Is it Global or Workstation specific?

Do you wonder why if you run statements from one computer you don’t get the same result if you run them from another computer?  Or why a patient chart looks one way on one workstation and completely different on another?  This is because some settings are global and some settings are workstation specific.  Today, I am going to break down for you what is workstation specific and teach you how to create some consistency in your office.  This article assumes you have Dentrix G3 or higher installed.

Office Manager

• Practice Defaults – Office Manager > Maintenance > Practice Setup > Practice Defaults. Everything here is workstation specific, except the default Insurance Claim Provider. This is a global setting.
• Print Setup – Office Manager > File > Print Setup. You can select a different printer per workstation.
• Report Fonts – Office Manager > Maintenance > Practice Setup > Report Fonts. If you want a special font or want the reports bigger, this is how you can set it up your way.
• Preferences – Office Manager > Maintenance > Practice Setup > Preferences. Here is what is workstation specific:
• Show close messages
• Startup Options
• Additional Options
• Default Signature on File for New Subscribers
• Print Options
• Billing Statement Setup – Office Manager > Reports > Billing. What I would recommend here is once you have the setup and the check boxes the way you want them, make a screen shot (ALT-PRNT SCRN) of it and save it to a Word document so you can reference back to it if the setup gets lost or you want to setup a different workstation.
• Prescription Setup – Office Manager > Maintenance > Practice Setup > Prescription Setup. The prescriptions are global but the printer and print setup are workstation specific. 
• Electronic Claims – Office Manager > Maintenance > Practice Setup > Electronic Claims Setup. You must set up each workstation individually.
• Electronic Billing Setup – Office Manager > Maintenance > Practice Setup > Electronic Billing Setup. You must setup each workstation individually.

Patient Chart

• Procedure Buttons – Setup > Procedure Buttons. You can create a button set and save it.  Then at each workstation you can select the button set from the drop down menu.  FYI . . . always make sure you SAVE your buttons if you make any changes and do not have more than one workstation editing buttons at the same time. 
• Colors – Setup > Chart Display Setup. You can create a custom color scheme and give it a name just like with the buttons.  Then in each room, you can select the color scheme from the drop down menu.  FYI . . . a lighter blue background (blue sky) usually works better because the contrast between the completed work and lighter blue background is more clear.
• Perio Setup – Perio Chart > Setup > Entry Settings Setup. This is where you can create a custom script.  For more information on creating a custom script, CLICK HERE.
• Perio Setup – Perio Chart > Setup > Perio Display Setup. This is where you can set colors, red flag limit, etc.  Just like the chart colors, you can save the theme with a name and then select it from the drop down menu from other workstations.

Appointment Book

• Background Colors -  Appointment Book > Setup > Practice Appointment Setup. Then you can change the open and closed colors.
• Views – Appointment Book > View > If you have never setup a custom view, click on New. If you want to change your view, click Edit. Each new view correlates to the function keys on your keyboard.  My recommendation for the treatment room is to create a view that protects patient information, then to match it up to the F1 key so if the view gets changed, you can easily hit the F1 key to bring it back.
• Flip Tabs – Appointment Book > Setup > Flip Tabs. Then you can create up to four quick tabs on the right side of your appointment book to jump you to a certain date.
• Hover Setup  - (G4 PP7 and newer) Appointment Book > Setup > Practice Appointment Setup, then click on the Hover Detail Setup.  You can slow the Hover down, edit what shows in the Hover or disable it completely.

Ledger

• Checkout Options – Ledger > File > Fast Checkout Options. You can customize this for your workstation.
• View – Ledger > File > Ledger Colors Setup. You can create your own color scheme.

In all of the Dentrix modules, you have the option to add or remove any of the icons from the toolbar so you can customize each toolbar. You can add spaces to spread them out or move them to a different location. If more than one person uses your workstation, however make sure you both agree on the customization. 

Anything that is not on this list is more than likely a global setting. My recommendation is to have someone in the office, either the doctor or office manager, who has rights to edit, add or change the global settings.  If you are using passwords, you can password protect some of these global settings.

Dayna Johnson, Certified Dentrix Trainer

Dayna loves her work. She has over 25 years of experience in the dental industry, and she’s passionate about building efficient, consistent, and secure practice management systems. Dayna knows that your entire day revolves around your practice management software—the better you learn to use it, the more productive and stress-free your office will be. In 2016, Dayna founded Novonee ™, The Premier Dentrix Community, to help cultivate Dentrix super-users all over the country. Learn more from Dayna at www.novonee.com and contact Dayna at dayna@novonee.com.

Your new title . . . appointment book architect

Did you know there was a hierarchy order when you are setting up the practice appointment book? What if you have a hygienist who comes in at 10 every morning but the rest of the office starts at 8? How can you set up her treatment room for her schedule? Here are the three tiers of setup for your appointment book. Start with the first and work your way down for optimal success.

Practice Setup – This is the default hours for the entire practice. Even if you only work a couple Fridays each month, make sure you include Fridays in this setup. From the appointment book, click on Setup > Practice Appointment Setup, then, on the left side, click on each day the office is open and enter in the hours for the day, leaving time for the lunch break.  After you have setup the default hours and days you can click back into Setup > Practice Schedule and close certain days or set a day as a holiday.

Provider Setup – This is the default hours for each of your producing providers. If you have other providers in your system, make sure all their days are unchecked. This will make sure your Practice Advisor Report is as accurate as possible. For more information on the Practice Advisor Report, CLICK HERE. From the Appointment Book, click on Setup > Provider Setup > Setup and click on each day this provider might work (even if he or she only works every other Friday, make sure you click on Fridays). Then enter the hours each day this provider works. If you need to change the hours for a particular day in this provider’s schedule, select Schedule and double click on the day you want to edit. If this provider is taking a vacation day, click the Schedule tab again, select the day, and click on Options at the top and “Set as Vacation Day.”

Operatory Setup – The last place where you can edit the office hours is in the Operatory Setup. This will alter the default Practice Setup just for this particular treatment room and give you a visual of open and closed times. From the Appointment Book, click on Setup > Operatory Setup, then select the treatment room you want to edit and enter the hours for this treatment room. You can also right click on the top of the Operatory Name on the schedule to open this menu.

Having your office, provider, and treatment room hours set up properly will ensure that other reports that calculate hours are working properly. Also, when you have the provider hours correctly entered, the team will receive warning messages that can help alleviate scheduling mistakes. What I like the most is the Operatory Setup because this is a way you can visually alter the treatment room hours. This really helps with scheduling.

Dayna Johnson, Certified Dentrix Trainer

Dayna loves her work. She has over 25 years of experience in the dental industry, and she’s passionate about building efficient, consistent, and secure practice management systems. Dayna knows that your entire day revolves around your practice management software—the better you learn to use it, the more productive and stress-free your office will be. In 2016, Dayna founded Novonee ™, The Premier Dentrix Community, to help cultivate Dentrix super-users all over the country. Learn more from Dayna at www.novonee.com and contact Dayna at dayna@novonee.com.

Create more cash flow

One of my favorite and most challenging jobs I ever held in the dental practice was Financial Coordinator. Not only was I responsible for maintaining a healthy Accounts Receivable, but also creating financial systems that were effective, efficient, and manageable. After working in the dental practice for more than 20 years, I am super excited to now teach these systems to you.

If you and your team will be attending The Business of Dentistry Conference this year, I will be teaching some of the systems I developed and have implemented into many dental practices. If you want a sneak peak into the courses I will be teaching, keep reading.

 

 

Even out the cash flow

Do you dread the day that you have to run statements? The mountain of paper that sits on your desk for three to four days while you sort through it, piece by piece, writing personalized messages or stamping a page with color-coded stickers to draw attention to the fact that the balance is past due. On top of that, the entire following week is spent fielding phone calls from patients with questions about their bills. Sound familiar? What if you could do away with this archaic routine? Well, listen closely … because I am about to tell you how. CLICK HERE to continue reading

Show me the money

Each week, I am amazed at how many offices I visit that not only are not using the Collections Manager Report, but don’t even know what it is. When I am working with an office on its collection routine, I always ask, “What are you currently using for your collection calls?” The typical answers are, “The Aging Report” or “The billing statements.” Crazy I say! CLICK HERE to continue reading

The Business of Dentistry Conference is only a month away and it is not too late to join me in my two classes and register for some of the other amazing learning opportunities that are available. CLICK HERE to be directed to the registration page.

 

Dayna Johnson, Certified Dentrix Trainer

Dayna loves her work. She has over 25 years of experience in the dental industry, and she’s passionate about building efficient, consistent, and secure practice management systems. Dayna knows that your entire day revolves around your practice management software—the better you learn to use it, the more productive and stress-free your office will be. In 2016, Dayna founded Novonee ™, The Premier Dentrix Community, to help cultivate Dentrix super-users all over the country. Learn more from Dayna at www.novonee.com and contact Dayna at dayna@novonee.com.