How Andre Gets the Service Code and ADA Codes List Lean, Mean and Updated in Eaglesoft
Maintaining your Service Code, Admin Codes, Fee Schedule and Coverage Books can be simplified with a few tweaks.
My first radical suggestion is to delete Service Codes from the Service Code list that the office does NOT perform, does not use for charting Existing Treatment or use for Referring treatment. This includes services like D7880 OCCLUSAL ORTHOTIC DEVICE (and most of the 7000 series codes). If a Service Code has been used in the past, Eaglesoft will NOT allow you to delete it, but you can inactivate it. If at some point the office decides it’s time to do an OCCLUSAL ORTHOTIC DEVICE, you can just add the Service Code back into Eaglesoft. Now you have a Service Code list (List>Service Codes) of just the codes you “use” making the list “lean, mean and updated”.
As the new ADA Current Dental Terminology (CDT) Codes are added, deleted, updated and/or modified each year, you can add, delete (or inactivate codes that have become obsolete), update and/or modify your list. Sometimes it may be one or two changes each year.
For Eaglesoft users, typically, the Patterson Technology Center (“Support”) sends a notice that the CDT update is available. Instructions are available to download a file (containing the new codes) and to run the CDT Utility (found in Utilities > Mass Updates). The CDT Utility will ONLY add Service Codes and will NOT delete, update or inactivate codes that have become obsolete. This is why I have never suggested waiting for the utility. Ultimately, the practice is responsible for updating descriptions/Inactivating codes.
With the updated Service Codes, the office may need to update Fee Schedules, Coverage Books and Exploding Code at the same time.
By deleting or inactivating Service Code that are not used or no longer used, your Service Code list only consists of about 75-100 Service Code and make updating Fee Schedules and/or Coverage Books so much faster and easier.
My favorite FREE resource for the CDT Update is a quick Google Search for “Delta Dental CDT Codes 20XX”. Each year Delta Dental creates a “CDT Updates” PDF that is available publicly online (you don’t not need to be a provider to download this page). It includes the new CDT Code, the effective dates, their new descriptions, any revisions, additions, and Delta’s processing policy changes.
DISCLAIMER:
This is a resource guide and all decisions on each dental office setup should remain the sole decision of the dentist/owner of the practice. Eaglesoft is a registered trademark of Patterson Dental Company. All other software or products mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Although Andre Shirdan was an employee of Patterson Dental, he is not associated with Eaglesoft or Patterson Dental Company or endorsed by Patterson or any other Company Mentioned in this blog
