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Practice Management Software:


An Update
P
ractice management software is the glue that holds allow for more automation, freeing the office staff to con-
the front and back offices of your practice together. centrate on other, more profitable endeavors. So let’s look
Use of practice management software by both den- into the crystal ball and see what is new and forthcoming
tal teams makes for the most efficient use of your practice in practice management software.
management system. Most dental offices fail to harness the
power of their practice management software, missing a What’s on the Horizon?
key opportunity to improve the practice. The government In their soon-to-be-released Productivity Pack 8 (this is
is mandating that all patient records be electronic by 2014. self-updating for those offices using Dentrix G4), Dentrix
Therefore start using your practice management software will have an instant messaging client built into the soft-
to slowly bring your practice toward that requirement. ware. This will allow 2-way communication between of-
Consider incorporating computers into your treatment fice computers. Your hygienist can request that the dentist
rooms. Use additional software features that you are not cur- perform an exam without having to leave her treatment
rently using; don’t waste the power of the systems you al- room to make the request. The dentist can communicate
ready have. Start with hygiene and enter the treatment needed with the front desk without leaving the operatory.
by recare patients. By adding this small task to your records, Enhancements to the kiosk will allow patients to use a
treatment that needs to be done can be easily tracked. computer or iPad to update their forms more easily from
In many ways software is like a child—it continues to their home or the reception area. Instead of giving the patient
grow and become more self-reliant. The major practice a clipboard full of forms to fill out, the patient can enter all
management software packages such as Dentrix (Henry the information securely over the Internet, and it will be
Schein Practice Solutions), PracticeWorks (Carestream synced to Dentrix. No more need to enter information twice.
Dental LLC), and Eaglesoft (Patterson Dental) continue to Dentrix’s new Practice Advisor advertises that it will
upgrade their feature packages. Although each dental make it easier to analyze your practice numbers and will
practice will not use every software feature available, it is offer suggestions on how to improve your practice. The
important to stay abreast of these features. Many times company’s Profitability Coaching is a great way for you
requests for features are already incorporated into the to maximize Dentrix’s offerings. Although it’s not a re-
software before a practice inquires about it. placement for a good consultant, Profitability Coaching
Do not be afraid of upgrades. Although they can be a goes beyond training. Dentrix will analyze your numbers
hassle, often the additional features can make your office and provide monthly meetings with the “Coach,” who
more productive. Current practice management systems will show you how to make improvements by getting the
most out of Dentrix.
Martin Jablow, DMD Dentrix G5 changes the database to Structured Query
Private Practice Language, allowing easier task automation. Forms will be
Woodbridge, NJ
Phone: 848.207.4567 online; therefore, there is no need to rely on the built-in
E-mail: marty@dentaltechnologycoach.com Dentrix forms. Your forms can become templates and can
Web site: www.dentaltechnologycoach.com be integrated into the software and made available online
Blog: dentechblog.blogspot.com
for your patients to complete before their appointment.

www.dentallearning.net Dental Learning / April 2011 1


Don’t forget to take advantage of built-in savings on eS- lows the dentist to access a patient’s clinical profile to find
ervice 1GB of free online backup. essential information, such as the patient’s current and
Eaglesoft has released version 16. New features and past medications and prescriptions, medical conditions,
capabilities in this version include line-item accounting, recent treatments, insurance, appointment history and
which allows application of a payment directly to a spe- schedule, as well as any medical alerts. You can even view
cific line item. Related services and payments can be radiographic images; keep track of your follow-up calls
grouped together so that you can see the account and to patients and record the outcome of conversations; and
what services any patient balance arises from. Creating stay connected with referring dentist profiles, complete
family walkout statements allows all family information with their biographical and professional information. It is
to be placed on one receipt. With improved bulk payment like having PracticeWorks or SoftDent in your hand.
processing, you can now minimize the payment window Along with those items, Carestream Dental is rolling
to do other tasks and return to finish posting when you out 2 new solutions focused on maximizing the efficiency
have time. Insurance company and payment group lists of a dental team: the new Scheduler and eForms. The
can be visualized and new claims for a select company or scheduler—available for both SoftDent and PracticeWorks
payment group added to a payment. Automatic Account software in early 2011—allows intuitive multitasking be-
Aging saves time on End-of-Day Processing and Statement tween administrative responsibilities. The new Scheduler
Processing, keeping account balances up to date. is built on new technology and will focus on improving
A welcome change has been made to the appointment and optimizing the most critical and repetitive workflows.
book: you now can easily change time units in the sched- Anticipated for release this fall, Carestream Dental’s
ule on the fly without affecting existing appointments. It eForms module will allow patients to complete their forms
is now possible to easily open or close an entire day from online before coming into the practice or at a computer
the schedule, or close a clinical chair without creating cus- kiosk in the office before their appointment. When the
tom hours. Expanded appointment search options allow forms are completed, data are updated in the practice
searching by any type of appointment at one time, in- management software, improving accuracy and eliminat-
cluding blocks; searches can be done based on confirma- ing wasted time for data entry.
tion status and combination of providers. For those looking for a simplified solution, consider
A new easy-to-navigate “Patient Bar” allows you to cloud computing, sometimes referred to as Software as a
customize icons and quickly access patient-specific infor- Service. This differs from the common client/server con-
mation. Windows are now customizable, and dockable figuration. All you need is a Web browser and a basic net-
panels personalize your workspace. Choose your Account, work setup for your office; all your data reside on the
Appointment, and OnSchedule windows and select the Web. Think of it as being similar to your banking arrange-
amount of information shown and where to display it. ment. You can make transactions but you don’t actually
PracticeWorks has changed its name to Carestream hold the cash. Examples of this type of software are Curve
Dental LLC. This is only a name change; there will be no Dental’s Hero and Planet DDS’s Denticon. These cloud-
change to the PracticeWorks company, products, or serv- based software products are especially appealing to mul-
ices. Carestream Dental is rolling out standard updates to tilocation practices. Web-based software reduces backup
all of its software programs. SoftDent v14.0 is currently and information technology costs.
shipping to all customers. Also currently available is eRe-
minders, a new integrated patient reminder system for up- Conclusion
coming appointments. Now you know all the reasons to upgrade your soft-
In addition, Carestream Dental is preparing to release ware. Don’t let old hardware hold you back. The future of
v2.0 of the PEARL module, first introduced at the 2009 practice management software is evolving, and you don’t
California Dental Association North meeting. PEARL al- want to be left behind.

2 Dental Learning / April 2011 www.dentallearning.net

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