The Back Story
Every week, I work closely with offices committed to going chartless. These offices are converting the “paper” processes they have followed for years to electronic processes that are new and different. The change from paper to electronic is not easy, and it requires enormous amounts of patience and practice. It is through these tough times of change that I often hear the same phrases from one office to the next:
- There isn’t enough time to enter the patient’s treatment.
- Entering the treatment on the computer isn’t as fast as writing the treatment plan on paper.
- How can we make this process faster and more efficient?
Gaining Efficiency
I would like to share a time-saving tip that can make it faster for you to enter patient treatment details, and it has to do with showing your most commonly billed procedures in the chart. From within the chart screen, your clinical team chooses procedures from categories. These categories are designed to contain only those codes that will be utilized regularly for attaching procedures to patients. By eliminating procedures that are not used frequently, these categories become much easier to read and much quicker to navigate.
Easy to Set Up
From the Reports screen, access the Procedure Code Setup utility. Once you have accessed the Procedure Code Setup, open the Diagnostic category and edit procedure code D0120. Locate the “Show in Chart” option.
- Checking the box next to “Show in Chart” will include this code within the category box in the Chart screen.
- Leaving the box unchecked next to “Show in Chart” will remove this code from the category box in the Chart screen.
Repeat this setup step for all codes you want to remove from the categories Chart screen.
How Does This Speed Up Data Entry?
Here is a snapshot of my diagnostic category after removing procedure codes that are already set up as procedure buttons. Notice that I was able to reduce the number of procedure codes within the Diagnostic category by more than half! Without a doubt, your team will now be able to locate the code they are searching for in a lot less time.
Incorporating chartless techniques into a daily routine can feel overwhelming at times. The key to perfecting the art of charting procedures is implementing tools that will guide you in the most efficient way possible. We previously revealed how to create custom procedure buttons for your most commonly billed procedures. By coupling the procedure buttons with the customization of the procedure categories in the chart, you are well on your way to providing your team with a more enhanced workflow. Try out today’s tip and work this into your daily routine. Comment below or email me directly at [email protected] with any questions.
David Broom is Senior Director of Product and Business Development. David has a master’s degree in Information Technology (IT) from the University of Texas in Dallas and has more than 35 years of experience from many global companies such as Hitachi Vantara, Methode Electronics, and Keane, Inc. In his current role, he is responsible for all aspects of the product management and field service teams at Henry Schein TechCentral, which identifies the ideal advanced technologies to meet the unique needs of the dental market and ensure that dental offices are using the right IT to be more efficient and effective.
