SoftDent, version 14.0, contains the following additional enhancements:
A workbook containing lessons and exercises specifically for the charting module is now available from the Start menu. To access the SoftDent Charting Module Training Workbook, select Start > All Programs > SoftDent > Online Documentation > Charting Workbook.
Several help demos have been added to this version of the online help. Help demos are short, animated demonstrations which answer the most frequently asked questions our trainers and support team receive. New demos will be added in future releases, as we identify your most-asked questions.
See Viewing Help Demos for more information.
The Referral Reason section in the Referring Doctor Intro Letter Setup window (List > Patient > Letters and Labels > Quick Letters > Referral Intro Note) has been changed from three separate fields to one multi-line field where you can type continuous text. The text in this field automatically wraps as you type and displays in the letter as a paragraph instead of as separate lines of text.
In past versions of the software, pressing Enter in the Referral Reason section generated the letter. Now, pressing Enter starts a new line in the letter. There is no limit to the number of separate lines you can create.
See Understanding Patient List and Patient Window Options for more information.
A Lab Technician option has been added to the Specialty drop-down list in the Provider window (List > Provider > double-click a provider). This option is also available in any window in the software that contains the Specialty drop-down list.
The Alphabetical Referring Dr List and the Referring Dr List By ID reports now include the Lab Technician specialty as well.
When you access CareCredit to submit an application and the patient has multiple guarantors, the Guarantor Selection window is now displayed. Select the guarantor and click OK to continue the application process for that guarantor.
See Using CareCredit for more information.
A new condition—Number of Broken Appointments—has been added to the conditions list in the TeamTalk Setup Wizard window for the Patient database type (TeamTalk > TeamTalk Setup > Patient > Extra Settings).
When you select Number of Broken Appointments, a window is displayed that enables you to specify the number of broken appointments that must occur before a TeamTalk note is displayed.
See Using TeamTalk and Patient Database TeamTalk Conditions for more information.
A Broken field has been added to the Recall tab of the Patient window (List > Patient > Double-click patient name > Recall). Each time a patient's appointment is canceled within the number of days specified in the Scheduler Settings window, the number in the Broken field is increased by one.
When you check a patient in after his appointment time and the number of minutes past the appointment has exceeded the allowed amount you have previously set in the Patient Visit Statistics Properties window (System > Patient Visit Statistics > Properties), the software now displays the following message: This patient is _ minutes late. Do you want to track this as a late appointment? If you click Yes, the appointment is recorded in the Tracked Appointments window.
The Tracked Appointments window (Patient List > Other Management > Missed/Broken/Late Appointments) displays all of the patient's missed, broken, and late appointments.
Selecting an appointment with a type of Late displays the number of minutes the patient was late at the bottom left of the window. Double-clicking a late appointment in the Tracked Appointments window displays additional information about the appointment and includes a field where you can type notes.
The Missed/Broken Appointments option on the Express Bar has been changed to Missed/Broken/Late Appointments.
Settings to enable or disable late appointment tracking are found on the Scheduler Settings window (System > Change System Settings > Scheduler).
See Tracking Missed, Broken, and Late Appointments and Setting Scheduler Defaults for more information.
The security rights listed in the Rights by User window are now grouped according to type. In previous versions of the software, new security rights were added to the bottom of the list.
The groups of security right types include: Accounting, Transactions, Clinical, Reports, Miscellaneous, Palm, Practice Central.
Two new transaction codes—103000.90 Patient Walkout Given and 103000.91 Account Walkout Given—have been added to the ADA/Transaction Code list.
Additional options have been added to the Walkout Statement Preferences section in the System Printing Preferences window (System > Change System Settings > General System > Printer Preferences):
Post PATIENT WALKOUT GIVEN code to patient's ledger—Select this option to post the Patient Walkout Given transaction code (103000.90) to the patient's ledger when a patient walkout statement is printed. This option is not selected by default.
Post ACCOUNT WALKOUT GIVEN code to the account's ledger—Select this option to post the Account Walkout Given transaction code (103000.91) to the account's ledger when an account walkout statement is printed. This option is not selected by default.
Print walkout given codes on account billing statements—Select this option to print the walkout given transaction codes on billing statements. This option is not selected by default.
The Message fields for all statement types—electronic, paper, monthly, single statement, and batched statements—have been expanded. The fields can now hold up to 125 characters, and the message wraps to the second line when the statement is printed.
See Handling Billing Statements for more information.
A User Codes section has been added to the bottom-left of the Electronic Statements List and Paper Statements List windows (Reports > Accounting > Statements > Electronic > Electronic Batch Preview > select options and click OK and Reports > Accounting > Statements > Paper > Statement Preview > select options and click OK.).
When you select an account name in the list, any account user codes attached to that account are displayed.
See Previewing and Printing Statements for more information.
Several enhancements have been made to ADA/transaction codes:
The ADA/Transaction Codes List window (List > ADA Codes) now has a Description sort option, enabling you to sort the codes by description.
When the Description sort option is selected, the list is sorted alphabetically, in ascending order, by the description of the ADA code.
See Searching for ADA Codes for more information.
A new transaction code, 103000.92 Recall Notice Sent, has been added to the ADA/Transaction Code list. This code is posted to a patient's ledger when you select the Post a RECALL SENT code to the patient's ledger option from the Recall Tracking section of the recall report setup window and run the report.
Two new fields have been added to the Default ADA tab of the Practice Information window (File > Practice > Default ADA):
Credit/Refund by Check—Used as the default whenever the Refunds check box is selected in the Payments window.
Credit/Refund by Credit Card—Used as the default whenever the Credit/Refund button is selected from the Payment Toolbar.
When you create an account budget plan and print coupons, the Print Coupon window is now displayed, which enables you to specify the due date for the first coupon. Each succeeding coupon will be dated at one-month intervals.
The date initially displayed defaults to the current date. You can type a new date or click the drop-down arrow to display a calendar where you can select a date.
See Transferring Account Balances to a Fixed-Loan Budget Plan for more information.
A Day to Post field has been added to the Terms tab of the Patient Budget Plan window, enabling you to select the day of the month to post the budget plan charge back to the patient.
A Day To Post section has also been added to the Patient Budget Plan report.
A Next Charge to be Posted field has been added to the Terms tab of the Patient Budget Plan window. This field displays the date that the next budget plan charge will be posted for the patient. When the Special Edit Field Enable option is selected, you can type a date in this field.
You must have the appropriate security permissions to access the Special Edit Field Enable feature.
The Next Charge to be Posted date is now listed on the Federal Truth In Lending statement as the first installment date.
See Setting Up Patient Budget Plans for more information.
There is no longer a limit to the amount of text you can type in the Notes fields in the following areas of the software:
Contacts
Clinical Notes
Treatment Plan Notes
Treatment Plan Financial Agreement Notes
Treatment Plan Comments
Document Review Notes
ePostings Payment and Payment Detail Notes
If a Notes field contains more text than can initially be displayed, use the scroll bar to view the complete note.
The office administrator can now create a system profile that functions as a default. All users initially receive the profile, but they can create their own profile, if desired. For example, one employee might prefer to use a green highlight band—to indicate that an item is selected—and a list constructed with vertical grid lines only, while another employee might prefer to use a purple highlighting border and no grid lines.
If the office administrator prefers that list windows have the same look and feel on all workstations, he can create a system profile that applies to all users which cannot be modified.
A Profile Administrator security permission has been added to the Miscellaneous security permissions list in the Rights by User window. The permission is also available in the Users by Rights window. A user with this security setting can create or modify a system profile (which can be used as a default for an office or override individual profiles).
The Profile Administrator security permission defaults to Off for all existing users except the user with the highest security permissions (typically User ID 1).
For newly added users, the Profile Administrator option defaults to Off.
For existing templates, the Profile Administrator security setting defaults to On for the Associate Doctor and the Office Manager.
The List Box Styles option on the View menu has been replaced by the List Preferences option, which displays the SoftDent List Preferences window.
The SoftDent List Preferences window now contains the Grid Lines options that were previously accessed from the List Box Styles menu. In addition, the window contains an option to set how information is displayed when you right-click on an item, and a field that enables you to select the profile you want to edit has also been added.
See Using Profiles for more information.