HCD & EVG Headlines 12-2-2022

Rachael
Dec 2, 2022
4 min read

Hola, Team! We're only one month away from the end of 2022. Can you believe it? Please take a moment to remember these important points that always happen at the end of the year.

A majority - if not all - insurance benefits have been used for patients whose insurance renews in January. Please check if their benefits are maxed before cleanings, x-rays, and other preventative care that is usually covered at 100% are scheduled or the patient is seen.
Insurance benefits renew in January. When printing the treatment plan, remind patients that the estimate they see is if they complete treatment by the end of the year. We can print a second treatment plan showing no benefits used to give the patient a better estimate for 2023. Please talk with the front desk if you need help figuring out the 2023 plans.
Insurance benefits do not roll over into the next year. If the patient wants to "use" all their insurance benefits by the end of the year, the time is limited and in most cases not available. However, offer the option to see a different provider "for this visit" and then get "rescheduled with your preferred provider for your next visit." This will allow the patient to maximize their benefits and keep a full schedule for our team, too.

W4 Updates

Please remember you can update your W4 anytime you need to. The forms have changed some and you will need to read through them before just signing off. I've included this great article from Business Management to help you with this task.

If you'd like to complete a new form, go HERE and turn it into me ASAP.

Hygiene Upcoming CE

The Alaska State Dental Hygiene Association would like to invite you to register for a course entitled, "Principles of Anesthesia” by Dr. Kenley Michaud, a dental anesthesiologist, and you may attend in person or via Zoom. If you want to register, please contact them by email registration to: AKDHACE@GMAIL.COM, or mail registration and checks to: AK DHA, PO Box 240247, Anchorage AK 99524.

Dentrix Appointment Checklist

Adjustments have been made for our checklist in the appointment book. Let's go through definitions of each category together.

Pre-Med: patient requires pre-med and has been called to ensure they have the meds they need prior to coming in.
More Appts 2day: More appointments scheduled for today.
More Appts Future: More appointments scheduled on future dates.
Huddle Prep: Huddle prep has been completed for this appointment. Now that Admin/Clinical Huddle have been removed, please include a date stamp and your initials showing you have personally gone through the patient's chart and all the errors or other issues that need to be addressed prior to the patient coming in have been addressed.
X-rays Requested: X-rays for patient have been requested from previous office.
X-rays Received: X-rays have been received and are either in the patient's chart or on the shared drive waiting for a patient chart to be created.
Take Photo: Patient needs a photo or an updated photo attached to their chart.
Update Health History: Patient is due for annual health history/general consent/HIPAA form. If a patient needs a FULL medical history as one is not included in their file or they have not been seen in the practice for 3+ years.
Update Ins Info: We need updated insurance information for existing patients.
Needs Exam: Use with either doctor or hygiene appointments. Patient is overdue for periodic exam and not scheduled for one in the future.
Needs Hygiene: Patient is overdue for hygiene and not scheduled in the future.
Review Finances: Patient has a balance owed or significant credit to discuss.

December 2022 Schedule

December is a time of spending time with loved ones which means multiple team members will be out at various times throughout the month. PLEASE review each day and let me know if you have any questions.

Dr. Waddle in 2 Ops

You may notice on Wednesday and Friday that we have multiple ops available as we have fewer providers in the office. With this opening, we are officially opening a 2nd operatory for Dr. Waddle. Edmel has helped update the views on your computers so you can see DAW2 on view F1 and view F2 in your Appointment Book. At the top of DAW2, you will see which operatory Dr. Waddle will be practicing out of on those specific days.

Reviewing Perfect Appointments & Chart Audits

Starting December 12th, I want to meet with every team member to go through these two topics we reviewed at our team meeting yesterday. It will be about 30 minutes for us to meet together. Please sign up in the breakroom and make the necessary notes on your schedules to ensure you and I meet. Adhering to these two protocols with perfect precision will alleviate A LOT of issues we continue to run into. Let's work together to overcome these issues. Providers, you have various 30 minute openings on your schedules. Please choose an opening and let me know what time that is going to be.

New CPT Code for SDF

Lastly, we have new codes coming out for 2023 for various treatments. This one in particular can be of a great help to some of our pediatric or geriatric patients that need to arrest decay but cannot withstand receiving complete restorative treatments. Feel free to share any new codes with the team that you're excited about or looking forward to. Your passion helps fuel your team to be excited for new things.

Check it out: HERE.

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world – indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

– Margaret Mead

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