Didn't I Tell You I Had Secondary Insurance?

What do you do if a patient tells you they have secondary insurance coverage after you have already sent out the primary claim or after you have already received payment from the primary insurance carrier? How do you create a claim for the secondary insurance when the Create Secondary option is grayed out and unavailable in the claim widow?

As long as the primary claim isn't in history, the solution is simple:

First, select the patient who has secondary insurance coverage in the Family File and assign them the secondary insurance.

Then open the Ledger for that patient and double-click their primary claim. Notice the Create Secondary option is grayed out and not available. In the Primary Dental Insurance Claim window, double-click the Subscriber Information block to open the Patient/Insurance Information dialog box. At the bottom, select Update Secondary Insurance and click OK.

Now the Create Secondary option in the Primary Dental Insurance Claim window is available. Click this option to create a secondary claim for the patient.

For additional information, see the Assigning Secondary Insurance to Subscribers with Dual Coverage and Creating Secondary Claims topics in Dentrix Help.

Copying the Patient Ledger to a Spreadsheet

Has a patient ever requested to see their Ledger history? Or have you wanted to present someone their financial history and highlight some of the lines so they stand out? 

In the Ledger, first adjust what appears on the Ledger from the Options menu (where you can show or hide the Ledger + History) and/or the View menu (where you can show individual patients or all family members).

Then choose File > Copy to Clipboard.

Now open a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel and press Paste (Ctrl+V) to insert everything you copied from the Ledger.

Now you can use the tools in your spreadsheet to sort the information and/or to add color, bold, italics, or other font attributes to your liking. 

For additional information see these previous Ledger tips:

• Printing the Family Ledger Report
• Customizing Ledger Colors
• Understanding the Ledger Display
• Viewing the Running Balance in the Ledger
• Showing Transaction Links in the Ledger

EOBs, eEOBs, and ERAs

When dealing with insurance claims, you've probably come across the acronyms EOB and eEOB. These have been used in past versions of Dentrix; however, starting with Dentrix G7.6, eEOB has been replaced with ERA.

EOB, of course, stands for Explanation of Benefits—a document sent to your practice that explains how a reimbursement was made on behalf of a patient's insurance claim. In the past, all EOBs were paper documents sent by mail. From each EOB, you had to enter the payment, deductible, check number, and so forth, into Dentrix. eEOB stands for Electronic Explanation of Benefits, and it's nothing more than a digital version of an EOB. 

ERA stands for Electronic Remittance Advice, and it's essentially an eEOB (a Dentrix term) with a different name. ERA is the insurance industry's preferred acronym. Accordingly, starting with version G7.6, Dentrix has replaced the term eEOB with ERA. Now, when an ERA is received via the Internet, the payment, deductible, reference number, and so forth, are automatically entered into Dentrix for you. Then, you only need to verify that the payment was received in your bank account and click the Post Claim button.

Most changes from eEOB to ERA have occurred in the Batch Insurance Payment Entry dialog box, as follows:

The Register for Electronic ERAs button

To receive and post ERAs in the Batch Insurance Payment Entry dialog box, you must first register with eServices for Dentrix and have Dentrix eClaims installed. You can start the registration process by opening the Batch Insurance Payment dialog box and clicking Register for Electronic ERAs. For more information, click here, and for complete instructions on registering, call 1-800-734-5561 (option 2).

Fields and buttons in the Batch Insurance Payment Entry dialog box

Under Batch Entry Type there is now an ERA option that shows the number of unprocessed claims. To move on to the next claim, use the Next ERA button. You can search for claims from a specific carrier in the Select ERA search field, and then click to View ERA in Doc Center as well.

When you click the Select ERA search button, the Select ERA dialog box displays the following:

• The Skip/Process Selected ERA and Displayed ERA Claims button
• The View ERA in Document Center button
• The ERA Claims list

As you work with Dentrix and see the acronym ERA, know that it does the same job that eEOB used to do—making entering insurance payment information quicker and more accurate!

Additional Information

Read the following topics in Dentrix Help and note that most, if not all, references to eEOB have been replaced with ERA:

• Entering Electronic Insurance Payments
• Registering to Receive ERAs
• Selecting ERAs
• Viewing ERAs in the Document Center

How to Keep Your Schedule Full with the Fill Appointment Feature

It happens all the time. An appointment time opens up in next week's schedule that you need to fill, but you can't seem to find a spare minute to call patients who could fill it. 

Wouldn't it be nice if you could contact multiple patients at once from the Unscheduled List or ASAP List—the patients who are the most likely to be able to fill the open time at short notice? 

You're in luck! With Dentrix G6.6 and higher and Patient Engage, you can contact patients via text message to let them know you have an appointment time available—and have them call you to schedule! 

Here's how it works: 

1. Right-click an open appointment time in the Appointment Book, and then click Fill Appointment. 
2. Select which list(s) of patients to target, such as Broken Appointments, Will Call, or ASAP. Then select other search criteria, including the provider, date range, and appointment length.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Click OK to generate a list of patients that match your criteria.
4. Select up to 40 patients on the list, and then click Text Setup.
5. Type the text of the message you want to send to patients, informing them of the opening in your schedule, and then click Send.
   
   
   
   
   

Your selected patients receive a text message telling them to call your office and claim the available time. You can fill the open time with the first patient who calls you back, and as additional patients call you back, you can schedule them for other open times you may have open on your Appointment Book. 

Your office will receive an email notifying you of the number of patients that were successfully sent a text message via Fill Appointment.   

For more details on how to use the Fill Appointment feature, read A Faster Way to Fill Appointments in Dentrix Magazine.

Schedule Future Dentrix Updates to Install Automatically

Dentrix frequently offers updates that include new features and improvements for existing features. But we know that stopping work to install software updates is not always convenient. That’s why Dentrix G7.6 will now allow you to automatically download and install updates at a specific time and day of the week—of your choosing!

To open the Update Manager, in the Office Manager select Help > About Dentrix. Then click Check for Updates. Then click the Settings icon at the left.

The settings are initially locked so that you don’t accidentally change them. At the bottom of the window, click Edit Auto Update Settings to unlock them. (Note that you must have password rights to “Utility Administration.”)

Under Automatic Downloads, select the type(s) of updates that will be automatically updated.

Under Automatic Updates Schedule, select the day(s) of the week and a time of day when updates should install. Pay attention to the Database Export Time and Reports and Tasks Start Time to avoid conflicts with other automatic functions.

When you have finished making changes, close the window. Then sit back and relax as the latest patches and features for Dentrix will be delivered to you!

For additional information on other Dentrix G7.6 features, or to upgrade, click HERE.

A New Feature is Making Dentrix Notes Easier to See

When using a high resolution on your monitor, the text appears smaller—and more challenging to read. That's why Dentrix G7.6 has introduced an option that allows you to increase the display size of clinical notes—as well as Ledger payments and adjustment notes, the Perio exam information note, insurance plan notes, questionnaire setup, and other note fields. 

While viewing a clinical note or one of these other note types, look for the Display Font Size button at the far right of the toolbar. Adjust it to X-Large, Large, Medium, or Small.

Now you can set the text to a comfortable size for reading! Please note that you will need to manually set the text size on each workstation. 

To upgrade to Dentrix G7.6, click here.

For additional information on clinical notes, read the following:

• Clinical Notes Made Easy
• Stay On Top of Your Clinical Notes

Consider a Dental Savings Plan for Uninsured Patients

Dental savings plans—also known as dental discount plans—are ideal for your uninsured patients who may not complete their treatment plan because of cost. At DentalPlans.com, you can reach new patients, retain existing patients, and reactivate dormant patients simply by having them join a dental savings plan you may already be in network with!

In Dentrix G7.6, you can easily access case acceptance tools offered by DentalPlans.com directly from the Treatment Planner by clicking the DentalPlans logo (:D) in the toolbar. When redirected to DentalPlans.com's portal, you can enroll uninsured patients into a dental savings plan, order brochures, verify their eligibility, and learn more about how dental savings plans benefit your patients and your practice.

To learn more, read Increase Case Acceptance with Dental Savings Plans in Dentrix Magazine.