A carpenter can have all the newest, shiniest tools in their toolbox, but that doesn’t mean they can build a beautiful building. It takes skill and practice to get the maximum use out of those tools and keep customers happy.
For dentists, practice management software is an important tool. Using it to its full potential can mean better productivity and deeper patient relationships.
At Planet DDS, we’ve developed Denticon, which we believe is the best practice management software platform on the market today. Using Denticon practice management software means staff — whether at an small private office or one that’s part of a larger dental support organization (DSO) — can access up-to-date data from anywhere and centralize their operations, all with the peace of mind that comes with Denticon’s state-of-the-art security measures.
What Is Practice Management?
In today’s health care landscape, the day-to-day routine of patient care relies on some form of practice management system. Treating patients is only part of the job. Every day, dental offices have to deal with less glamourous tasks like:
- Accessing and searching patient records
- Assigning office staff roles and monitoring productivity
- Tracking patient visits, including their electronic health records
Generally speaking, practice management is the overall system that dentists and their office personnel use to manage the day-to-day real time tasks of patient care.
What Is Practice Management Software?
The day-to-day operations of your dental practice can’t be disorganized or left to chance. Dental clinics of all sizes — but especially large ones, like DSOs — can benefit from practice management software systems to track the details of patient visits.
Practice management software can streamline major tasks in your practice. For example, it saves time when checking on patients’ insurance eligibility and scheduling appointments. It reduces the effort involved in managing denied claims and in generating reports for staff meetings. Once installed, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it — especially if you’re managing multiple dental practices in a DSO.
Practice management software can help dental office staff manage patient data including:
- ICD-10 code requirements (see 5 Main Features of a Great Practice Management Platform below)
- Electronic health records and the filing of electronic claims
- Insurance coverage and communication with insurance payers
- Generating reports that track marketing initiatives, treatment production and accounts receivable
There’s no limit to the benefits a dental office can see when practice management software is maximized.
Benefits of Practice Management Software
The fundamental benefits of practice management software depend on the particular software being used and its functions. When conducting a dental practice management software comparison, the office manager will likely have the biggest say, as they have a key role in unpacking the benefits and applying the software to their practice’s unique patient demographics.
In general, though, patients are treated more effectively when offices choose the right practice management software. This software can help them be more efficient in
- Updating patient information
- Processing electronic claims and insurance claims
- Filing and securing electronic health records
Each clinic has its own preferences for maximizing practice management software. Patient demographics and the pace followed to schedule patient appointments and treat patients will determine each approach.
A dental practice management system is vital for increasing and monitoring revenue cycles, including payment on insurance claims.
Five Main Features of a Great Practice Management Platform
- Managing Denied Claims and Submitting Electronic Claims: Revenue cycles gain momentum when electronic claim management and submission systems are used. Errors are more easily detected and denied claims can be tracked.
- General Practice Management and Financial Reporting Procedures: Data access and tracking through a cloud dental model enables practices to stay focused on production growth. When practice management software combines high-level perspectives with granular details, it can reveal gaps in patient scheduling, daily collections and insurance reimbursements.
- Patient Scheduling: Generic dental scheduling software packages lack key features required to maintain patient relationships. Software designed for dental clinics is customized to enhance patient scheduling and staff efficiency.
- ICD-10 Code Conversion: Unfamiliarity with the International Classification of Diseases code base (ICD-10) can increase the likelihood of errors when submitting claims to insurance providers. Practice management software with a built-in conversion tool makes code searching easier and increases accuracy, which expedites claim payments.
- Insurance Eligibility Verification: Time spent on hold with an insurance provider reduces team efficiency. Practice management software platforms can check a patient’s insurance status in real time. This allows clinic staff to better advocate for patients with insurance companies and improves relationships with patients by maximizing their time and insurance benefits.
How Can Practice Management Software Help?
- Save time searching and accessing electronic health records: Cloud based practice management software gives you fast access to patient data and related individual documents from anywhere there’s an internet connection.
- Faster reimbursements: Reduced paperwork gives practices faster access to patient records, which in turn means quicker processing of claim payments.
- Fewer reporting errors: Integration with billing and insurance procedures allows for consistent updating of patient data. Potentially costly mistakes can be more easily spotted and corrected.
- Improved staff efficiency: Day-to-day operational tasks — like documentation and charting — can be streamlined to improve staff workflows.
Choosing Practice Management Software
Choosing the right practice management software depends on a number of factors, but the right software will no doubt increase your staff’s efficiency and workflows, along with — most importantly — vital connections with your patients.
Planet DDS’s Denticon is the proven Dental Practice Management Software in today’s market among solo private practices, private group practices and top DSOs. Denticon’s Dental Dashboard streamlines IT operations and reduces hardware costs. Our high-quality data centers have multiple layers of protection to prevent attacks, including state-of-the-art firewalls. And dental bookkeeping and the flexibility of the Dental Charting Software System are baked into the Denticon platform.
Contact us for more information about how Denticon practice management software can streamline your systems and operational tasks so you and your team can better manage your dental practice.