CHC Planning Guide - 2019 - 71

Practice Management Software

Is Software Really All That Hard?
Dental Practice Management Software: Essential/Foundational for the PCHH!
Modern dental practice management software is essential in the community health world. Often dental specific
software has taken a backseat to the medical software and the decision driven by easiest compatibility with
the medical software even if the features themselves do not seem to understand the unique requirements of
dentistry, especially community health dentistry, and do not facilitate desired outcomes.

Refitting a Practice with

Here are some features which enhance the community health program delivery of care:
Software that Fits
* Patient record keeping
By Dr. Beth Jacobsen and Dr. Beth Shaw
* Accessibility and security of patient records
* Appointment scheduling
* Charting
* Patient billing
* Insurance claims
* Patient recalls
* Custom reporting
* Patient education
* Treatment planning and tracking
* Diagnostic codes
* Coordination and Integration with Medical Care
* Data mining for unmet treatment, grant reports, needs assessments,
outcomes evaluation
* Periodontal charting
* CAMBRA
* Risk management: for example, standardization of post-operative instructions and medical alerts
* Updated patient history
* Prescription management
When we took over a dental practice in the trendy University
Village neighborhood of Seattle, we knew we had to make it
state-of-the-art.

images displayed together so we could understand a patient's
status at a glance. We also needed the flexibility to connect to the
system when we are away from the office.

Our office is a few blocks from the University of Washington,
so we serve patients who work at UW and many who work
for Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon and other high-tech
companies in the area. Our patients are very
tech savvy, and they expect advanced
techniques at the peak of today's
dentistry.

Dentrix was the only practice management software that fit all
of our criteria. Plus, it could be tailored to our practice and our
team's needs. We installed the new system in 2013,
and hired a Dentrix trainer to help us learn and
customize the program. Having a Dentrix
pro help us transfer the old patient
records to Dentrix saved us
hours of time.

That's exactly what we wanted
to deliver. However, the
software we inherited
with the practice didn't
meet our needs. We
had an ideal location
and up-to-date office
furnishings, but the
software didn't fit
the way we wanted
to practice.
Our search for
new practice
management
software began a
few months later.
First, we created a
list of must-haves.
The new software
would need to:

1. Accommodate a twodoctor practice.
2. Provide paperless
scheduling, charting and
communication tools.
3. Allow us to connect to the office
from home or other locations.
4. Integrate digital images with
patient charts.
5. Run on different computer platforms
and mobile devices.

INGIMAGE.COM #02E97223
need hi res

As a two-doctor practice with shared patients, continuous
communication and accurate charting were top priorities. We
each needed the ability to look at a patient chart and see exactly
what was done and when. We needed treatment plans and

Once the team was
trained and all patient
records were
transferred to
Dentrix, we had no
problems using
the system. With
Dentrix Mobile
on our phones
we could see
the upcoming
schedule or
check patient
needs without
going to the
office-an
invaluable tool.
Now that we are
using software
that fits the way we
practice, we expect
our dental practice to
grow. And, with the ability
to add eServices to Dentrix,
we expect to stay on the forefront
of technology. It's what our patients
expect, too.

About the Authors:
Dr. Jacobsen and Dr. Shaw of new32 Aesthetic and Family
Dentistry both graduated from the University of Washington
School of Dentistry in 2008. Both dentists are mothers of young
children and appreciate the flexibility Dentrix gives them to enjoy
their families and the great outdoors around Seattle. Learn more
about their practice at http://new32dental.com/.

Sidekick | Vol. 3 2018 | 17

Meaningful Use (MU)
Meaningful Use certification is now an essential part of implementing an electronic health record. If you have
a certified electronic medical record, and your dental record integrates with that record, you can meet MU
Certification. Dentrix Enterprise is also stand-alone MU certified.
As essential functionality and considerable federal funding is available to you through MU-certified electronic
health records, these are recommended. 2016 is the last year to attest and receive all years of MU funding.

www.henryschein.com/sm

http://www.INGIMAGE.COM http://www.henryschein.com/sm

CHC Planning Guide - 2019

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