New Dentrix Features To Help Manage Patient and Provider Balances

In Dentrix there are a couple of new features which will help your office when it comes to the tricky process of allocating balances. I wanted to take a moment to tell you about these new features and how they can help your office. 

First, I’ll explain why balances need to be allocated. 

It’s important that payments and adjustments are always posted to the individual patient and not to the guarantor. If payments aren’t posted to the patient, you’ll find that although the family may have a zero balance, the patient will have a balance in Dentrix, and the guarantor will have a credit. This can cause a mess in your accounting and make answering patients’ billing questions difficult. If you’ve been posting payments to the guarantor in Dentrix and a patient calls and asks you who in the family owes a balance, you know what I’m talking about.

It’s also very important that payments are posted accurately amongst providers. This will become increasingly important if your office hires an associate or if your doctor plans on selling the practice. Payments must be posted accurately in order for collections to be calculated accurately. 

Dentrix has provided ways to simplify the allocation process by using the Provider Credit Balances Manager. With the release of G7.4, there are additional features you can use to make managing family and provider balances easier. 

The first new feature is available when combining or separating families using the Edit Family Relations option in the Family File. When editing family relations, Dentrix walks you through the process, showing you how balances will be affected when moving family members. 

When separating families, you have the option to move the balance to the new family or keep it with the original family. Any necessary adjustments will be calculated for you and you can designate a specific adjustment type to be used.

Another new feature in Dentrix that came out in Dentrix G7.3 is the ability to have up to 255 adjustment types. Because of this, it’s a good idea to create specific adjustment types for both family adjustments and provider adjustments. That way, when reviewing reports, you’ll be able to see exactly why an adjustment was made. 

The addition of these two new features in Dentrix can simplify the process of making adjustments when combining and separating families. 

For more information on the latest features in Dentrix, click here.

Email me if you have questions at  vectordentalconsulting@gmail.com.

Charlotte Skaggs, Certified Dentrix Trainer

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 almost 20 years and is a certified Dentrix trainer. Contact Charlotte at vectordentalconsulting@gmail.com.  

from  The Dentrix Office Manager Blog https://ift.tt/36MJ6NF