Ask the Dentrix Expert: Health history recommendations

Editor's note: This is the second in a yearlong series that is designed to help dentists and team members understand their practice management software better. You can read the first one dealing with locating the correct accounts receivable number here.

Today, we are providing you with another tip from Dayna Johnson, a certified Dentrix trainer and founder of Novonee.com. Later this month, we will have a question and answer from an Eaglesoft expert. We are also working on the same article format with other practice management software systems.

If you have a Dentrix question you would like Dayna to answer for an upcoming column, you can email her at [email protected].

Q: My office is trying to go paperless and stop using the paper charts, but we don't have a good system for doing the health history. We keep using the old paper form because that is what everyone is used to, but I know there must be a better way. What do you recommend for the health history in Dentrix?

A: There are three things about the health history that I reinforce with all of my doctors.

Dayna Johnson.

1. The health history update must be fast and easy for your patients and your team.
2. The patients current medical conditions, medications, and allergies must be easy to find in case of an emergency.
3. The health history is part of the legal record. Therefore, it must saved in a place that cannot be altered or deleted. Also, in some states, the signature of the patient is required.

With that being said, my recommendation has always been to use the Questionnaire module in Dentrix for your patient health history update.

Yes, you could continue to use a paper form, scan it in the Document Center and sign it so that it cannot be altered or deleted. However, it is not the most efficient system.

Yes, you could add all the information into the clinical note. However, you cannot capture the patient signature.

With the new, streamlined features between the Health History Module (formerly Medical Conditions) and the Questionnaire forms, the process to update your patient's health history is easy, fast, comprehensive, and becomes part of your legal record.

Using the Questionnaire form for the health history update can be performed from any electronic device or from the treatment room. You can see a sneak peek of the Health History in Dentrix version G7.1 by watching a quick video I recorded.

If you want to implement this system in your practice, reach out to me and I can help you find a local Dentrix trainer in your area.

Dayna Johnson is the founder of Novonee, a Dentrix online community. She can be reached via email at [email protected].

The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.