Streamlining Diagnostic Records
Dentrix G7 featuring Smart Image
As important as it is to employ advanced diagnostic technology, properly utilizing the information gleaned from it is just as crucial. One product stands out for the way that it helps dentists streamline their records: Cellerant Best of Class winner Dentrix G7, with Dentrix Smart Image.
"They seem to be the leaders in the field right now," says Jeffrey S. Rein, DDS, FAGD, co-owner of Long Island Smile and Long Island Dental Sleep Medicine in Williston Park, New York. "With software, you never have the expectation that one program will do everything that you need, but Dentrix is getting very close to that goal of incorporating everything into one offering."
Rein describes his practice as a high-quality, fee-for-service operation that divides its time between general dentistry and sleep apnea treatment. He decided to try Dentrix G7 this past summer because of the addition of Dentrix Smart Image to the software. Dentrix Smart Image expands a dentist's ability to provide quality care by connecting the clinical and financial processes into one efficient workflow. When the dentist acquires diagnostic images, Smart Image automatically associates them with the correct current dental terminology (CDT) codes for accurate billing and displays them in the patient chart. Now, the patient's two-dimensional and three-dimensional images can be accessed without leaving the Dentrix software. Connecting the CDT codes with the images saves time by eliminating the need for manual entry and helps dentists receive the correct payment for the procedures they perform.
"We were looking to streamline the way we were taking x-ray images," Rein says. "We use Schick sensors, and previously, we needed to use a separate data acquisition program and the radiographs would go into yet another program. Having multiple programs open increases the chance of an error occurring, such as mixing up patient names or opening the incorrect file. Now, all of our data can be accessed in one program with Dentrix G7. I don't know of any other product that offers that."
Standalone images can slow the dentist down when switching in and out of a practice management system during treatment. Dentrix Smart Image enhances clinical efficiencies because it connects image acquisition to the patient chart.
"It is easy to use, and it streamlines everything," Rein says. "It makes it so much easier to look at the x-ray images and compare them to the chart. By simply clicking on a tooth number, we can access any x-ray image, photograph, or other record of that tooth that we have. We can see everything in one view."
Financially, Dentrix G7 helps dentists avoid payment delays due to inaccurate CDT codes. Dentrix Smart Image associates digital images with the correct CDT codes and then automatically posts the imaging procedure to the ledger, helping to improve billing accuracy and streamlining the insurance reimbursement process.
In addition to these procedural efficiencies, Dentrix Smart Image can improve the diagnostic process with the comparison capabilities it offers.
"It is much easier to compare x-ray images acquired at different times now," Rein says.
That benefit extends to patient case acceptance as well.
"We have a monitor positioned in front of our patients that displays Dentrix Smart Image to allow them to see their x-ray and other images easily," Rein says.
The health history form in Dentrix G7 is another feature that really stands out, Rein says.
"We can list medications separately and include information about the patient's pharmacy and physician," he says. "We are accustomed to looking at notes in many places for this information, but now it is all in one place."
Of course, Dentrix G7 is backed by an established leader in the industry, so dentists can be confident in the reliability of the software and the support they will receive.
"Dentrix has been great," Rein says. "They have opened their system to allow the integration of other products, such as imagn® Sleep Software, so now we can get the best offerings of many companies to work together. The support is great, and they are responsive to everything. The software solves issues in every phase of the provision of dentistry."
Jeffrey S. Rein, DDS, FAGD, maintains a private practice in Williston Park, New York.
