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Gap Analysis

Gap Analysis is SOPHIE's way of telling you which procedures your practice should have documented but does not yet. It compares your current SOP library against industry best practices for your practice type and highlights the gaps.

Why it matters​

Most dental practices have dozens of undocumented procedures. Staff learn them informally, and when someone leaves or a new hire starts, knowledge gaps appear. Gap Analysis gives you a clear roadmap of what to document next, prioritized by importance, so you can close those gaps systematically instead of guessing.

Setting up your practice profile​

Gap Analysis needs to know about your practice to make relevant recommendations. If you have not set up a practice profile yet, SOPHIE prompts you to provide:

  • Practice type -- General, specialty, group, or other
  • Number of locations and operatory rooms
  • Team size and composition
  • Dental specialties offered (endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics, etc.)

You can configure your profile from the Gap Analysis page or from Settings > Practice Profile. The more accurate your profile, the more relevant the recommendations.

Running gap analysis​

Navigate to Gap Analysis in the sidebar. The page has four sections:

Overview​

A summary dashboard showing the total number of gaps identified, how many you have resolved by creating SOPs, your overall coverage percentage, and a breakdown by priority level. This gives you a quick snapshot of where your practice stands.

Gaps​

The main list of recommended SOPs you are missing. Each gap includes:

  • Title -- The recommended procedure topic
  • Priority -- How critical it is (based on regulatory requirements, patient safety, and operational impact)
  • Category -- The operational area it belongs to (Clinical, Administrative, Compliance, Safety, etc.)
  • Resolution status -- Whether you have already created a SOP to address it

Click on any gap to create a SOP for it directly. SOPHIE's AI can generate the initial draft so you are not starting from scratch.

Exclusions​

Not every recommendation applies to every practice. If a gap is irrelevant -- for example, a pediatric procedure recommendation for an adult-only practice -- mark it as Not Applicable with a reason. Excluded gaps are removed from your coverage metrics so they do not skew your numbers.

Practice Profile​

Review and update your practice information at any time. Changes to your profile may surface new gaps or remove ones that no longer apply.

Refreshing the analysis​

Click Refresh Analysis to re-run the gap analysis with your latest SOPs and practice profile. This is useful after you have created several new SOPs or updated your practice information. The AI re-evaluates everything and adjusts the recommendations accordingly.

Practical tips​

  • Start with high-priority gaps. Focus on compliance and safety procedures first, then work through administrative and operational gaps.
  • Use AI generation. When you click on a gap to create a SOP, let the AI generate the first draft. You can edit it to match your practice's specific workflow.
  • Review quarterly. Run gap analysis at the start of each quarter as part of your Practice OS planning to make sure your SOP library keeps pace with your practice.
AI required

Gap Analysis requires AI features to be enabled in your workspace settings. See AI Settings to enable.