|
|
 |
 |
|
| A dental practice management
consulting company that focuses on revenue
and collection systems, front desk systems
and forms, dental insurance processing, medical/dental
cross-coding systems and employment-law compliance. |
|
|
|
|
 |
The
economy – it is on everyone’s
minds. Most dental offices that I have spoken
with have been affected by this down economy
to some degree and we have yet to see the
light at the end of the tunnel. So what can
be done to get us through these tough times?
I suggest that you invest some time in meeting
with your team to come up with some strategies
in the following areas: |
- Marketing – review both your internal
and external marketing. Internal marketing
has proven to be very successful and less
costly.
- Purchasing – Does your practice
need to have more controls regarding dental
supply and office supply purchases? Take
inventory of your supplies to evaluate
what supplies are truly needed. Any new
purchases should be approved by either
the doctor or the office manager. Seek
advice from your CPA before making any
capital expenditures.
- Accounts Receivable Controls –
Now, more than ever, the Accounts Receivable
must be closely monitored. Accounts that
have reached 60 days must be contacted.
Many practices follow the policy that
90 days or over is when action needs to
be taken. I strongly disagree. At 60 days,
your patient has already received two
statements (current and 30 days). That
is sufficient. Contact those patients
to resolve the debt. Consider offering
CareCredit or a similar financial plan
to these patients. You cannot afford to
carry the debt of these patients.
- Treatment planning – Be certain
that you are treatment planning with all
of your patients. No patient should be
surprised by what they owe your practice.
When dealing with an insured patient’s
coinsurance estimate, always emphasize
that you are providing them an ESTIMATED
coinsurance.
- Incomplete treatment plans –
Take advantage of the tools that your
practice management software provides.
Pull up a list of incomplete treatment
plans and contact those patients. Remind
patients that are covered by insurance
that the year is drawing to a close and
that they might want to take advantage
of the full year’s maximum benefits
before having to pay a new deductible
again.
- Past due recare patients – Again,
print a list of patients that are past
due with their recare appointments.
- Lastly, make sure that your office
is still the BEST that it can be. Review
your practice vision with the staff to
be sure that it is being followed. From
the initial first phone call of a new
patient through the completion of a treatment
plan, make it the best possible experience
for that patient. That patient needs to
know that his/her hard earned dollars
have been well spent.
|
|
|
|
|
Time Line |
|
Medical
Coding
- October 1, 2008 marked the date that the 2009 ICD-9-CM (diagnosis codes) must be used. If you are a past purchaser of my manual, "CrossWalking - A Guide Through the CrossWalk of Dental to Medical Coding", you should have received a letter or email concerning the update that I have made available to you. If you have not contacted me regarding this update, you need to do so as soon as possible, as medical insurance carriers will not accept codes that have been deleted. January 1, 2009 will be the date that the 2009 CPT code-set must be used.
- Effective July 24, 2008, the Federal minimum wage increased to $6.55 per hour. You are required to have current labor posters that reflect this change displayed in your practice. This rate will change to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.
|
|
|
|
My Favorite
Quotes: |
|
"You
can tell what they are by what they
do"
Matthew 7:16 CEV
This quote sums up the importance of
doing your best for your patients. Practices
that truly care about their patients
and work hard toward that end will become
known for that. That is the best possible
marketing tool that you can use. |
|
| |
|
|
Dental-Medical
CrossWalking News |
|
ICD-10-CM
A date has finally been set for the
implementation of ICD-10-CM (medical
diagnosis codes). At present, the United
States is the only country not using
ICD-10-CM. CMS (Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services) and HHS (the
Department of Health and Human Services)
made this proposal on August 22, 2008.
The ICD-10-CM code-set is alpha-numeric.
According to HHS, the improvements of
ICD-10-CM over ICD-9-CM are:
- Expanded injury coding
- A reduction in the number of codes
used to fully report a condition
due to the creation of combination
diagnosis/symptom codes
- Greater specificity of code assignment
|
|
|
|
Tips |
|
For
our patients
The April 2008 issue of "Inside
Dentistry" published the results
of a recent study shown in the January
issue of the "Journal of Periodontology"
regarding the effect of the routine
intake of dairy products on the periodontal
health of the participants. "The
study analyzed the periodontal health
of 942 subjects and determined that
those who regularly consumed dairy products
such as milk, cheese, and yogurt had
a lower instance of periodontal disease."
We need to share this news with our
patients and encourage them to consume
more of these dairy products.
Insurance
Filing
Fluoride Varnish
According to the July 2008 issue of
"Pediatric Dentistry Today",
dental practices may be using fluoride
and varnish codes incorrectly. The article
states that "When it comes to
reporting the application of fluoride
varnish, the patient’s diagnosis
drives the code. Why was fluoride varnish
used? Was it used to remineralize incipient
carious lesions, or was it used to treat
root sensitivity?" In other words,
code according to the diagnosis and
not the product used. The protocol that
they suggest is the following: |
|
Age |
|
Use
Code |
| 0
to 6 |
no
caries or other additional factors
within the last 24
months |
D1203 |
| 6
to 14 |
no
caries or other additional factors
within the last 36
months |
D1203 |
| 14
& up |
no
caries or other additional factors
within the last 36
months |
D1204 |
| All
other patients |
D1206 |
|
|
|
|
Dental Humor
for the quarter: |
|
|
|
|
|
If
you have enjoyed "Dental Pearls Newsletter",
please share it with other practices that
could benefit from it. |
|
|
The
Art of Practice Management
2217 Fox Horn Road • New Bern, NC 28562 • Phone: 1-252-637-6259
www.artofpracticemanagement.com
• a.p.m.1@suddenlink.net |
|
|
|
