How Andre Uses Customizable Patient Prompts in Eaglesoft
One of the most overlooked fields in Eaglesoft is the Customizable Patient prompts. I have used it in various offices in different ways, but the most popular is for the following:
Emergency Contact
Emergency Contact Number
Physician’s Name
Physician’s Number
Previous Dentist
By adding these questions from List>General Setup>Customizable Prompts you will be adding them to Section 3 of the Patient Registration form.
In some cases, if you use a third-party patient Communication software, these prompts will be included in the online forms (check with your provider to confirm). If they can NOT be updated electronically, the information can be transcribed in the Edit Patient screen under Prompts.
There are HIPAA implications to the “Emergency Contact” field. Here are some situation to consider talking with an expert in this field for clarification:
Argument 1 (not my opinion but one stated in this discussion online): “Once you add a person as an emergency contact, the patient loses any HIPAA rights to that contact. They have to be able to make decisions on the person’s behalf. Just went through that with my treatment. If I put “John Doe” as my emergency contact... I am now authorizing John Doe to have access to my chart, whether I list him on my HIPAA release or not.”
My response: In what circumstance would someone list a stranger as an emergency contact? I can't imagine an Uber driver being listed as an Emergency Contact just because they drove you to the visit. I know I'm oversimplifying this. As a I Google "Emergency Contact + HIPAA", This is a summary of what I find:
"...in general HIPAA allows for sharing of information between hospital and clinic, and contacting emergency contact which you listed was probably not HIPAA violation unless the private health information was shared ‘more than necessary’ to make contact."
Calling someone's Emergency Contact and saying "Fred had some complications and was taken to the local ER. He listed you as his Emergency Contact and I wanted to inform you" would fit into that scenario.
Remember that whatever you make as a prompt will be added to your Patient Registration form. Don't add something you wouldn't want patients to see and structure the Prompt as a question to the patient.
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
