HCD Headlines 7-17-2024

Rachael
Jul 17, 2024
6 min read

Updated: Sep 25, 2024

Please take your time to review each headline. As soon as you've read through, please reply with your favorite color in an emoji. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. There's a lot to take in and I'm open to help clarify as needed.

Schedules

As you've been made aware, Dr. Henrie was in an accident that requires surgery. This surgery will be on Thursday, July 18th. His post op care includes wearing a sling for 6 weeks and his arm mobility will be limited for 3-6 months after that is removed. What does that look like?

DCH out 7/18-8/30
DCH back 9/3-9/5
DCH out 9/9-9/20
DCH back 9/23
- His days will be closed 1-2 hours early until we have his PT appointments to ensure we're not rescheduling patients multiple times.

Dr. Waddle will also require time off for baby ❤️. She will be out starting 8/23.

DAW will return 10/2 working only Wednesdays and Thursdays in October.
DAW will have one hour breaks during the day where she will not be available for exams or any kind of treatment. You'll see her columns are blocked out through November to allow for these breaks.
- Templates have been moved to accommodate this change. We will not move that time around to allow consistency for her needs as a new mom (x2).

Dr. Marchant will be completing a residency with Dr. Marshall Hanson in September.

DKM will be out 9/3-10/2.
DKM will be working Wednesdays until he leaves in September. These days will be typically single booked.

With this in mind, some of our team members will not be working consistently until October. Debbie will be out until September. Jane will be back in October. Te will be out for the month of September.

I've also received lots of vacation requests for September which is perfect! Please let Kolina or I know ASAP if you plan to be off, etc., so we can plan accordingly.

Thank you for your patience and your assistance in getting through these next few months. It can be overwhelming and stressful as we're not running business as usual. I sincerely appreciate how all of you have made it easier for me regarding schedules and flexibility.

New Time Recording via QuickBooks Time

We are going to use a new portal for checking in for work. You'll receive an email from QuickBooks or Intuit in regards to using QB Time. Accept this request in order to clock-in and out every day. I'll go through this with you at our next team meeting, but you must accept the invitation via text or email before that day.

The kiosks that we will use to clock-in will be located in the following places:

Consult Room
Front desk by window (hygiene desk)
Conference Room
Pano Room

Moving to this software will allow you to access your past timesheets, paystubs and W2. It will allow you to update your W4 information and contact information whenever you need to. Overall, it will be a much better option for us and the new bookkeeper to make payroll as smooth and mistake-free as possible.

HCD Healthy Habits

We're almost through our Healthy Habits Reboot, and we're so glad so many of you have completed your goals. We hope those goals are turning into habits that will help you become the "whole" person you want to be in life. As a reminder, here's what we're working on so far:

Mental Wellness
Cardio (3x) and Strength Training (1x)
Stay Hydrated
Get 7-9 Hours of Sleep

We weren't able to watch this video on the benefits of sleep, but it will help you understand the importance of good sleep and how to improve your sleep patterns.

Team Photos July 25th

Our team photos will only be headshots this upcoming Thursday due to DCH being out. We won't skip our headshots as we really need those! With that in mind, YOU can choose what you'd like to wear for that day. What represents you best? So long as it falls in these guidelines, you are welcome to wear it!

No tight-fitting clothes. Must be able to breathe and sit down comfortably in your outfit.
No spaghetti straps or sleeveless tops.
No clothes/jeans with holes or rips.
No clothes with large logos or images.
Hats might be allowed so bring them. We cannot allow any Dallas Cowboy hats, though.

Things we MUST wear:

Beautiful smile with clean teeth
Beautiful clean clothes
Beautiful head of hair - if you have it ;o)

We want to look professional, welcoming, and relatable. Choose your outfit with that in mind. We won't use filters or Photoshop as we want to showcase how beautiful you truly are! However, if you wake up with a big pimple on your forehead... we can talk about Photoshop.

If you have any questions about your outfit, feel free to send it my way and we can review it together.

Scheduling Whitening

Opalescence Boost whitening treatments can be done in the hygiene chair or by assistants. It's best to schedule these appointments for 60 minutes to allow additional sessions if needed. 30 minutes minimum, but their results might not be the best.

If you're a clinician and you haven't been trained to complete this treatment on your own, please make it a priority to do so.

If a non-patient calls requesting in-office whitening, they must fall within the following parameters:

Completed hygiene within last 30 days
Completed dental exam within last 60 days
Must have records from previous office
Must complete all NP forms

It may seem like a lot, but when someone sits in our chair, whether they're a new patient, old patient, team member, or family member, HCD becomes 100% liable for that person. We gather all this information regarding their health history and, thereby, become liable for any allergies or potential issues that may arise during treatment.

Whitening may not be as invasive as an extraction, but we are placing material in their mouths that can cause serious allergies, potentially burn their tissue, and increase sensitivity. It may be an elective treatment, but it's still a dental treatment, and we should treat it as such.

Don't be afraid to turn people away that won't comply with our requirements. They can always purchase Crest Whitening Strips that have good results, too.

Coding CBCT & Outside Reviews

We recently came across a patient that needed their CBCT sent to an outside party for review. The ADA has introduced a new code for these situations. This is our protocol for those situations.

Post these codes:

Full charge for all CBCTs
- DO NOT reduce the fee regardless of who is interpreting the image.
D0391 $160
- Inter. Diagnostic Img, Oth Prov: Interpretation of diagnostic image by a professional that did not capture the image.

This cost covers the fees from the third-party we currently use including a small amount for your time uploading the required information. These codes are marked to not bill insurance as they are new and are being denied. We will send these claims to insurance but will need to collect up front. The good news is the more we send this information in, the more it becomes familiar to insurance, and eventually, they will start paying for it the same way they have done for LBR.

Out of Network (OON) Verbiage

I came across this through one of my Facebook groups regarding OON verbiage. I LOVE what was said, and I didn't want to wait until our next meeting to make sure you heard it. We'll read these together soon. Until then, try some of these out and let us know how it went.

Good news! We are not a restricted dental office and as long as your plan allows you to choose the best dentist for you, we'll go ahead and file a claim on your behalf so you get every dollar of benefits allowed sent right to you! We are not bound by the exclusions that restrict other offices. We provide the BEST quality of care because you deserve it.

"love this.. and it’s exactly right… we explain what we DO (not what we don’t do… avoid negatives like unfortunately). We submit claims on your behalf and maximize your allowed benefits!"
"Most patients already see not being in-network as a negative, so I think it’s important to avoid negative words (no, not, unfortunately, etc) as much as possible. Presenting the positives of being out of network will help educate the prospective patients and increase the chances that they will come to your office."

Resin-based Desensitizers

Some of our providers have started to use resin-based desensitizers to meet their patients' needs. This is great! Please note that when this is used, you will need to polish the area as we've heard back from patients that it feels rough. It works - but it's rough.

I know I'm missing something and I think I need your help helping me remember... If I left anything out, please leave me a sticky note so I can add it to our next headlines. As for tonight, please remember to add time to your timesheet if you read this outside of your working hours. Thank you all!