1. My favorite option is to use the Office Journal for communicating with your team. Did you know that not only every patient has an Office Journal but every team member as well? You can create your own TO-DO list or put a task on someone else’s TO-DO list. What if your doctor needs to write you a narrative or phone in a new RX for a patient? What if you need to remember to call a patient back in April or send in your doctor’s license renewal by June 1^st. Putting a Reminder on the Office Journal will solve all of this.
1. If it is regarding a patient, open the patient’s Office Journal and add a new entry. Add it as a Reminder, give it a due date, put in the provider ID that you are assigning this message to, enter a description and a note. Click OK. Now this message will show up on the patient’s Office Journal and the team member you assigned to.
2. Now, if it is a message you just want to send to one of your team members, go to the Office Manager and open the Office Journal. Now it will ask you for a provider ID and you can select the team member you want to send a message to. Put it as a Reminder, enter a date, description and your message. Click OK.
3. The Office Journal can be set up to open automatically when you log in your workstation in the morning. Go to the Office Manager > Maintenance> Practice Setup > Preferences > and then check mark Automatically Launch Office Journal. I would recommend filtering your Office Journal so it will load faster. To do this, click on View at the top of the Office Journal and click on Filters, then select Reminders and give it a beginning balance date and click on Save as Default.
2. You can use the Appointment Note as a TO-DO list for the entire office. This note is located in the upper left corner of the Appointment Book and it is just a blank piece of paper you can make notes on. Think of it as a big sticky note.
3. The third option for Intra-Office Communications is to use the Dentrix integrated IM system, Dentalink. You can set up Dentalink and send messages back and forth from workstations to alert team members of things happening. If the hygienist is running behind, he or she can send an IM up to the front alerting them. Or maybe the front office wants to send a message to the doctor’s office workstation. These IM messages show up as a “bubble” in the lower right of the workstation and are good for today only.  

• The dashboard will keep a running clock from the time the patient walks in the door to the time he or she walks out. This will give your team data on how often you are running late with patients. 
• When the patient is assigned to the doctor for treatment the timer can give you precise statistics so you will know exactly how long certain procedures take and you can adjust in your default time units, which could increase your production per hour.
• With the iWatch integration, the doctor will receive information about the patients currently waiting. The iWatch will send info such as medical alerts, today’s visit and last visit. 

As I write this blog for you all today, I am sitting in a hotel in Jacksonville, Fla., because I am working with an amazing periodontal office with their systems, health history updates and overall practice efficiency. Last night, I spoke to their study club members on some practical measures when it comes to protecting their patient records. It is ironic that, as I write this, we are on the verge of Hurricane Matthew hitting the east coast of Florida … so this post becomes so much more important.

• Power outages are going to be a huge issue with this upcoming storm. If you are going to close the office and want to have access to some of your patients’ information for returning calls, phoning in medications or following up with your patients after some surgeries, I would recommend you using Dentrix Mobile. When you use Dentrix Mobile, you have the opportunity to remote in using a mobile device and having access to some of your patients’ critical information.
• Make sure an authorized team member has access to the backup of all the patient data in case of flooding or destruction of the practice. The backup of the data might be on an external hard drive or in an online secure backup system. Dentrix has the option of using eBackup to store your patients’ information securely and safely. This would give your practice a good option to access patient data in case of an emergency.
• Make sure you have your Business Associate Agreements in place with your outside contractors. What if you are working with a consultant, accountant, attorney or computer company who has access to your patients’ information and they are the ones who are affected by the storm which jeopardizes the confidentiality of your patients’ information?

• Referring Doctor Letters
• Lab Slips
• Original Forms from Paper Chart
• New Patient Forms
• Health History Update (of course if you read my blog you know that I love the Questionnaire module for HHX)
• Consent Forms
• Pre-Op Forms

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

• 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.

Practice management software is a critical element in every thriving practice. Yet many Dentists and Team Members are only using a small fraction of the capabilities of their practice management software. In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary interviews his friend Dayna Johnson on specific tips to optimize your dental practice management software. Dayna is an authority on this subject and passionate about helping her colleagues. In this interview, Gary and Dayna discuss; Why many dental offices are still using a paper chart, the four specific benefits of converting to digital records, the three key elements of a successful paperless transition, important security tips, a fool proof back up system and the five most important statistics that every office should monitor with their practice management software.

CLICK HERE to be directed to the podcast

The Secret Weapon of every dental office is their practice management software. The big secret is how it is used or underutilized. There are many good systems available to the dental community but most dentists only use a fraction of their utilities capabilities. Looking toward the future, dentists must embrace the power and versatility of their practice management suite. The benefits of a robust PMS can help them become more efficient and even more profitable. Whether you are a solo practitioner or a large group, practice efficiency and seamless technology integration is the goal!

If you assess the business acumen of independent solo dental practices across the USA you will find these four business styles. These styles address leadership, management style and degree of confidence. There is a direct correlation between leadership type and operational efficiency as well as PMS competency and offices that track their key production numbers.

CLICK HERE to continue reading my interview with Jack Abrams from The Abrams Report courtesy of the Everything Dental Blog.

• ·        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.

This week is filled with office holiday parties, baskets of holiday goodies being delivered from your specialists, and making sure you have your out-of-office emergency messages all set up just in case a patient needs to reach your doctor. When you return back to your office after the holiday, you will be looking ahead to 2016 with setting new goals, mapping out your appointment book for a more stress-free working day, and looking at new strategies to attract new patients. There is one thing I am asking you to add to your list of planning for 2016 … and that is to please bring your office up to HIPAA compliance.

1. Where is your office’s risk assessment documented and what is the results?
2. Where is your office’s customized HIPAA Security Manual?
3. When is your next annual office HIPAA training scheduled?

Is a new iWatch on your Christmas list for this year or are you already wearing your iWatch wondering what to do with it? I have a couple of suggestions for you . . . use it to help you manage your time and patients at your dental practice.

Let’s picture a postcard. This mode of communication is perfect for documenting your latest trip laden with landmark pictures on the front and a simple “Wish you were here” written on the back. Anyone can flip over the postcard, read your sentiments. You’d never write anything too personal knowing this postcard can be an open book. No need to safeguard this innocent letter.

• Opening Emails
• Use a mail solution that has antivirus and a robust spam filter enabled.
• Inspect all email messages thoroughly, including the senders address.
• Do not open any email that looks suspicious. If you do not know the sender, treat it as suspicious email.
• Sending Emails
• Confirm the email address with which you are sending information. 
• Do not put any ePHI in the subject line of an encrypted email – this information is still transmitted through an unsecure environment.

During my 22 years in dentistry, I have been both the trainer and the trainee when it comes to implementing new technology in the dental practice. People who know me see me as kind of a computer geek.

If you are like me and read up on the latest news in the dental industry and keep up on breaking stories then you know that many dental practices have been violated recently by the Crypticwall or the Crypticlocker virus.  This virus can be devastating to the practice and embarrassing to you and your team.  My friend and Dentrix Product Manager, Brad Royer, wrote a great response to this topic in the Dental Town forum and I have his permission to share it with all of you.

These viruses do not just hold Dentrix for ransom, they hold your entire computer and other systems on the network ransom.  They are known as ransomware.  The most widely known example from a few years ago was called cryptolocker (this particular version is almost eradicated); however, there have been many other copy cats and other versions that have since been created.

Please see the following information on ways to prevent your office from being affected by this malware.

• Do not share your business email accounts except for with customers, patients, and colleagues.
• In most cases, in order to receive malicious emails, spammers first need to know your email address. Therefore, it is recommended that your business email addresses not be shared with anyone except your patients, your customers, and your colleagues.
• Sometimes it is necessary to use your business email to sign on to a web site. Be sure that if you use your business email address on a web site, only use it on a legitimate web site that you are familiar with. And make sure that this usage is for business purposes only. Unfortunately, even legitimate web sites will often share your email address with third-parties. However, the more you can reduce the exposure of your business email addresses to the web, the safer your email will be.
• Do not post your business email account on the public internet such as posting on your business web site or on forums.
• Harvesting bots are special software designed to obtain email addresses from public data on the web. Once emails are harvested, the emails are then added to lists for sending spam emails and other threats. In order to help avoid having your business email address harvested it is a good idea to not post your business email address on your company web site or on a web forum for the public to see. Also, make sure that your email address does not show up in your signature on a forum or as a link within a guest book. If the public can see your email address, then it is likely that a harvesting bot can see it also.
• Make sure that your company web site has some sort of security method in place to hide your email from harvesting bots while allowing your web site visitors to communicate with you.
• Do not use your business email address to sign up for promotions, drawings, or other marketing gimmicks.
• Sharing your business email to sign up for anything free or for any special promotion is likely a method for a spammer to collect email addresses. Some of the signup emails or signup pages can even contain malware or viruses that immediately load on your computer.
• Do not open unfamiliar or suspicious emails; delete them.
• When checking email, do not click on unfamiliar or suspicious emails or attachments. Instead, immediately delete them. Some suspicious emails when clicked can add your email address to a list, or even worse, install malware or a virus.
• Also, be careful with unsubscribe links in certain emails. Although many unsubscribe links are legitimate, some unsubscribe links within suspicious or unfamiliar emails could contain links to further threats.
• Microsoft Exchange users should implement SPAM Firewall services.
• If you host your own Microsoft Exchange server, you need to implement a Spam Firewall service such as Barracuda. This type of service will help reduce spam emails arriving to your inbox.
• Web based email users, only use legitimate email services rated high for security.
• If you use web based email for your business, make sure to only use a reputable service such as Outlook.com or Gmail that contain built in security measures to help prevent spam and viruses.
• Restrict email usage.
• Email usage should be for business purposes only and should be conducted by approved and secure email methods. Limit email usage to only select employees who will be responsible for following the proper protocols. Personal email on business systems should not be allowed.
• Be suspicious of email attachments.
• Before opening an email attachment verify that you recognize the sender, the name of the attachment, and the body of the email. If anything seems out of place do not open the attachment. Delete.
• Restrict web surfing.
• Minimize the number of users in the office that are allowed to surf the internet. This can be accomplished by implementing and enforcing rules for usage. Only surf the web for business purposes while only visiting legitimate web sites.
• Systems that do not need web browsing can have the web browsing disabled either through the computer settings or by changing the settings within the firewall.
• Perhaps implement web filtering services. These services can allow some web browsing to occur while filtering potentially dangerous sites or sites that waste time and productivity of employees.
• The more systems with a web browser that is filtered or disabled, the safer the network will be.
• Personal web browsing by employees should not be allowed on business computers. Although visiting social media sites and other personal web sites may be common, this is the leading cause for businesses acquiring viruses on the network. Make it the protocol that employees must web surf on their own personal devices such as phones or tablets.
• Implement email encryption.
• Before sending an email to a customer, patient, or colleague, consider encrypting the email so that it cannot be read or captured by a hacker while in transit. There are many third-party services that offer encryption.
• Also, products such as Adobe Acrobat allow one to encrypt a single document at a time that is password protected. The document can then be attached to an email and then sent. The recipient only needs to know a password to unlock the encryption and then view the documents once received. This is a basic and inexpensive method for encryption.
• Get rid of old email accounts if they receive too much spam and open new email accounts.
• If your business is using an old email account that receives excessive SPAM and junk mail, maybe it is time to retire the old email address and create a new one. Be sure to not share the new email address with anyone except customers, patients, colleagues, or legitimate web sites for business purposes only. This may require updating or changing business cards, flyers, or your company web site.
• Do not allow employees to check personal email on business computers.
• So far as personal email, there is a very simple protocol for employees to follow. Do not allow personal email to be checked on business computers. Employees should use their personal devices such as phones or personal tablets to check personal email.
• Do not allow employees to connect their personal devices such as phones or tablets to the business network.
• Make sure that employees are not connecting their personal devices to the business network. The only exception would be is if you have a secure firewall in place with a separate guest network. The guest network must be firewalled from the business network, never allowing communication between the two.
• If you do not have this sort of secure and separate guest network, then do not allow personal devices to connect to the business network.
• Run updates on all systems on a regular basis.
• Run Windows updates on a regular basis. Be sure to run these updates during business downtime and be prepared for the updates to take quite a bit of time to install. There could possibly be multiple reboots involved. Once completed, be sure to test all systems, test all database software, and test healthcare devices to make sure they are in good working condition before the next business day. Windows updates cannot protect against all possible attacks, but they can help to make your systems more secure.
• Make sure you have up-to-date antivirus software on all systems.
• This includes all workstations and servers. Antivirus needs to be active and up-to-date. Although, antivirus cannot protect against all possible attacks, it can help to keep your network safer by addressing possible viruses and malware.
• Be sure to always have a current backup of your data and an old backup of your data.
• Each backup should be on separate, secure media. You should have multiple backup sets that represent multiple restore dates. Some backup sets should be new and some should be older. That way you will have more choices of dates to restore from. For example, one backup from yesterday, another backup from two days ago, another backup from three days ago, and a fourth backup from two weeks ago, etcetera. The more backup sets that are available to choose from in a restore situation the better the odds are of restoring the system to the best possible state in a disaster recovery scenario. Multiple backup media and multiple backup methods are encouraged.

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?”

I had the pleasure of talking with Brad Royer, the Dentrix product manager, about the release of Dentrix G6.  The launch date is scheduled on April 30, 2015 during the California Dental Association meeting.  Stop by the Dentrix booth during CDA to see all of the amazing features but you can watch our interview now to hear about the highlights.