We are all familiar with treatment planning being a major necessity in the dental practice. But what is it really for – and for whom in the office exactly? You begin with an assessment of the patient’s needs, then formulate a plan so that the financial coordinator can give them a bill, and finally schedule the care. However, if this were all that was needed then there would be no steps being missed and any extra discussions about the case would simply be handled along the way. But if this were all that was necessary, how would the assistants and the clinical team have a clear understanding of the full rollout of the treatment plan – aren’t they primarily involved in the care from this point forward anyway?
Usually there are many unwritten details with any given treatment plan. We are reliant on the doctor to follow that plan carefully so that nothing gets missed. The doctor is checking and then cross-checking again. It’s up to the doctor to be sure everything is in order on the case. If not, things can fall through the cracks.
This commonly used “memorization manually” method is not only very laborious and inefficient but also dangerous because it is not possible for the doctor to catch every nuance. It requires someone to check the chart repeatedly to see that everything has been followed through properly.
In addition, handwriting side notes are not only hard to read but they are a dead end. You still have to stop at the end to transcribe it all again into the letter to the dentist.
Multiple things occur when treatment planning, and many of them are hidden. Here are a couple of brief examples:
Commonly known:
- Financial arrangements are made
- Appointments are scheduled
- Insurance is billed
Hidden:
- Healing periods
- Lab appliances that are needed
- The need to see another provider for care in the interim – timing/timelines
- When the patient will return to the general dentist
Often we will have 3 or 4 places in which we keep this information, as well as refer back to it, because some of the things are relevant for only certain areas of the practice. Some info is stored in our minds, some things are simply repeated, and some stuff is stored in a separate tracking mechanism (such as lab info).
Where do we keep the master plan? Often practices have a separate page outside of the practice management program in which to keep the clinical treatment plan. Traditionally this is a special page where the plan is stored from a clinical perspective and is updated and kept as a master log. This page doesn’t translate itself, nor does it transcribe itself, so therefore it needs to be translated by an insurance or financial specialist into the practice management software. On top of this, a transcriptionist also has to transcribe what the doctor has already repeated. This outcome (now from a third party’s perspective) is too detailed for the scheduling and billing system and also too casual and rough for the general dentist to read. It becomes jargon that is only useful to the team internally. Even if your practice is paperless, this part is still a document and just about as useful as a piece of paper. To add to this, it also needs to be scanned in, so then it becomes an image taking up computer space.
Click here to find out how PANDA automates transcribing treatment plans
The primary problem with the traditional treatment planning method is that it is inefficient. Sure, the “old-fashioned way” has worked for years, but it is actually very redundant. Clinical documentation doesn’t have to be treated as if it’s a new and unique process each and every time – it can be greatly streamlined! If we were to map the records out in advance in the form of a letter, then translate what each plan means into insurance codes (yes, going the opposite direction of typical thinking) then store them, we would have a clear library of plans so that they could be handled more effectively by the staff. This greatly eases the pressure put upon the doctor. This is not “giving the staff something they can’t handle” either; rather, it is a process that gives them something very useful and makes it tangible so that they can proceed – and succeed – simply and predictably every time. Automating a repetitive process – even taking into consideration the different variables and nuances along the way – is something every practice should do as a practicality. With digital records being a mandate in the next few years, why not get a leg up on it now? And just think of the ROI (Try the Calculator)!
