Make sure you are using these Dentrix features so you can provide accurate insurance estimates to your patients.
Providing your patients with the most accurate estimates possible is a very important part of treatment planning. By providing accurate estimates you can collect from patients at the time of service, which can help your cash flow and help to maintain a healthy accounts receivable.
Here are some features in Dentrix you can use to help you provide accurate treatment estimates.
When printing a treatment case from the Dentrix Treatment Planner, always be sure to use insurance maximums and deductibles.
Using Dental Plan Maximums and Deductibles on Treatment Case Printouts
When printing a treatment case from the Dentrix Treatment Planner, always be sure to use insurance maximums and deductibles.
By selecting this option, Dentrix will calculate the deductible into the procedures it applies to. It will also calculate how much of the benefit maximum will be used towards the treatment-planned procedures and if the entire maximum will be used. Any additional procedure fees will be displayed as the patient portion.
Entering Exceptions for Insurance Plans
In Dentrix G7.4, the Dental Insurance Benefits and Coverage window was updated and improved to allow you to enter more detailed information. You can still enter the plan maximums, deductibles, and coverage table, as you could in previous versions of Dentrix, but now you can also enter exceptions. Exceptions would include plan details like frequency limitations, age limitations, and downgrade information.
While this information isn’t currently used to calculate estimates in Dentrix, having those plan details easily accessible allows you to reference them when creating a treatment plan and make any necessary adjustments to the insurance estimate.
Updating the Payment Table
Also, in the Dental Insurance Benefits and Coverage window, you can access the Payment Table. The Payment Table is an ideal place to enter the exact dollar amount paid for a procedure code. You can use the Payment Table so that Dentrix calculates things like downgrades and out-of-network fee differences. You can update the Payment Table from the Dental Insurance Benefits and Coverage window, or while posting insurance payments (using the Itemize by Procedure feature), which I find to be more convenient.
Sending Pre-Authorizations with Attachments
If you are presenting a large treatment plan to a patient or a treatment plan for which you’re unsure how much the patient’s insurance plan will pay, it’s a good idea to send a pre-authorization to the insurance company. You can send a pre-authorization from the patient’s Ledger, and since you can include attachments like X-rays and other clinical attachments electronically, you should receive the pre-authorization back much quicker than when you used to have to send all that information in the mail.
By providing your patients with the most accurate estimates possible, you can collect from patients at the time of service, which helps to maintain healthy accounts receivables. Accurate estimates also result in happier patients because no one likes getting an unexpected bill in the mail after services have been provided. Use the features in Dentrix to help you provide the most accurate estimates possible to your patients.
Learn More
For additional information, read the following :
- Improve Insurance Payment Estimates with Coverage Tables and Payment Tables
- Dentrix Tools that Help You Make Accurate Insurance Estimates
By Charlotte Skaggs
Certified Dentrix Trainer and The Dentrix Office Manager columnist
Charlotte Skaggs is the founder of Vector Dental Consulting LLC, a practice management firm focused on taking offices to the next level. Charlotte co-owned and managed a successful dental practice with her husband for 17 years. She has a unique approach to consulting based on the perspective of a practice owner. Charlotte has been using Dentrix for over 20 years and is a certified Dentrix trainer. Contact Charlotte at vectordentalconsulting@gmail.com.
