Editing procedure codes

Because so many tasks and transactions in a dental office can be linked to a CDA procedure, you can use the Procedure Code Editor to customize certain criteria, such as fees, treatment area, names, and paint types, to fit the needs of your practice if the default standard settings are not sufficient.

To edit a procedure code

1.   From the Maintenance menu in the Office Manager, point to Practice Setup, and then click Procedure Code Setup.

The Procedure Code Setup dialog box appears.

2.   To edit a procedure code, select a category under Procedure Code Category.

All procedure codes associated with that category appear in the right pane.

3.   Select the procedure code that you want to edit, and then click Edit.

The Procedure Code Editor – Existing dialog box appears.

4.   Edit the following information as appropriate:

·        Description - Type the CDA description for the procedure code. The procedure description appears in most Dentrix modules, on insurance claims, billing statements, and various reports. Descriptions are included with each default procedure and are abbreviated as necessary.

·        CDA Code - Type the CDA code. The standard CDA code name appears for the procedure in most Dentrix modules. Dentrix also uses the code name to print some reports by procedure range.

·        Abbrev Desc - Type the abbreviated description of the code. The abbreviated description appears in the Appointment Book/List as the “Reason” for the appointment when you schedule a procedure from a patient’s treatment plan. Dentrix also treats the abbreviated description as an alternate code. You can customize the name of the Abbrev Desc field from the Practice Definitions dialog box.

Note: Only the CDA codes and abbreviated descriptions for procedures come installed with Dentrix.

·        Alternate Codes - Type any alternate procedure codes in the Code [number] text fields. You can use any of the four alternate codes (Abbrev Desc and Code 3 – 5) when insurance companies do not accept the standard CDA code on insurance claims. You can customize the names of the Code 3, Code 4, and Code 5 fields from the Practice Definitions dialog box.

·        Treatment Flags - Select the appropriate treatment flag or flags for the procedure in the Treatment Flags group box to indicate how Dentrix will handle the procedure.

·        Difficult Proc - Helps you create a quick, end-of-day call list. Patients, with a procedure flagged as difficult posted to their chart, will have an asterisk (*) appear next to their phone number on the Day Sheet report. Certain procedure codes have been pre-checked.

·        Condition - Allows you to use procedure codes to indicate the state of a patient’s mouth. Dentrix posts conditions to the Patient Chart but not to the Ledger and does not associate a fee with a condition. Dentrix has already flagged procedures 150000 - 151015 as conditions. You can add other conditions as needed.

·        Remove Tooth - Removes a selected tooth from the graphic Patient Chart when the flagged procedure is posted as having been completed. The applicable Dentrix procedures (such as extractions, missing teeth, and so forth) have already been flagged.

Note: The Remove Tooth flag toggles between selected, cleared, and unavailable. Dentrix uses the unavailable option internally, and it is not to be assigned manually to a procedure code. You cannot leave the Remove Tooth option in the unavailable state; you must either select or clear the option to save your changes and exit the Procedure Code Editor.

·        Show in Chart - If the procedure you are editing is a commonly used one, select Show in Chart so that Dentrix will list the procedure under the corresponding category button in the Patient Chart.

Note: If you make a change to a procedure while the Patient Chart is open and return to the Patient Chart to find that the change to the procedure is not reflected, close the Patient Chart and reopen it or select File and then Refresh.

·        Auto Continuing Care - When you attach a Continuing Care type to a procedure, Dentrix automatically updates the patient’s Continuing Care due date by the interval assigned when the procedure is completed. If the patient has not yet been assigned the Continuing Care type, it will be added.

·        Procedure Time - Use this button to indicate the normal amount of time needed to complete the procedure.

·        Procedure Category - In the Procedure Category list, select the appropriate category. Procedure categories are user-defined so that you can customize the Tooth Chart to fit your practice’s needs.

Notes:

·        If you want to have a procedure show in the Patient Chart under its associated category button, you must also select Show in Chart Treatment Flag.

·        If none of the procedures in a category are pertinent to the practice and the category for them is going to be removed from the Patient Chart, each procedure in the category should be moved to the [None] category.

·        Appointment Type - In the Appointment Type list, select the type. By giving each procedure a specific procedure type, you can schedule your work to meet daily and weekly goals and keep your dental office work flowing smoothly. Dentrix includes the following four appointment types with the system: General, High Production, Medium Production, and Low Production. (If more types are needed, see Practice definitions.)

·        Treatment Area - In the Treatment Area list, select the area that the procedure applies to when the procedure is charted or entered for a patient: Surface, Root, Tooth, Quadrant, Mouth, or Sextant. Surface, Tooth or Root flags a tooth. Surface also flags at least one surface. Mouth does not flag anything except possibly a tooth range. The applicable treatment area is already applied to each default procedure. To learn how to set treatment area flags, click the following links:

·        Setting treatment area flags

·        Setting surface treatment area flags

·        Setting tooth treatment area flags

·        Setting mouth treatment area flags

·        Setting root treatment area flags

·        Paint Type - In the Paint Type list, select the appropriate type to indicate how the procedure will be painted on the tooth in the Patient Chart when you recommend or complete the procedure for a patient. (For information on customizing paint types, see Practice Definitions.) When you install Dentrix, each default procedure has the applicable paint type.

·        Edit Note - Click to edit a procedure code note. A procedure can have a progress note and a recommendation note.

Note: You can enter notes at any time.

·        Fee Schedule - You can assign up to 999 fees for each procedure. To learn how to edit the fee schedule of a selected procedure code, click Editing fee schedules.

·        Lab Expense - Type the lab expense for this procedure in the Lab text field, if applicable. Dentrix uses this value for reference and prints it on the Procedure Code List. No lab expense is included with any default procedure and should be added at the time of installation if needed.

·        Materials Expense - Type the materials expense for this procedure, if applicable. Dentrix uses this value for reference and prints it on the Procedure Code List. No materials expense is included with any default procedure and should be added at the time of installation if needed.

Note: You can also enter lab and material expenses. However, Dentrix does not currently use these fields.

·        Do Not Bill to Dental Insurance - Select to exclude this procedure code from insurance claims created using the Batch Insurance Claim option in the Office Manager. This option also prevents the procedure code from appearing on the Procedures Not Attached To Insurance report.

5.   Click Save.

6.   To move to the previous or next procedure numerically, click the Previous or Next arrows.