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No need to purchase a new scanner, your current one should work just fine

Are you interested in starting the process of going paperless but you have an older scanner that might not work with Dentrix? Or maybe you have a scanner that used to work with Dentrix but, since you have upgraded, some of the features have stopped working? Well, I have a solution for you.

The new File Acquisition Method Default will allow you to scan directly to your scanner without the interference of Dentrix and then automatically pull your document into Dentrix. There are so many different kinds of scanners out there now and we all know it can be challenging to make all this technology work seamlessly.

Here is how it works . . .

Open your Document Center and click on the Setup tab at the top. Now scroll to the bottom and go to Setup Acquisition Method Default. In the top drop down menu, select Auto File Acquisition, then select a default folder (don’t worry, you will have the opportunity to change it), then select a folder to pull the document from (I set up a Scans folder on the Desktop).

Now in your start menu in Windows, find your scanner program. What I did is click on Start > All Programs > Epson > and create a shortcut on your desktop, then pin it to your task bar. Or you can go to your Printers and Devices, find your scanner and drag it to your taskbar to create a quick button on your computer.

Now that you have both of those two things finished, open a patient’s Document Center. Click on the icon you pinned to your task bar for your scanner and make sure your scanner setup is set to save the document to the same folder you created on your desktop. Then scan a document and see what happens. Hopefully what will happen is that the Dentrix Auto File Acquisition will automatically pull the document into the patient’s Document Center. Now you can give the document a description and put it in a different folder if you want.

This took me a little bit to wrap my head around it in the beginning. However, once I got it set up and working, I loved it. The support department was great at answering my questions and, from them helping me, I was able to put this article together for you all.

Referral Coordinators . . . tracking your gift baskets is super easy

Last week, I was talking directly to the referring doctor coordinators who work in specialty practices. I detailed an idea of how to keep track of your referral slips that come in and the patient does not have an appointment. If you want to re-read it, CLICK HERE because this article ties right into it.

How are you tracking your gratuities to your referring docs? Do you have a manual spreadsheet that you use to track the amazing gift baskets and coffee mugs you give away? What if you could track it in your Dentrix software, see the analysis and view it on the Referred By report? Let’s find out how.

When you enter the referral source in the patient’s family file, you also have the opportunity to add the gratuity here. Click on the Referred By on the Family File and then click on the Analysis. Here you can click on the Add Gratuity and either select the gratuity or add a new one. When you click on the Analysis again, you will see a list of all the gratuities this referring source has received over their history of working with you.

When you run a Referred By Doctor/Other report, the gratuity will also show on this report. Having all the information about your referring doctors, gratuities and knowing where to find the referral slip at your fingertips is so important to your specialty practice. Your practice management system can help you with almost everything. It just needs you to input the data.

CLICK HERE for other articles on referral management.

Referral coordinators at specialty practices - this one is for you

I was recently working with an oral surgery practice and a periodontal office and learned something that the general dental practice usually does not have to manage . . . patients being referred into the practice without an appointment. Now, in a general practice, you would need to manage patients being referred out of the practice to these types of specialists, but let’s look at things from the specialty practice point of view.

At both of these offices, the referral coordinators had an accordion file filled with referral slips of patients who had been referred to their office but have not scheduled. They both had a good system. However, both of these offices are in the process of going paperless and we were looking at systems for managing these patients inside of the Dentrix software.

Here is what we came up with . . .

When you go paperless, you will use the Document Center a lot for paper storage. Now some of you know that every patient has a Document Center because you have been using it for a while, but did you know that every provider has a Document Center as well? Yep, you can scan and store documents inside of your own Document Center and eliminate a lot of paper that floats around on your desk.

So, for these two offices, I recommended using this feature and also attaching the document to the referring doctor for easier tracking. Then, when a patient calls, they can go to their Document Center (or the provider you choose to use) and then search documents attached to a particular referring source and get a list. Then, when the patient schedules and they open the Family File, they can attach the referral slip to the patient and that document has now been linked up without having to scan it again.

Go to the Office Manager > Document Center > select the provider you want to use for holding these documents and then scan the referral slip and put it in the correct folder. I would recommend putting the patient name in the description field. You can now shred these referral slips and clean up your desk.

For more information on the Document Center, CLICK HERE.

Your Personal To-Do list

Did you know that not only does every patient have an office journal but every team member has an office journal? You might be wondering why that is relevant. Let’s take a little test. Can you answer YES to any of these questions?

Does your doctor’s desk have sticky notes all over it?

Does your desk have sticky notes all over it?

Are you looking for a better way to communicate with your team?

Do you work best off a list to To-Do’s?

If you answered yes to any of these, then I have a solution for you. Not only can you use the Office Journal for documenting administrative conversations with patients and keeping track of all your notes with patients, but you can also use it as your own personal To-Do list. And your entire team can have their own To-Do list in the Office Journal. You can send a note to one of your team members and it will show up on their Office Journal. Let’s run through a few examples.

Let’s say you are talking to a patient about scheduling his or her treatment and the patient says, “Can you call me after the New Year?” You can enter a Reminder Office Journal entry with a future date and it will show up on the patient’s Office Journal and your Office Journal.

You are trying to send claims for the day but you are missing the narrative for the crown on your first patient of the morning. You need to have the doctor review the X-ray and document it for the claim. That means that, instead of putting a “sticky note” on his desk, you can send him a note on his Office Journal.

A letter came in the mail today from your implant specialist that the implant is ready to restore for one of your patients. You need to let your dental assistant know to order parts and let your doctor know to treatment plan the next visit. You can send an Office Journal note on both of their journals with the specifics to the case and let them know they will find the letter from the specialist in the Document Center.

These examples happen in the dental office every day. How do you communicate with your team? How would life be if you could keep your communication inside of your practice management software? Try it and see.

Read other articles about how awesome the Office Journal is . . .

Say Goodbye to the Post It Notes

Where do I make all my notes

Don't settle on the defaults

Okay, I get it. You are not quite ready to dive into electronic forms, load them up on your website for patients to fill out online or link them up to an iPad. If you are wanting to go paperless, then using the document center in Dentrix is going to be how you will manage all your paper forms. What I am finding with so many offices is that they think they have to settle with the default settings that came with the Dentrix installation.

Since the document center will be your best friend when it comes to paper storage, here are some tips to make it work as best as it can for you.

When you think of the document center, think of it like a big file cabinet with hanging file folders and then you put the pieces of paper into it. I want you to customize the names of the hanging file folders just like you would in a real file cabinet.

Here are some examples . . .

So how do you edit the category types? Open the document center > setup > document types, then you can edit the existing names and/or create new ones. Create verbiage that your team will understand and will make it easier to find information.

NOTE: If you are using the feature that sends a virtual copy of the patient billing statement to the document center, make sure you keep the Billing Statements line item at the top of the list.

It's the little things . . .

It’s the little things that matter. I hear that statement all the time being out in the

dental industry working with dental practices from all over the country. I love it when I show clients something and their eyes light up because they now know something that is so simple but makes such a huge impact on their day.

Dentrix is by far the most comprehensive and feature-rich practice management software in the industry and this is why it is the leading software for dentists. However, when a keystroke or menu maneuver helps you do something better, faster and easier, it is HUGE.

Here are some of the top “Ah-Ha” moments I have seen over my career as a certified Dentrix trainer.

Printing the full day of Route Slips or sorting them. When I walk into an office and I see in the Batch Processor 30-60 single Route Slips being printed, I know this office does not know how to print out the whole day at one time. There are two ways to accomplish this . . .

Office manager > Reports > Lists > Daily Appointment List > check mark Patient Route Slips and send to the Batch. From this menu, you can also sort by provider or operatory.
You can also print the Route Slips within the Daily Huddle Report.

Filter the Office Journal. If you have been reading my blog, you know how much I love the office journal and I recommend all teams use it for admin communication with patients. However, I find that a lot of offices refuse to use it because it takes so long to load. Good news! You can filter your office journal so it will load less information and speed it up. Open the office journal and click on View and then Filters. Here you can select only the information you want to list in your view and you can select a starting date so it doesn’t look back to the beginning of time.
Lock your computer with a CTRL + ALT + DEL and select LOCK COMPUTER when you leave your workstation. This way, you do not have to close down all your Dentrix windows to secure your computer.

Let me know what some of your “Ah-Ha” moments are. I would love to hear your stories and quick tips to share. You can comment on this post or email me directly.

Give your scanner a break . . . two ways to eliminate scanning

Does your front office have a basket over flowing with papers with a sign on it that reads “TO BE SCANNED?” No one in the office wants to touch it because it is one of those tedious tasks that no one wants to do … so it just grows and grows. I know how you feel and many practices I work with say that scanning is one of the biggest pain points they deal with every day.

Let’s look at how we could cut that pile of paper in half … but first let’s look at what’s in that pile and how we can deal with it in the electronic world. Some examples of what ends up in that pile of “TO BE SCANNED” paper are . . .

Letters from specialists
Treatment plan estimates
Insurance EOBs and pre-estimates
New patient forms
Health history updates
Consent forms
Letters to/from patients

We can’t really do much with the paper that comes in through the mail because it is already in a paper form. There is not much we can do other than scan it. What I would recommend is reaching out to the people who are sending you paper and see if you can receive electronic correspondence or (even better) see if they can send the letter as an attachment to an email. NOTE:Make sure you are using a HIPAA-compliant email service when you are sending protected patient information.

There are two in-house ways you can eliminate the scanning without adding any additional cost or third-party service.

“Send to the Dentrix Document Center” is the easiest, most efficient way to get a document into the Document Center without scanning. This can be used for anything you receive in an email, off a website (insurance breakdowns, EOBs, etc.) or as an attachment. You can also send all your treatment plan estimates to the Document Center using this feature and then have the patient sign in the Document Center using an electronic signature device. If your referring doctors are still sending their follow up letter in the mail, you can implement a way for them to send it to you via email and now you can send it to the Document Center without scanning. CLICK HERE for instructions on how this works.
Start using the Dentrix Questionnaire module for all in-house forms, including health history updates, all treatment consent forms, financial arrangement forms and updates to your HIPAA acknowledgement. You can use the Questionnaire Module without adding any expense for electronic services … all you will need is a signature pad. You can print out your consent forms and have them laminated so the patient can read them in a paper form. After that, have the patient sign in the Questionnaire or just pull the form up on your monitor for him or her to read. It is so easy. CLICK HERE to learn how to create a new form.

Give your team a break . . . give your scanner a break and save time. Use this time to do more productive things like fill your schedule and improve your collections.

Obtaining a patient signature on the Treatment Plan Estimate . . . helping you create a more efficient workflow

I moderated my first online Dentrix user meeting last Friday and it was AWESOME! It’s called Freestyle Friday and it is open Q&A, which means YOU get to ask the questions during the live event and I get to help you solve it.

One of the most popular questions was about signing treatment plan estimates when you are paperless. This office was printing the estimate, having the patient sign it and then scanning it into the Document Center. I asked the participant why the office didn’t like this option and the answer was, “It is just so time-consuming.” Let’s look at some alternatives to being more efficient.

I gave this office two options to try and they can go back to their office and see which way works best for them. My preferred way is always not the best way for the office … which is why I love Dentrix so much as it gives a few different alternatives so you can choose.

Here are your options for obtaining an electronic signature on your treatment plan estimates. Take note that even if you are not paperless, you might find this workflow extremely helpful.

The first option is to do a “virtual print” to the Dentrix Document Center and then have the patient sign inside of the Document Center. You can find step-by-step instructions on how to do this by reading my blog titled, “A Little Known Secret”. After you have pulled the treatment plan into the Document Center, you can make notes about the agreement and then have the patient sign electronically. If you click on Edit > Sign Document or click on the icon for Sign Document, then you can have the patient sign the document in the Document Center. This will lock up the document to prevent any editing or accidental deleting.
The next option is to attach an electronic signature directly to the Treatment
Plan case. Highlight a treatment case in the Treatment Plan module or Treatment Plan panel in the patient chart, then click on the Settings tab at the bottom of the panel. When you scroll all the way down, you can create or edit the consent forms you would like to use in your office. If you click on the Supporting Information tab just above that, you can attach a selected consent form to your case. When you do this, it will open a new window to prompt you to have the patient sign. After you have the patient sign using an electronic signature device, click on Save and Close. It will automatically save a copy of the consent form along with the signatures in the Document Center.

The main difference between these two options is that the first option will save an exact copy of the Treatment Plan estimate with which the patient leaves. The benefit of this is that you can re-print it for the patient later or review it over the phone and you have the exact copy he or she does. The second option does not save a visual picture of the treatment plan estimate, only the consent form and signatures. You choose what is best for your practice.

For more information on electronic signatures, CLICK HERE.

What is the difference between the WebSync and the eSync?

Doctor asks his front desk manager, Tina, “What is that spinning globe thing that runs on my computer at 4 p.m. every day?” Tina replies, “I have no idea, I just abort it when it comes up. It’s so annoying.” The doctor then asks, “Is it something with Dentrix?” and Tina says “Yeah, but not sure what it does.”

Is this a conversation you have had in your practice? Let me clear the air so you can understand what exactly that spinning globe thing is. There are two applications that run on your computers every day, the WebSync and the eSync. They do completely different things, but the one thing they have in common is that they keep many of your eServices running smoothly and up to date. Here are the things you must know about this. . .

· WebSync sends information out. When you use some of the Dentrix eServices, there is information that is sent out to the Dentrix servers so it can be accessed from certain applications. For example, if you are using Dentrix Mobile, the Websync will send patient information, prescription history, and bits of your appointment book to the Dentrix servers so you can access it from anywhere. The WebSync checks your appointment book to see what patients are scheduled so it can upload that information to the Insurance Eligibility feature, the Kiosk for electronic forms, and to the Communication Manager for appointment reminders using email, text, and postcards.
· The eSync brings information back in. If you are using the Questionnaire module for electronic forms and patients are filling out forms via a link from your website or iPad, then the eSync brings that electronic form into your Dentrix software so you can attach it to the patient record. The eSync also brings in those appointment confirmations from the eCentral Communication Manager and changes the status of the appointment to confirm.
· The WebSync runs once a day on one computer. You may want to go around to all your workstations and check the setup in the WebSync Wizard. Click on the DXWeb toolbar > click on the wrench or gear > click on WebSync Wizard and, on the second page in the upper right corner, check “Do not run WebSync automatically.” This will turn it off on this workstation. Then set it to run automatically from one computer (I recommend one of the front office computers that will stay on 24/7).
· The eSync runs in real time 24/7. When a patient fills out an electronic form or clicks the button to confirm their appointment, the eSync recognizes that right away and sends the information to your Dentrix software immediately.

Both the WebSync and the eSync require for you to keep them updated so you always have the latest features and security updates to make sure your software is running to its fullest potential. If you click on the eSync (big red e) and open the Plug In Manager, there is a tab for Available Updates, this is where you will see any updates that need to be done. The WebSync should download any new updates if it is running each day.

I hope this helps clear up any questions or confusion about the differences between eSync and WebSync. Communications is a key component to all dental practices now days and it is important for you to maintain the integrity of the information.

If you could save a ton of money and hours of time, would you be interested?

If you could save hundreds of dollars and hours of time per month, would you be interested? When I looked at how much money our office was spending on paper and the amount of hours I spent on busy work, it amazed me that I ever got anything productive done and that our office was actually profitable. One of the specific tasks I modified in my own practice (and I now teach to anyone that will listen) is how we run the billing statements in the practice.

I was working with a doctor in Anchorage, Alaska, many years ago and he asked me to skip over teaching his team how to send billing statements because his office was going to collect 100% at the time of service. At the time I honored his request, but about six weeks later, he was rethinking his decision because his accounts receivable was creeping up and needed to stop the bleeding. Sending patient billing statements is one of those necessary tasks, but it doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming.

There are two things you can change with the way you send out billing statements to patients and it will change your life forever.

Stop sending statements once a month and start sending them out a couple times a week. My recommendation would be to post the weekend mail and do a statement run on Monday then do a statement run before the weekend. Here are the benefits . . .

It spreads out the task into smaller pieces. So instead of spending days on your statements, you can spend a few minutes a couple times a week.
The doctor will like how it evens out the cash flow.
You will like how it evens out the phone calls.
You will get paid faster.

Use Quickbill. This is where you will save a ton of money. The national average says it costs you about $5.00 per statement to send out a paper statement, but Quickbill is less than $1.00 per statement. I am a control freak so I was very skeptical when it came to having someone else send my statements, but the only thing you lose control of is the printing, folding, stuffing, stamping, and mailing. You keep all the control of writing a personal message on your statements, you still get to decide who gets one and who doesn’t, you can still have your logo on your statement, and your patients still get a return envelope. You eliminate the busy work.

Gain your time back and save your practice a ton of money.

It's time to replace your paper Rolodex

Do you remember when you had that big Rolodex sitting on your desk? With this vital office supply, you could easily find the number to the local Walgreens pharmacy to phone in a prescription for a patient or locate the janitor’s number to let him know the office would be closed on Monday for a holiday? Oh, you still have one on your desk? How is that working out for you? Did one of your team members “borrow” one of the cards and accidently re-file it back in the wrong order?

What if Dentrix G6 could organize your Rolodex for you so you never lost anything and your entire team could have access to it? That would be pretty awesome, right? Also, what if Dentrix G6 could pull all your labs, referring sources, employers, insurance carriers, and providers/staff into an electronic Rolodex for you so you could organize them by color and filter them by category? Would that just blow your mind? Let’s just step it up one more notch and let you add your own categories like pharmacies, contractors, family members, etc., so you can keep all your contacts right at your fingertips.

Let me introduce you to eDex. eDex has been launched in Dentrix G6 and is one of my favorite new features. eDex will completely replace that paper Rolodex sitting on your desk and your entire team will have access to it because it is inside your Dentrix software. Now you have room for that dual monitor you have been asking for J.

Engage patients with technology

In my March newsletter *, I talked about implementing electronic forms and patient engagement. With dental practices moving towards a digital environment, we have to look at ways to engage our patients in a digital world, create better patient experiences, and connect with them using new technology. There are many ways we can enhance our patient experience even for our older patients. In the most recent Pew Research study * on “Older Adults and Technology Use,” it finds that (for the first time) six out of 10 seniors are using the internet and 77% have a cell phone. If your office is equipped with computers in the treatment rooms, there are some things you can do in your practice right now to step up your level of patient engagement.

Forget about handing the patient a clipboard with a paper form when you can sit the patient down in your treatment room, pull the computer monitor right up to the patient, and say, “Here is the information we had documented from last visit. Does this all look accurate?” Patient forms, health history, and consent forms should be a conversation between the clinician and the patient, not a form you scan into the computer.
Have personal information about your patient right at your fingertips. Even though I help dental offices go paperless, I do like Route Slips or some kind of communication form for the team. On the Dentrix Route Slip or Patient Visit Form, you can enter personal information (vacations, hobbies, pets, etc.) in the Patient Note box and it will print on these forms. If you have to bury your face in the computer to find information, you will break that relationship with your patient.
Set up a way to communicate with your patients, family members, caregivers, referring doctors, and physicians via e-mail or the Internet. You can write language into your HIPAA manual and include it in your HIPAA Privacy Rule regarding how your office communicates electronically with other parties. Put security measures in place so you can take advantage of online communication.
Send the patient treatment plan estimate to the Document Center so it can be sent electronically to a parent, caregiver, or to the patient. Many patients now are asking, “Can you just e-mail that to me?”

The future of the dental practice is “information now.” This concept of “information now” does not have to be technology first and patient second. The two can coexist.

* Please email me at dayna@raedentalmanagement.com if you would like a copy of the full study or would like to sign up for my newsletter.

Electronic signatures . . . a must have for going paperless

Since I wrote the blog on March 23, I have been receiving a lot of questions about integrating electronic signature devices, how they work in Dentrix, and which one I recommend. The good news is that I can answer all these questions and I am excited that the shift toward going paperless is growing.

Electronic signature pads can work in several places inside of the Dentrix software from patient forms to clinical notes.

Questionnaire Module – If you are looking to be completely paperless, then this module is where all your patient forms (such as new patient forms, consent forms, financial arrangement forms, and HIPAA consent) will be located. You can capture up to three signatures (patient, provider, and witness) on a form.
Clinical Notes – After the doctor or clinical team member has finished writing his or her clinical note for the patient, he or she can sign and lock up the note for security purposes.
Document Center – If you scan, import, or send a letter to the Dentrix Document Center, you can lock up this document using an electronic signature to prevent any accidental deletion.
Treatment Plan consent forms – There is a consent forms section where you can customize your own consent forms for treatment. When you sign a consent form here, it will be attached to a specific case and will copy to the Document Center.
Microsoft Word – If you are using Quick Letters or Letter Merge, you can use an electronic signature device inside of MS Word as well.

I recommend using the ePad II signature device. They are super easy to use and they integrate beautifully with the Dentrix software. You can purchase the ePad II directly from Dentrix by calling the regular support number (800-336-8749) and being directed to sales. I have checked the pricing online and going through Dentrix is less expensive.

Once you have received your new ePads, you can install them very easily by following the instructions in the box. Plug them into the USB port and inside your Dentrix software click on the ePad II in the list. You can find this list by opening up the Questionnaire Module, click Edit, Questionnaire Setup and in the upper right corner drop down menu, select your signature device.

Since the ePad II signature device is a USB connection, it is easily moved from one computer workstation to another just like a sensor or IO camera. My recommendation would be to install one ePad for every four treatment rooms and then one for each front office workstation that patients are in contact with.

Thinking of implementing electronic forms? This is a must read

Which one are you … “chartless” or “paperless?” It is interesting when I talk with dental practices how they use these two terms interchangeably. Most people don’t see a difference. But put yourself in the patient’s shoes and there is a huge difference. If your office sends the patient paper forms to fill out before their appointment, sends the patient a PDF attachment of your new patient forms, or if you send your patients to your website where they have to download a PDF form, your office is ”chartless” not “paperless.”

Put yourself in your patients’ shoes and think about how much more convenient it would be if they could click on a link, fill out your forms, and be done with it. Wouldn’t it be even more convenient if the office team could direct an elderly patient’s caregiver or family member to assist in the paperwork? Implementing this type of technology creates a paperless environment and is simple and cost-effective.

When you are ready to go “paperless” and implement electronic forms, there are three things that often get overlooked.

Give your patients options for filling out the forms. My number one option is directing the patient or caregiver to your website. This not only drives traffic to your website so they can see all your services, meet your team, and get directions, but they can fill out the forms from the comfort of their home or work computer. However, there will be circumstances where the patient does not have access to a computer or they forget, so make sure to have plan B available. Plan B is not “give the patient the forms on paper and scan them in.” This is not acceptable. Set up a consult room, check-in station or have a tablet available for the patient to fill out your electronic forms. If the patient does not know how to use a computer, it does not take that long to interview them and fill in the form for them.
Layout your treatment rooms in a way so you have at least one monitor that the patient can view and can be pulled within reading view. Having a monitor within reading distance allows your clinical team to easily review the forms with the patient. Also, this allows you to have your patient read over your consent forms as well.
Don’t forget the electronic signature devices. Since there is no paper, you will need to capture the signature via a signature device, similar to making purchases at a store on a credit card machine. My recommendation is start small with one signature device for every four treatment rooms and one or two at the front desk. Most signature devices are USB so they can be easily moved from room to room similar to a sensor.

Whenever you are implementing a new technology like electronic forms where the patient will be doing the work, make sure your team does a practice run so they can understand the patient experience. The technology needs to be user-friendly. If any of your team members have trouble with the technology, more than likely your patients will too.

Get creative with your patient chart

When you are traveling down the path to paperless, the computer IS your patient chart and the clinical documentation becomes one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. You no longer have your blue and red indelible pencils to draw in the existing fillings, put Xs on the missing teeth, and mark up the tooth chart the way you want it. The goal with an electronic chart is to make it look as accurate as possible so when you are discussing the treatment plan or when the doctor walks in for the exam, there are no assumptions and there is no misguided information.

Let’s get a little creative and learn some of the tips and tricks you can do with your Dentrix software to make the patient chart look as accurate as possible.

Remember when you were treatment planning that occlusal pit composite filling or the MOD that covered the entire mesial cusp and you could get out your colored pencils and color away? You can do the same thing in Dentrix. Just click on the Cusps/Pits button and select the paint type you want. If the filling has already been treatment planned and you want to change the look of the filling, just right click and click on Edit Surface Painting.

Remember in the paper chart you could pick up your pencil and draw in a lingual bar retainer or circle something you wanted to remember? With the Chart Notations, you can do exactly that. On the tool bar, select the Chart Notations icon and then select the color and size of pen you want. Use your mouse to freehand draw on the tooth chart. If you want to erase your drawings, then select the eraser tool.

What about the patient who had 4-bi extractions during ortho when they were a teenager? You don’t want it to look like they have missing teeth. What about the patient who has a large diastema between 8 and 9? Using Conditions can create a visual picture of the patient’s mouth. Here are some common conditions to use:

1. Drifting Mesial– Use this for missing teeth when the space has been closed. This paint type will put arrows to show the space has been closed.

2. Open Contact – Use this for diastemas and open space between teeth

3. Unerupted – Use this condition when the tooth is below the gum line. Using this condition will also cause the perio chart to skip the tooth.

Here are some other blog posts on clinical charting:

CLICK HERE for video on treatment options
CLICK HERE for a great way to review clinical notes

Top 10 Blogs of 2014

1. Get Creative with Your ASAP List

I was working with an office recently and they have a program specifically for patients who do not pre-appoint. These patients are mostly retired and have very flexible schedules. They don’t want to tie down their schedules in four or six months so they just say, “Call me when you get an opening.” This office had a manual tracking system for these patients but wanted to find a way to incorporate this into their Dentrix system. Since you cannot put a patient on the ASAP list unless they have a scheduled appointment, we had to come up with something creative … so we gave these patients a specific status that we could search for within the Continuing Care system.CLICK HERE to continue reading

2. Top 5 reports every doctor should look at

I received an e-mail from a doctor the other day who had a situation that needed attention. Her clinical team had started posting procedures in the patient chart and had accidently posted a root canal as “complete” rather than “existing.” The root canal was not only posted to the patient’s ledger, but it was also sent electronically to the insurance company and paid. The patient called concerned about the EOB that he received and wondering why the office had billed his insurance company for a root canal he never had. When the doctor asked me what kind of safeguards she could put into place for her clinical team, my response was that this issue was an administrative boo-boo, not a clinical mistake. CLICK HERE to continue reading

3. "Can you write me an excuse note for school?"

I was at the mall yesterday shopping for some curtains for my mom’s new condo and the mall was bustling with kids shopping for back to school clothes, shoes, and backpacks. When I was working in a practice, we had a middle school directly across the street from our office and kids would walk over from school for their dental appointments. Since these kids were usually not with their parents, we would write them a note to take back to school so they could receive an excused absence. For a long time, our office would photocopy the excuse notes and write the name and date of the appointment on the note. Then I got smart . . . I added a new Quick Letter so all we had to do was click on the appointment, open Quick Letters, highlight the excuse note, and click print. My team thought this was the coolest thing ever! CLICK HERE to continue reading

4. 2014 New Year's Resolution - Credit balance clean up

Today we are going to tackle the issue of allocating payments properly on the Ledger and fixing the provider credits. In Dentrix, you can apply payments to the patient and allocate the payment to the different providers. However, most practices do not split the payments accordingly and then the patient balances and the provider A/R is not accurate. To fix the patient’s ledgers can be bit of a project, but, if this is one of your 2014 New Year’s Resolutions, here is how you do it. CLICK HERE to continue reading

5. 2014 New Year's Resolution - Clean up you database

Is your New Year’s Resolution for 2014 to clean up your Dentrix Database? Do you find that you have duplicate insurance plans taking over your system? Do you have several unnecessary or duplicate medical alerts that have nothing to do with caring for a dental patient or you have maxed out your 64 limit and you need to find a way to create some space? My focus on the next few blog posts will be to help you straighten things out a bit. CLICK HERE to continue reading

6. Re-Evaluate your PPO insurance plans

The beginning of the year is usually the time where the doctor and team are getting back in the swing of things after vacations and preparing for a new year. With all of the uneasiness in the insurance world, I have had many offices looking to re-evaluate their contracts with PPO insurance companies. But, if you are using your fee schedules and billing out the PPO fee to the patient and not posting adjustments to the ledger, how do you assess the amount of your write-offs? Use the Utilization Report for Dental Insurance or The PPO Analyzer report. CLICK HERE to continue reading

7. Opting out of virtual credit card insurance payments

The issue of using a virtual credit card for insurance payments has not only become a frustrating situation for the dental practice, but also costs the office money they don’t need to be spending. My friend and colleague, Jennifer Schultz, who is owner of The Virtual Dental Office Manager, is also having the same issues with her offices. She recently wrote an article on the same topic, CLICK HERE to read it. CLICK HERE to continue reading

8. It's only an estimate so make it as accurate as possible

Are you looking for a more accurate way to accommodate the difference that the insurance company calculates for posterior composites? What about the fact that perio maintenance is in the perio category but is usually paid at 100%? Would you like to be able to give your patients a more accurate out-of-pocket estimate? If so, then using the Payment Table will make you very happy. CLICK HERE to continue reading

9. Treatment Plan Estimates . . . personal and efficient

When I am working with an office, I love to customize things in Dentrix to make it personal for the office and the patient experience, but I am also a stickler for efficiency. If you have read any of my blogs about using templates, you know what I am talking about. Well, the same goes for when we are printing a patient’s treatment plan estimate. I want it to be customized, but efficient for the front desk. You can create customized print options and save these options when you are generating a patient treatment plan estimate. Below is a screen shot of the print page and a description of all the options from which you have to choose. CLICK HERE to continue reading

10. Jump start your medical billing

Last week, I wrote about how to set up medical cross-coding inside your Dentrix software. However, medical billing is not just about setting it up in Dentrix. Today, I am bringing in Christine Taxin, a medical billing and coding expert, to give you some information and resources that will help guide you through some of the insurance rules you need to know. CLICK HERE to continue reading

Top 5 products from the Business of Dentistry Conference

Now that I am all caught up on my emails and voicemail messages after being in Las Vegas for the Dentrix Business of DentistryConference, I can fill you in on some of the new and exciting products I saw over the weekend. Since I was teaching six classes while I was there, launching my own awesome product (see below), and talking with the vendors, I had an opportunity to see and hear what dental offices are asking for. With that in mind, here are my top five new products I saw at the Business of DentistryConference and I want you to know about.

The PPO Analyzer for Dentrix – Not because it is my product, but it generates the most beneficial reports you can have if your office is using fee schedules in Dentrix … and it is such a great value, priced at only $300. If you are looking for statistics on your PPO patients to help you make better decisions on your PPO plans, then this is a must-have for your practice. For more information, CLICK HERE.
Practice Safeguard – Are you ready to see financial security as it should be? Practice SafeGuard is a web service for doctors that alerts you to problematic ledger entries the moment they’re submitted. At the same time, it rolls your financial history into real-time business trends and performance metrics. For more information, CLICK HERE
·         Prevent potential issues with 24×7 monitoring and instant transaction alerts
·         Understand and respond to threats with issue explanations and recommendations
·         Drill into entry details and log your actions for documentation
·         Slice and dice your financial data with flexible analytics–premium users
·         Schedule reports to hit any inbox at any frequency–premium users
Text2Floss – What if you received a text message that said, “Did you floss yesterday?” Would you dig through your purse or glove box and look for that floss kit you just got from your dentist? This new app will do just that and so much more. For more information, CLICK HERE
ImageRamp for Dentrix – Are you looking for a streamlined way to scan into the Dentrix Document Center, organize your documents better, and be able to enter more detailed notes? This new product allows you to enter the document information in one place using easy-to-use dropdown menus. Also, if you need to create a new folder, you can do it without having to add it into Dentrix first. For more information, CLICK HERE
RecordLinc – In an age of HIPAA compliance, the dental office is constantly looking for secure ways of sharing information between their patients and other healthcare providers. RecordLinc is a powerful, easy-to-use, and secure web-based portal where dentists can upload and share their patients' X-rays and related records when they refer their patients to specialists such as orthodontists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and endodontists. The system links dentists and specialists together in a virtual team environment that supports real-time case planning and ongoing collaboration through online study clubs. RecordLinc is a platform that provides a consistent means of coordinating multidisciplinary patient cases by consolidating the history of work effort on each patient into a single, centralized location. RecordLinc provides a history of collaborative patient care from start to finish and allows users to access X-rays and related records. RecordLinc provides a means to create notes that are shared across various disciplines involved in the care of the patient. For more information, CLICK HERE

I hope to see you all at the Business of Dentistry next year!

Success with your dental software implementation and training

Dental Software Advisor’s podcast series focuses on software technology topics relevant to dental users. In this interview with Dayna Johnson of Rae Dental Management, a longtime industry implementation and training expert, we have a frank discussion of software implementation ands how to build acceptance and increase rewards for using appropriate technology.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PODCAST

One of the key topics during software implementation is to identify fears around software implementation and work to figure out what can be shifted to improve efficiency and reduce frustration. Solutions come from incorporating many different strategies.

For any dental practice implementing new technology, this discussion will cover common issues, frequent mistakes, and how to make the process easier and more complete. Efficiency, consistency and protection are the mantra Dayna Johnson uses for successful software implementations.

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