinical support appointment and be responsible for payment and you can bill your client for the service as you see fit. Perhaps increasing the cost compensating you for your involvement. As the initiator of the service, after it is complete, you should interview your client on the result at which time you can go to the CHAIR website and file a report that the service is complete and rate the doctor’s experience (we will give you a $50 credit towards their next case for the rating).

Is there a contract that I must sign?

Yes, we have a laboratory agreement on the registration page of the site with acknowledgements, indemnifications, HIPPA, and a strict non-compete/non-solicitation policy.

Can I quit any time?

Yes, this is a month by month agreement, with a 30-day notice if there are pending surgeries which you have agreed to assist. If we can find a substitute technician, then the relationship can be cancelled right away.

What is the contact information for CHAIR.

Our phone number is +1-866-822-7748, website www.chairsidesupport.com, and general email is info@chairsidesupport.com.

What if there is a complaint?

Our policies are customer-focused and service-orientated to make the best match between surgeon, doctor, and CHAIR personnel. We will address this issue on a case by case basis and make sure that any situation is handled to the satisfaction of all individuals involved. We have agreements that both parties sign when coming onboard that manages arbitration of disputes. It is important that both sides are heard and that a fair outcome is realized.

What if the doctor asks for a phone number for future cases?

We have a strict agreement in place that prevents any technician from sharing current personal or lab information; with clear monetary damage penalties, this is essential to maintaining the unbiased nature of the brand. Any requests for personal information must be denied. They can always contact you through CHAIR.

Can the attending technician tell a doctor where they are from?

No, we are a national organization and we support doctors all over the continental U.S. The agreement between CHAIR and the technician, or laboratory, attending is firm, and response for personal information of should be answered with, “I would love to share that, but I am contractually obligated not share that information”.

Why do I need to join CHAIR if I can do this in my own area with my customers?

CHAIR can compliment the business you already have, or give you a new direction to reinvent your work-life balance. CHAIR gives you access to new clinical support customers, an opportunity to get paid right after the procedure is completed, the opportunity to work with the best clinicians across North America, will keep you busy as a technician, and expose you to the cutting-edge technology.

How do we start this process?

Fill out the online CHAIR laboratory registration form https://chairsidesupport.com/lab-registration/. A CHAIR representative will reach out to schedule an online interview with you where we will discuss your lab and conduct a mutual Q&A session so we can get to know each other and understand what you want to get out of CHAIR. We will also request you provide the contact information of a lab technicians that you you believe may be interested so we can reach out and understand their experience.

Is a technician responsible for bringing their own lab equipment?

Yes, technicians are responsible to have equipment to perform the task; if you don’t have equipment, we could provide that to the technician, at a fee, and ship it to the doctor. It will have to be shipped back to CHAIR to be sterilized for the next use. Payment for the procedure will be reserved until we receive the equipment back at our facility and inspected.

What about the consumable materials for the procedures?

Doctors are responsible for chairside materials. CHAIR technicians will bring back-up materials. We can make suggestions for all chairside needs, both pick-up materials, burs, wrench kits, etc. CHAIR has a full kit available for purchase.  In the CHAIR agreement, the doctor and technician know who is providing what.

Does CHAIR provide surgical gowns/scrubs?

Yes, scrubs with CHAIR logos must be purchased from CHAIR to attend a surgery. Designed PPE will also need to be worn. The scrubs will be a small (at cost) commitment from you and they are required to be worn.

What happens if the surgery goes over the time limit?

We have a clause in the contract with the doctor that they sign, that if the procedure takes longer than anticipated, you will be paid on an hourly basis plus expenses. You never have a risk of losing money with CHAIR, each procedure will be profitable for you.

Weather related delays – what happens if we cannot get to the location?

Unfortunately, if there is a cancellation of flights, snowstorm, hurricane, or any weather-related delay, you must call the CHAIR office to report this as soon as possible. We will contact the doctor’s office to attempt to get another technician onsite or try to cancel the surgery.

I am a lab owner. Why should I be a part of the CHAIR service model?

CHAIR can take this service and turn it into a profitable option for your laboratory. Most labs will agree that, most of the time, clinical support is a lost leader. It takes your best technician out of the lab from 1-3 days. CHAIR keeps your great staff engaged with the lab, while another technician represents you in a professional way. CHAIR also provides the solution to any potential conflicting appointment schedules concerning your current lab technicians, gone are the days of asking your client to reschedule because you are booked. Either way, CHAIR is a solution to supplement your business model.

I am a lab owner. Should I be concerned that my client will be introduced to another technician? I don’t want to lose their account.

We recognize this is a huge concern! We have you covered. The technician attending the procedure, as well as the organization they work with (if not a sole proprietor), will have a series of agreements in place which prohibit technicians from talking about their respective labs and to be ethically committed to the CHAIR protocols. Significant financial penalties, as well as exclusion from membership in CHAIR, will result in a breach of any of the non-compete/non-solicitation policies.

How can I make integration with my lab and CHAIR seamless?

A nice way to make CHAIR a part of your service is to integrate the CHAIR doctor appointment scheduler directly into your website. We can do this, and will do it at no charge to you. We are also open to other integrations, just ask!