More Dentrix G7.4 Insurance Features to be Excited About

Last week, I wrote about some of the exciting new features in Dental Insurance Benefits and Coverage in Dentrix G7.4. There’s honestly so many awesome new features, I couldn’t write about them all in just one blog post. This week, I’m going to tell you about how you can use the new Deductibles/Maximums window and (my favorite) the Exceptions window!

In Dentrix, there has always been a place to enter in patients’ maximums and deductibles. However, you’ve never had the option to customize that information, until now.

Insurance plans are constantly changing the way they consider patients’ benefits. There are plans that now consider different procedure categories under different maximums. For example, an insurance plan may have no maximum for diagnostic and preventative procedures, but will have a maximum for basic and major procedures. 

A patient could have insurance coverage that has a separate orthodontic maximum that’s not considered part of their general calendar year maximum. Plus, there could also be a separate orthodontic deductible. 

Now, in Dentrix G7.4, you have a designated place to enter that information. And best of all, you can track the maximum used and deductible met. It’s important to note that this information won’t be factored into estimates in Dentrix, and you will still need to manually enter the amounts used. And the Deductibles/Maximums window is the place to do that.

For example, let’s say a patient has a standard annual deductible of $50, and an annual maximum of $1500.  They also have a lifetime orthodontic deductible of $100 and a lifetime orthodontic maximum of $1000. It’s so exciting to now have a dedicated place to enter this information and track how much has been used. Now, when your patient comes in for a prophy and exam, fillings, and/or clear aligner, you can track those maximums used accurately. Before this new feature, offices found creative ways to track this information in places like the guarantor notes, patient notes, or insurance claim status notes, which wasn’t ideal or consistent from staff member to staff member. Now you have a single place to document that information that’s very easy to use. 

You can also document detailed plan information like frequency limitations and age limitations in the Exceptions window. I love this new feature because I always used to suggest to offices that they enter this type of information into the Insurance Plan Notes. I recommended doing that instead of simply referring to an insurance breakdown in the Document Center, because Insurance Plan Notes apply to all patients covered under that plan, so you wouldn’t have to type those notes again if it’s an existing plan in your system. The Exceptions window has made huge improvements to that process. 

Here are three of my favorite things about the new Expectations window. 

1. You no longer have to type long sentences. There’s an easy-to-use menu to allow you to select applicable plan details, like tooth limitations (primary, permanent, anterior, posterior), age limitations, frequency limitations, downgrades, and waiting periods.  
2. Exceptions apply to all patients covered under that plan, so once you’ve entered the information for the plan, you’re good to go!
3. By clicking the Insert Exceptions Template button on the right side of the Exceptions window you can quickly import a template that is pre-populated with common procedures and plan details that you can easily customize. 

Team members responsible for entering exceptions in to Dentrix can simply work their way through this template and enter plan details. No more excuses for forgetting to enter the information. I’ve had a situation where the hygienist wanted to do scaling and root planing for a patient in the office, but the administrative team hadn’t entered in the information pertaining to how often the procedure could be performed, or how many quadrants could be done in a day. This promptly brought the day to a halt while the hygienist had to wait while the front desk contacted the insurance company in order to provide the patient with an accurate estimate. By using the Exceptions Template, things can’t be missed. 

The new features in the Dentrix G7.4 Dental Insurance Benefits and Coverage are so exciting because they not only help you track customized deductibles and maximums, but they also allow you to enter customized exceptions details in a designated place in Dentrix. By using these features, you can provide patients with more accurate estimates with less time contacting insurance companies because you’ll have all the information you need in one place. 

Register for the 2021 Dentrix Insights Digital Summit and attend the session titled “Reduce Coverage Surprises and Claim Delays with New Tools in Dentrix” for a more in-depth look at updated insurance features in Dentrix.

If you have questions about the new insurance features in Dentrix G7.4, please email me 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.  

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