4 Tips to Help You Get Ready for 2021

The end of the year is always busy and often stressful, with patients trying to complete treatment before their benefits renew and team members taking time off for illness or holiday plans.

The good news is there are a few things you can do now to make the end of the year less stressful and help you prepare for the new year. Consider completing the four tips below in the next few weeks, so when the end of the year arrives, and 2021 starts, you’ll be ready for it.

1. Update to the ADA 2021 CDT Codes

Start the new year right by making sure your practice is using the latest 2021 ADA code changes. Keeping up with these changes can lead to quicker reimbursements and a more accurate list of current dental codes.

Dentrix Enterprise has updated the CDT codes for 2021. For 2021, there are 28 new codes, 7 revised codes, and 4 deleted codes. To get the updated codes, please contact the Dentrix Enterprise Support team at [email protected] so that you can start using those codes on Jan 1, 2021.

As of Dentrix Enterprise 11.0, you can inactivate procedure codes. For codes you never use and never will, you can do a little housecleaning by inactivating those codes. Read the Decluttering Your Procedure Code List blog post to learn more

2. Close Past Months that are Still Open in Dentrix Enterprise

Closing the year in Dentrix Enterprise is no different from closing the month. When you close the month of December, it also serves the purpose of closing the year. To make the process easier for yourself in December and reduce the amount of data Dentrix Enterprise processes at the end of the year, make sure you’ve closed all the previous months up to that point.

When you close a month, several tasks get completed: account balances are aged, procedures and clinical notes are moved to history, totals records are created, and insurance benefits are reset. You can also choose to have finance and late charges applied and future due payment plans processed.

For more information on closing the month in Dentrix Enterprise, review the following resources:

View the Why It’s Important to Run Month End Tasks blog article.
View the Running the month-end update Help topic.
Watch the Closing the Month Essentials video.

3. Update Your Practice Fees for Next Year

Updating fees each year can be another stressful process, but there’s a way to make it much easier. Instead of tackling the project of updating fees all at once, spread the work out over the next several weeks, and work on it as you have time.

Rather than changing fees directly inside Dentrix Enterprise, export your current fee schedules and create a spreadsheet. You’ll be able to evaluate your fees and make changes gradually in the spreadsheet instead of doing it in Dentrix Enterprise all at once. Start looking at your fees between now and the end of the year. Then, when you’re done, import the spreadsheet back into Dentrix Enterprises to update your fees.

For more information on updating fees in Dentrix Enterprise, review the following resources:

Read the Updating Your Office Fees for Next Year blog post to learn how to use the Auto Fee Schedule Changes feature.
Read the Exporting fee schedules Help topic.
Read the Importing fee schedules Help topic.

4. Run Your Yearly Reports

The end of your fiscal year is a great time to run reports to analyze the health of your practices. The following are suggested reports that you can run at the end of the year, but your organization may have other reports that will be useful to run at the end of the year:

Production Summary Report – Use this report to identify which procedures created the most revenue during the past year. Watch this video and view the Reports Reference Guide to learn more about the Production Summary Report.
Provider A/R Totals Report – This report displays production totals per provider, considering adjustments to those amounts. Watch this video and view the Reports Reference Guide to learn more about the Provider A/R Totals Report.
Practice Statistics Report – This report breaks down your patient demographics. Use this report to assist you in developing strategic business plans. View the Reports Reference Guide to learn more about the Practice Statistics Report.
Practice Analysis Report – This report provides statistical data for production, receivables, patients, and financial contracts. View the Reports Reference Guide to learn more about the Practice Analysis Report.