Ask the Dentrix Expert: Setting up an in-office membership plan

Editor's note: This is another installment in a yearlong series that is designed to help dentists and team members understand their practice management software better.

Today, we are providing you with another tip from Dayna Johnson, a certified Dentrix trainer and founder of Novonee.com. If you have a Dentrix question you would like Dayna to answer for an upcoming column, you can email her at [email protected].

Look for articles focused on Curve and Eaglesoft later this month.

Q: I am adding an in-office membership plan for my noninsured patients, but I don't know how to set it up in Dentrix. Can you help?

Dayna Johnson.

A: That's great news! I am a big fan of membership plans, and I believe your patients will be as well.

There are a couple ways to set up a membership plan in Dentrix, depending on how you want to track it. If you need more help than what I have given below, please reach out to me and we can schedule an online session so I can show you how to do it.

If you want the very basic setup and you are not interested in generating any reports, then the only thing you have to do is create a new adjustment code so you can adjust off the hygiene procedures that are part of your plan. You would also use this adjustment code to adjust off any discount for restorative treatment.

If you want to track the return on investment (ROI), generate reports, and track the membership renewal, then you will need to set up the following items in Dentrix:

1. Create a billing type so you can track the families who are signed up for the plan. This will allow you to generate reports and track ROI.
2. Create a procedure code for each type of plan you set up in your office. For example: APMP = Adult Prophy Membership Plan.
3. Create a continuing care type for your membership plans so you can track the annual renewal date, then attach this continuing care to the procedure codes you set up for your plans. When you post these codes to the ledger, it will start the clock for the renewal date.
4. Create an adjustment code for the membership plan so you can write off the procedures that are included in your membership.
5. Optional: Set up a new fee schedule for your membership plan that will reflect the reduced fees for being on the plan, then attach this fee schedule to the family file.

When a patient signs up for the plan, attach the new billing type to the account, post the procedure code for the plan he or she purchased, and post the payment for the plan. When that patient has his or her hygiene visit, you will adjust off the amount for that visit. If the patient needs restorative treatment, then the fee schedule will reflect the membership prices on the treatment plan.

You will be able to generate production, case acceptance, patient retention, and many other reports by filtering the billing type and procedure codes. This will help you see the ROI and what type of treatment your membership patients are generating. If you are tracking the renewal with continuing care, make sure to create a recare report for these patients.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I can be of further assistance on this topic or anything Dentrix-related.

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.