PracticeManagement

Complete

Inside This Issue

President’sPerspective

I just finished reading an article in an orthodontic journal written by a well-known

consultant who says that many orthodontists do not know the full capabilities of

their management systems. The point is driven home when one of our closest

orthodontist advisors mentions to me that he

really isn’t aware of everything that we offer.

It isn’t realistic to list everything Edge and

ViewPoint can do in a newsletter article, but I’d

like to mention a few existing capabilities, and

preview a few more.

• Cloud – Edge is 100% designed for, and

benefits from, the cloud. No servers

needed.

• Apps – Both Edge and ViewPoint offer

Internet-based data access, but Edge takes it a step further with tablet and

smartphone apps specifically designed for doctors, staff, and patients.

• Reminders – Both Edge and ViewPoint can send upcoming appointment

reminders via phone, email, or text depending on the receivers’ preference.

• Newsletters – Included for Edge practices using Edge Reminders, Edge

Broadcast is a user-friendly tool for creating newsletters to send to your

patients, responsible parties, and referring and consulting professionals.

• Premier Imaging Features and Animations – Both Edge and ViewPoint

have advanced capabilities for image editing, morphing, patient education,

cephalometric analysis, and social media sharing.

• Employee Management – Both Edge and ViewPoint offer employee sign-in

with intuitive payroll and vacation time tracking, among many other features.

And what about the future? (If you regularly read our newsletters, you may be aware

of the first two.)

• Edge Specialist will optionally extend Edge to include features used in pediatric

dentistry. In addition to supporting dual discipline practices, some of these

features may benefit orthodontic-only practices as well. (Read more about Edge

The Newsletter for Members and Friends of Ortho2April 2017 - Volume 35 Issue 2

Comprehensive Orthodontic Practice Management, Imaging, and Communication Solutions

President’s Perspective 1

2017 Users Group Meeting Wrap Up 2

Spotlighted Feature: Edge Specialist 4

The Voice – Orthodontic Style 6by Debbie Best

Three Steps to Improving Your 7Patient ParticipationBy K. Ryan Alexander

David vs. Goliath 8by Jill Allen

Schedule Outliers Part 1 9by Sue Hanen

Inside Ortho2 10 –13

Share the Newsletter

Doctor

O�ce Manager

Financial Coordinator

TX Coordinator

Missing Software Features?

President’s Perspective continued on page 14

Historical Tooth Chart • Contract Timeline • Superimposition • Extensive Reporting • Employee Notepad • Appointment History • Employee Correspondence • Scheduler Bar • Time-Saving Features • Insurance Reports • Online Account Access • Multi-Monitor Support • Practice Monitor Widget • Weekly Schedule View • Pre-Recorded Voice Animations • Customizable • Office Reports • Tooth Chart • Presenter Mode • Alerts Widget • Scheduled Insurance Forms • Current Patient Appointment Averages • Sibling Appointment Scheduling • Full access • Invisalign Integration • Audit Reports • Online Help • Upload Queue Widget • Payment Coupons • Touchscreen Functionality • Appointments Widget • Unlimited Undo • Image Composites • Office Calendar • Ledger • Dynamic Search • Prior Year Appointment Averages • Time Off Requests • Contract Proposals • Financial Details • Patient Folder • Animation Treatments Folder • Doctor Time Scheduling • Insurance Tracking Mail Merge Queue • Scheduled Reminders • Credit Card Processing Integrations • Referrals Widget • Customizable Ribbon Bar • Employee Checklists • 3D Animations • Patient Images • Patient Referrer(s) • Electronic Signature Capture • Publish Animations to Email • Workflows • Daily Schedule View • Transactions • Browser Widget • RSS Reader Widget • Intuitive Design • Manual Import • Other Professional(s) • Calculator Widget • Angle Measurement Tool • Scheduler Clipboard • Credit Card Swiping • Real-Time Statistics • Appointment Card • Phone, Text, and Email Reminders • Mail Merge • Weather Widget • Custom Findings • Patient Rewards • Treatment Sequencing • Drill Down Reporting • SureSmile Integration • Digital X-ray • Integrations • Treatment Progress Bar • Employee Compensation Info • Online Patient Forms • Patient Correspondence • Tasks Widget • Clear Organization • Biometrics • Orchestrate Integration • Secure Cloud • Patient Average Arrival Time • Digital Imaging • Custom Analysis • Annotate and Measure • Responsible Party Information • UserVoice Widget • Patient Forms • Correspondence Widget • Reward Prizes Widget • Smart Scheduler • HR Manager • Patient Tracker • Family Widget • Cloud Computing • Comprehensive Practice Management • Add Background Music to Animations • Patient Notepad • Post Transactions • Intuitive Interface • Message Center • Record Your Voice to Animations • Recent Reports Folder • Patient Siblings • Patient Education Animations • Auto Import • Versatile Editors • Add Patient Images to Animations • Reminders Widget • Patient Sign-In • Clock and Stopwatch Widget • Treatment Hub • Patient Kept Appointment Percentage • Powerful • Contract Details • Stacks Widget • Multiple Timepoints • Unmatched Power • Payment Schedule • Treatment Findings • Easy Customization • Publish Animations to Facebook • Publish Animations to YouTube • Submit ABO Cases • Email Images and Layouts • Animation Favorites Folder • Mobile Apps • Statements • Treatment Plans • Patient Compliance Animations • Practice Connect • Ceph Tracing and Analysis • Subgroup Widget • No Servers • Annotate Your Animations • Patient Alerts • Automatic Alerts • Financial Reports • Sessions Widget • Financial History • Labels • Table Reports • Time Clock • Private Cloud • Quick Reports Widget • Messaging Widget • Quick-access Card Flow • Return to Original Image • Recall System • Bolton Standards • Procedure Groups • Smartphone and Tablet Access • Monthly Schedule View • Auto Receipts • Customizable Workflows • Sooner if Possible List • Patient Appointment Day/Time Breakdown • Correspondence Widget • Nickname Widget • Light Bar Widget • Receipts • Treatment Chart • Appointment Reports • Patient Biographical Information • Patient Reports • Red Eye Removal • Chart Widget • Lighting Image Transfer • Animation Filmstrip • Index Image View • Appointment History • Dynamic Dashboard • Patient Reminders • Electronic Insurance • Widget Library • InVivoDental Integration • Drag and Drop • Patient X-rays • Patient Milestones • Export Images to Merge Docs • Quick Checkbox Findings • Employee Emergency Contact Info • Image Morphing • Quick Reports Folder • Image Comparison • Procedure Chains • Appliance Tracker • Timepoint Morphing • Various Color Themes and Templates • Patient Tracker Widget • Electronic Health Histories • Publish Animations to Disk • Office Reports • Tooth Chart • Presenter Mode • Alerts Widget • Scheduled Insurance Forms • Current Patient Appointment Averages • Sibling Appointment Scheduling • Light Bar Widget • Full Access • Invisalign Integration • Audit Reports • Online Help • Upload Queue Widget • Payment Coupons • Touchscreen Functionality • Appointments Widget • Unlimited Undo • Image Composites • Office Calendar • Ledger • Dynamic Search • Prior Year Appointment Averages • Time Off Requests • Contract Proposals • Financial Details • Patient Folder • Animation Treatments Folder • Doctor Time Scheduling • Insurance Tracking Mail Merge Queue • Scheduled Reminders • Credit Card Processing Integrations • Referrals Widget • Customizable Ribbon Bar • Employee Checklists • 3D Animations • Patient Images • Nickname Widget • Patient Referrer(s) • Electronic Signature Capture • Treatment Plans • Patient Compliance Animations • Practice Connect • Ceph Tracing and Analysis • Subgroup Widget • No Servers • Annotate Your Animations • Patient Alerts • Automatic Alerts • Financial Reports • Sessions Widget • Financial History • Labels • Table Reports • Time Clock • Private Cloud • Quick Reports Widget • Messaging Widget • Quick-Access Card Flow • Return to Original Image • Recall System • Bolton Standards • Procedure Groups • Smartphone and Tablet Access • Monthly Schedule View • AutoReceipts • Customizable Workflows • Sooner if Possible List • Patient Appointment Day/Time Breakdown • Correspondence Widget • Treatment Chart • Appointment Reports • Patient Biographical Information • Patient Reports • Red Eye Removal • Chart Widget • Historical Tooth Chart • Contract Timeline • Superimposition • Extensive Reporting • Employee Notepad • Appointment History • Employee Correspondence • Scheduler Bar • Time-Saving Features • Insurance Reports • Online Account Access • Multi-Monitor Support • Practice Monitor Widget • Weekly Schedule View • Pre-Recorded Voice Animations • Customizable • Office Reports • Tooth Chart • Presenter Mode • Alerts Widget • Scheduled Insurance Forms • Current Patient Appointment Averages • Sibling Appointment Scheduling • Full Access • Invisalign Integration • Audit Reports • Online Help • Upload Queue Widget •

The List Goes On and On...We can't fit every feature of Edge in just one brochure. Rest assured thatif you have a practice management need, we have you covered.

Support

Pow

erfu

l

CustomizableConvenient

Convenient

Streamlined

Informative

Accessible

Communication

PracticeWidgets

Portal

GraphsSign-In

ChartingScheduling

Rewards Ref

erra

ls

Timeclock

TimeclockCloud

Innovate

Enhance

Management

Imaging

SEC

UR

ITY

Morphing

Mobile

Animations

Dashboard

Metrics

One System, Infinite Potential

Contributor Contact Information:

Debbie Best – Debbie Best, practice

management consultant and lecturer, has

more than 35 years of experience in the

orthodontic field. Visit her online at

www.debbiebestconsultingnetwork.

com, or contact her at (925) 447-6993, or

debbiebest@aol.com.

K. Ryan Alexander – Ryan Alexander is a

senior consultant with Alexander & Sons.

He provides comprehensive orthodontic

consulting services, with an emphasis in

Doctor Time Scheduling. Contact Ryan at

ryan@alexanderandsons.com or call

(760) 539-6736.

Jill Allen – Jill Allen, owner of Jill Allen &

Associates, has a passion for working with

orthodontists who have been in practice

eight years or less. Contact her at

(303) 988-4455 or jill@practiceresults.com.

2 3

2017 Users Group Meeting Wrap Up

“The Ortho2 Users Group Meeting is a fabulous way to enhance your practice and optimize every team member’s use of the software. From knowledgeable speakers to individual attention in the computer lab, this relaxed environment is the perfect way to strengthen as a team, as well as individually. We have been to several UGMs, and I know my team and I will be back again!!” Dr. Anne O’Day, Furlong, PA

“This meeting exceeded our expectations! We’re so grateful we came and can’t wait to implement our action plan and train our team with all this new information.” Cristina Alexandroni, Atlas Orthodontics, Murfreesboro, TN

Contributor Contact Information:

2 3

2017 Users Group Meeting Wrap Up

If you are planning a presentation or lecture at a society meeting, university, or local meeting, we can provide you with any screenshots you need and can discuss how to best use Edge and/or ViewPoint in any situations you may be illustrating. We appreciate the good word you spread and would like to assist in any way we can!

Sue Hanen – Sue Hanen, director of

consulting services for Impact360, can be

reached at (877) 360-0068 or at

sue@impact360.com.

Join us February 22-24, 2018 in Savannah, Georgia for the 34th Annual Users Group Meeting! The

meeting will take place at the Savannah Marriott Riverfront Hotel. If you haven’t yet experienced

a UGM, now is the perfect time to do so. Don’t just take it from us, see all of the pictures on our

website www.ortho2.com > Meetings & Webinars > UGM or on the Ortho2 Facebook page.

Also, take the time to let us know if you are interested in next year’s meeting and be one of the

first offices to get information about available classes. Call Kim Barker at (800) 678-4644 or visit

www.ortho2.com > Meetings and Webinars > UGM to let us know you are interested.

Congratulations to the Exhibitor Bingo winners:

• Savannah Nation from Green Orthodontics

• Kim Burnett from Dental Health Orthodontics

• Diane Anderson from University of Minnesota Orthodontic

“Best meeting I have attended. Great information. New speakers. Loved it!”

Diane Julius, Feldman Orthodontics, Cheshire, CT

W e are excited to announce that

Edge will soon include pediatric

dentistry software with the Edge Specialist

module! In addition to your orthodontic

needs, Edge Specialist will include your

pediatric dentistry needs - everything from an

expanded tooth chart, to scheduler needs, and

even updated financials and insurance.

With Edge Specialist each person can set the default to

orthodontic or pediatric dentistry so he or she can see

exactly what they want. The setting follows the user to

each computer.

In addition, many new Editors will appear to help you

create the setup you need to run both orthodontic and

pediatric dentistry procedures in your office.

Scheduler and Scheduler BarYour scheduler will look mostly the same with a few

options added. When Edge Specialist is enabled, you can

filter your schedule and scheduler bar by specialty in the

same way you can currently filter by orthodontists or office.

In addition, your chairs can be classified by the specialty.

You can select from appointment types for a particular

specialty, or a combined list. And an appointment can

include multiple procedures from the same, or different

specialties. For example, one appointment might include

one pediatric and two orthodontic procedures.

You can even search for an appointment in the Smart

Scheduler based on specialty. The Smart Scheduler will

also allow you to make procedure groups and chains on

the fly to include multiple family members and contain

more than one specialty.

Patient Folder and Tooth ChartIf a patient is included in more than one specialty, icons

will appear in their patient folder to go between each

specialty. You can easily set up which specialties current

patients are included in by editing their biographical

4 5

Edge SpecialistPart of an ongoing series spotlighting significant features

information from within their patient folder. You can specify

new patients when creating their patient profile.

The tooth chart has an easy-access list of procedures so you

can quickly add an item to a tooth as a planned procedure.

The procedures are listed in a tree view format, which can

be searched, and sorted into favorites. Procedures can be

classified by surface, whole tooth, or whole mouth.

When you assign a procedure to a tooth, a line is added

to the patient’s treatment chart. Here, you can take notes

about the planned procedure, and view or alter the billing

code and fees.

When a procedure is marked as completed, the fee will be

auto-posted to the responsible party, and insurance will be

billed if appropriate.

In addition, the pediatric dentistry tooth chart will have an

icon to indicate if x-rays of specific teeth are available to

view. Simply hover over this icon to see the x-ray.

Financials and InsuranceWith Edge Specialist, your financials and insurance can be

completely separated or all inclusive – whatever fits your

office the best. Patients can have separate billing for both

orthodontic and pediatric dentistry services. In addition,

practice financial reports can be separated by specialty or

combined to provide a complete financial picture.

And you don’t have to worry about insurance claims as they

will be created automatically for dental procedures. With

Edge Specialty, detailed insurance information is tracked,

including plan maximums and coverage amount for each

procedure.

New AnimationsEdge Specialist comes with several child friendly videos

that are designed to be fun and accessible to children.

The videos teach children how to properly floss and brush,

the importance of keeping their teeth clean, and other

information regarding their oral health and what to expect

when visiting the dentist.

These animations are available with the full Edge

Animations module.

For more information about Edge Specialist, which will

be available for a fee, contact your Regional Manager at

sales@ortho2.com or (800) 678-4644.

4 5

Edge Specialist

But What About Orthodontics?Here at Ortho2, we are motivated, as always, to develop new features that benefit our orthodontic community. So why,

you may ask, are we adding pediatric dental features to Edge? Oddly enough, for the same orthodontic-based reason

as always. We first noticed just a whisper of orthodontic interest in pediatric features about five years ago. Since then

the volume has increased pretty regularly each year. We realize our new pediatric features won’t all be utilized by every

orthodontic practice, (although some features likely will be). In fact many of our features aren’t used by everyone. We

realized that some form of ortho-pedo feature convergence was not only appropriate, but important when current and

prospective orthodontic clients indicated that pediatric features would play an important role in their decision making.

Some of the development that goes into new features such as Edge Specialist will directly affect non-specialty offices,

as well. For example, there is a completely new tooth chart with new capabilities. Also, the ability to assign multiple

procedures to one appointment is a function that didn’t exist in Edge until Edge Specialist. Now, even if you don’t use

the new module, you can use this feature to keep accurate reporting when more than one procedure takes place, without

interfering with your schedule.

6 7

The Voice –

M y husband and I were watching

this past season of “The Voice”,

and we both agreed that the incredible

talent of the contestants surpassed that of

previous seasons. Rather than questioning

if the artist should move forward, the decision

often instead is which coach would be best suited

to guide them through the journey to achieve their

dreams. Each one of “The Voice” coaches offers a unique

mentoring approach with the goal to help the contestant

reach far beyond their wildest dreams and expectations.

Each coach on the show has similar traits to the jobs in

your orthodontic office.

Often I see the most veteran team member put in charge

of leading and training – the Blake in the office. Consistent

and reliable with years of experience, they understand

the ultimate goal, bringing priceless wisdom and pearls to

the training table. Put them in charge of Stage 1 training

– the first 90 days. If you do not have a formal systems

and procedures manual, develop it the next time you

hire a new employee. As information is delivered, the

new team member writes everything down to create the

foundation for a written training program with systems and

protocols. Unfortunately, as with computers, no one has

yet discovered how to transfer information telepathically

from one person to another. Do not expect trainees to tap

“Blake’s” knowledge and experience through osmosis.

The Adam (singer, song writer, and multi-instrumentalist)

in the practice can be compared to an employee who has

either worked in more than one orthodontic office or has

had experience in multiple areas of the practice. Rather

than blindly accepting a system because it has always

been done the same way using the same products, Adam

would be the team member who is continually trying to

find enhanced, streamlined systems that would better

serve the orthodontic community. As well as seeing the

big picture, they understand the intricate puzzle pieces

needed to make your systems work. They can fill a vital

role in your training and management program delivering

Stage 2 of the coaching process – after the first 90 days.

The human resource aspect of owning your own business

often causes the majority of your headaches. Between

monitoring employee performance to establishing pay and

benefits, it can significantly increase the number of hours

you spend working each month. Having an Alicia on your

payroll – someone who is calm, cool, and unflappable –

can enable you to share some of the HR responsibilities,

freeing up time for you to see patients. Develop detailed

job descriptions outlining duties and expectations as well

provide a measure of performance.

The HR Manager is also responsible for fielding employee

conflict and enforcing the 24-hour rule. Under the 24-

hour rule if an employee has a complaint or concern with

any member of the team, they are to go directly to that

person and only to that person. If they are not able to

resolve the problem between the two of them, only then

do they take it to a third party for input. If the concern is

not addressed within 24-hours life is too short, just let it

go. Your “Alicia” can be your human resource gatekeeper,

from record keeping to performance auditing to making

recommendations for changes in salaries and benefit

plans. Update the manuals and job descriptions on annual

basis to ensure that the documentation is accurate and

up-to-date.

Miley, Miley, Miley! She will definitely bring the excitement

into the practice. The Miley in your office challenges you to

explain the why and not just the how. This team member

About the AuthorWith more than 35 years of

experience, Debbie Best evaluates

staffing needs and systems to

develop a strategic plan for practice

productivity. She designs customized

schedules, personalized job

descriptions, and a team member

handbook to fit each practice’s

needs.

Orthodontic Style

Orthodontic Voice continued on page 14

6 7

Three Steps to ImprovingYour Patient Participation

O ne of the primary components to running

an efficient orthodontic practice is patients’

involvement and participation in the practice. For many

practices, this component is often the most difficult to get

right, and is often overlooked for a variety of reasons.

Customer service for many practices means that the

customer is always right. However, when patients show up

late for a twenty-minute appointment and have five broken

brackets, doubling the appointment time, or demand to be

seen for all their appointments when it’s most convenient

for them, the practice puts themselves in a hole that is

tough to dig out. When we deliver great service to the

“customer is always right” customer it is at the expense

of the patients who are actually great participators in the

practice.

I will confess, there is no secret sauce to resolve all your

patient cooperation problems. However, what I have

found is that you can improve this area in your practice

tremendously by staying committed to these three steps in

the beginning of each patient’s treatment.

Step 1: The treatment coordinator should have excellent

scripting at the initial exam, beginning the coaching

process for what the practice expects of their patients.

An example might be when the TC is showing the patient

your beautiful office, and when she/he gets to the tooth

brushing station they might say, “Mrs. Jones, Susan, this

is our tooth brushing station. For your next appointment

please feel welcome to show up five minutes prior to your

appointment, head straight back here, and brush your

teeth so that you are ready to go at your appointment

time. It’s very important to Dr. Alexander that we stay on

time with all of your appointments, and making sure you

are ready to go at your appointment time is a huge help.”

Notice I said “feel welcome to show up five minutes prior”

as opposed to “please show up five minutes early.” The

new patient process should be welcoming and inviting, and

we will get to more specifics in the following steps once the

patient has decided to start treatment in your practice.

Step 2: Have an appointment and scheduling form that is

initialed and signed by your patients at the time they sign

the informed consent and financial contracts. We don’t

want to bombard our patients with rules and regulations,

so as we explain this form to our patients it’s important to

point out the many benefits that the patients receive due

to their participation in the practice. It’s a nice touch to link

the patient’s role in showing up on time, calling with broken

brackets, etc., with a rewards system.

Step 3: After the braces are placed, assistants should

be spending 10-15 minutes going over tooth brushing

instructions, explaining proper care of the braces and/or

appliances, and coaching the patients on the importance of

calling the practice for any breakage. I like my assistants to

also review the importance of showing up on time for their

appointments brushed and ready to go. Ideally, the parents

should be present for this coaching session.

Ultimately, the earlier and better you communicate with

your patients, the better results you will have. Many offices

I visit don’t hit any of these steps, or they don’t hit them

consistently or as clearly as they could. They then wonder

why they have a significant patient cooperation problem.

The snowball effect is created where the poor cooperators

of the practice dictate the level of customer service to

an extent. The best way of reversing this effect is to

implement these three steps consistently.

About the AuthorRyan Alexander is a senior consultant

with Alexander & Sons. He has quickly

risen to the top of the orthodontic

consulting field as a full service

consultant working in all areas of

practice management. Ryan also

does extensive work with orthodontic

practice transitions nationwide.

8 9

David vs. Goliath

I magine your name is David, you live

in a community, and own a private

orthodontic practice. Then, a corporate

dental group named Goliath announces its

intention to build a new clinic nearby. What do

you do?

Many times I have seen this issue become quite

contentious. A fight to the death is often sure to

ensue. Too many times I see doctors becoming consumed,

spending their time fretting and complaining to their team

members, worrying about how Goliath is going to ruin their

business, but yet they do nothing about it.

One of the biggest complaints I hear is that these big

corporate dental groups will cause smaller orthodontic

offices like theirs to lose patients, lose money, and

ultimately go out of business and die. Let me suggest

that the ultimate fate of those threatened orthodontic

offices may lie less in the hands of the big corporate dental

groups, and more in their own approach and commitment

to establishing patient loyalty.

Many successful private orthodontic offices are managing

to carve out practices that not only survive, but also thrive

in the shadow of some of these big dental giants – even

if these big dental groups outspend them in marketing

dollars 30 to 1. So how do they do it?

Ultimately, braces are braces no matter where they

are placed. Yet many private practices are successfully

communicating to their patients why they should and need

to start treatment with them. These are the David practices!

They are the doctors that seem weak to the corporate

competition, but turn out to be surprisingly strong.

They convey that although braces may be braces, the

quality of care and patient experience in their practices

are vastly different than the Goliath dental groups out

there. They are confidently presenting that although their

treatment fees may not be the lowest in town, their regard

for treatment care is to the highest of standards. Because

of this, patients are seeing value and are choosing to

accept treatment with them instead of with the Goliaths

out there.

In the end, competition is good. It can and should cause

you and your team to raise the bar for your practice and

evaluate everything! Evaluate your quality of patient

care, pricing, fee presentation strategies, patient practice

experience, and more. Then choose to change, and strive

for excellence.

If you choose to do this you will start to create loyal

patients who want to refer their friends and family to you.

You will create a mind-set for your patients that inevitably

gets them talking, blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and

referring others to you. Remember the best referral any

practice can get is from a happy patient!

It is inevitable that every orthodontic practice will have

some form of competition. It’s how you choose to compete

that can make or break your practice. So how do you get

your practice to this position? By going further than merely

focusing on customer satisfaction. You and your team need

to focus on customer loyalty through an amazing practice

experience.

Let me illustrate this with an example:

Everyone in your practice needs to be constantly asking

themselves, “What am I doing right now to make sure that

the next time my patient hears of someone who needs

About the AuthorJill Allen is the owner of Jill Allen &

Associates, a full service orthodontic

practice management consulting firm

with a special focus on new practice

start-ups and doctors who have been in

business eight years or less.

David vs. Goliath continued on page 14

Why Haven’t Corporate Dental Giants Chased all the Private Practices out of Town?

8 9

A s you work toward your 2017 goals, creating the

time to plan and execute can be a challenge.

There are four schedule outliers that are often overlooked

when setting goals. In this article, we will examine how

to calculate each metric, review the industry target for

each, and provide recommendations on how to improve

each outlier. By the end, you’ll learn how to calculate each

schedule metric, create an action plan to pinpoint areas of

improvement, and unveil the hidden value of time that can

be captured.

Grab a piece of paper, pencil, and calculator, open Edge or

ViewPoint, and let’s figure out where you stand on each of

the following schedule metrics. This article will cover no-

show rate and percent of retention patients seen. Part two

of this article will appear in the July newsletter and cover

emergency visit (extra visits) and patients over estimated

treatment time.

No-Show RateFormula: Total No-Shows ÷ Total Appointments Scheduled

Target: 5% or Less of Scheduled Appointments

An elevated no-show rate adversely affects the schedule

by requiring appointments to be rescheduled in a time

frame that is likely already filled. Additionally, no-shows may

increase the time between active visits, thus increasing the

length of treatment.

Recommendation: So how can you decrease no-show

patients? If you are not already texting appointment

reminders, start today! I have noticed with my clients a

1.5 to 2 percent decline in the no-show percentage once

texting begins.

Fortunately, there are many options. Both Edge and

ViewPoint offer electronic correspondence functions that

can send electronic appointment cards. In addition, you

can use Edge Reminders in both Edge and ViewPoint, to

send phone calls, emails, or text messages to the patients

and responsible parties that give options to confirm

appointments. This method has the distinct advantage that

the recipients’ confirmations are relayed directly to the

practice’s database. In ViewPoint, these confirmations are

added to the scheduling grid after the user views a report.

In Edge, the process can be automatic.

Next, review the list of patients who did not confirm their

appointments. Either call or text a personal message.

These patients are likely to no-show, and a call may prevent

a no-show or provide an opportunity to fill a time slot in

the schedule. If you are using a reward system, consider

awarding points for electronic confirmations.

The Value of Time Calculation: When working with a

practice on systems, protocols, and schedules, we work

through what I call the “Value of Time Calculation”

worksheet. Below is a sample of how small, incremental

improvements will recapture wasted time in your schedule.

A few notations: What follows is real data, and although

the ultimate goal for no-shows is 5% or less, it was too

much of a stretch goal to go from 11% to 5% during our

first timeline. However, we knew that with a few tweaks to

existing protocols and implementing texting, the 9% interim

goal was attainable in round one.

In a month’s time, this sample practice has 1,898

appointments scheduled. The average no-show count in

a month is 209! That is a full day or more wasted each

and every month! The current no-show percentage is at

11%. Our interim goal is 9% – only a 2% decrease, which

About the AuthorSue Hanen has spent the past

20 years with Impact360 as a

practice management consultant,

implementation specialist, and

national and international lecturer.

She is an iPEC Certified Professional

Coach, a Kolbe Certified Consultant,

and an expert in the Kolbe suite of

assesments.

Schedule Outliers continued on page 15

Schedule OutliersPart One

Free WebinarsWe offer you free, online, real-time webinars each month throughout the year on various topics. It’s a great solution for

training new users, refreshing experienced users, or learning about new features. Webinars are offered several times each

month so you can choose the time that fits best with your schedule. Preregistration, a computer with a high-speed Internet

connection, and a phone are required. Questions? Contact Judy Brown at (800) 346-4504 or jkb@ortho2.com.

Upcoming Webinar Dates

On a Personal NoteNathan Hemmings, Ortho2 Software Support Representative and Trainer, and his wife, Kristen, welcomed their first child,

Zara Elynn on December 29, 2016. Zara weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Congratulations!

Edge: Late Fees

Thursday, April 6th, 10:00-11:00 A.M. Central Time

Tuesday, April 18th, 2:00-3:00 P.M. Central Time

This webinar will review the process of late fees; beginning

with defining late fee policies using the Late Fees Editor,

how to post late fees, and everything in between.

ViewPoint: Patient Contracts

Wednesday, May 10th, 10:00-11:00 A.M. Central Time

Thursday, May 25th, 2:00-3:00 P.M. Central Time

Everything you have ever wanted to know about contracts

will be covered in this webinar! We will review:

• Creating new patient contracts. We will cover everything

from simple contracts to contracts with insurance, and

even contracts with multiple responsible parties.

• Contract Adjustments. Quickly decrease or increase the

amount of a patient’s treatment fee, adjust a payment

schedule, or re-allocate a treatment fee among multiple

contracts.

• Contract Templates. Use contract templates to easily

apply your standard treatment rates and payment plans

to new patient contracts.

• Fast Fee Tool. Use this tool to quickly create a simple

contract.

• Contract Proposals. Contract proposals can be used to

present a variety of payment options to the responsible

party before a patient begins treatment. We will walk

through creating, editing, and activating proposals.

Edge: Transaction Report Close-Up

Thursday, June 8th, 10:00-11:00 A.M. Central Time

Tuesday, June 20th, 2:00-3:00 P.M. Central Time

The Transaction report provides an audit trail of new patient

records and transactions posted to your system. We’ll review

report settings, explain each section, and discuss best

practices for running the report.

Inside Ortho2Information about the people of Ortho2 and the resources available to you as a member

10 11

Zara Elynn

10 11

Available from Ortho2Email or call your Ortho2 Regional Manager at sales@ortho2.com or (800) 678-4644 for more details on any of these

products and services.

Our cloud-based management system.

Our local server management system.

Equipment & Networking (For both Edge and ViewPoint systems)

• Computers, Printers, and Other System Components• On-Site Installation and Configuration

Your Edge System Can Include:(Scheduler, Electronic Insurance, and Edge Imaging always included)

• Additional Edge User Licenses • Edge Specialist (pediatric dentistry module)• Practice Connect (Your practice in the palm of their

hands.)• Edge Animations (patient education and case

presentation) • Edge Portal Premium (account access for patients/

parents/professionals via the Internet or smartphone)• Edge Reminders (automated appointment reminders)• Treatment Hub (electronic charting)• Patient Tracker (patient sign-in and operatory display)• Premier Imaging (ceph, morphing, and Bolton

Standards)• HR Manager (securely store employee information)

• Third Party Product Integrations

Edge Services• On-Site Training and Refresher Sessions• Web-Based Training and Refresher Sessions• Credit Card Transaction Processing• Edge Cloud (off-site, secure data hosting)• Data Split (split Edge databases)• Data Merge (combine Edge databases)• Data Conversion (put non-Edge data into Edge file

format)• Image Conversion (convert your images to Edge

Imaging)• Custom Reports• Custom Online Forms• Custom Premier Imaging Analyses

ViewPoint Software Modules• Additional ViewPoint User Licenses• Edge Imaging for ViewPoint (enhanced imaging

functions)• Edge Animations for ViewPoint (patient education

and case presentation)• Edge Reminders for ViewPoint (automated

appointment reminders)• Premier Imaging (ceph, morphing, and Bolton

Standards)• Treatment Chart (electronic charting)• On-Deck Appointment Control (patient sign-in and

operatory display)• HR Manager (securely store employee information)• VP WebAccess (account access for patients/parents

on the Internet)• VP Glance (access to your ViewPoint data from your

smartphone)• Electronic Insurance

• Grid Scheduler• Third Party Product Integrations• DataMove Utility (transfer ViewPoint data from

location to location)

ViewPoint Services• On-Site Training and Refresher Sessions• Web-Based Training and Refresher Sessions• VP Credit Card Transaction Processing• VP Backup Online Storage• Data Split (split ViewPoint databases)• Data Merge (combine ViewPoint databases)• Data Conversion (put non-ViewPoint data into

ViewPoint file format)• Image Conversion (convert your images to

VP Imaging or Edge Imaging)• Custom Reports• Custom Online Forms• Custom Premier Imaging Analyses

• Backup Monitoring Service

Ortho2 AnniversariesCongratulations to these Ortho2 staff members who celebrated anniversaries during the first quarter of 2017.

Thirty-Five YearsDan Sargent

Twenty-Seven YearsJo Jacobson

Twenty-Six YearsDiane Lyon

Twenty-Three YearsMatt Hilleman

Nineteen YearsCoreen Magnuson

Mike Vest

Eighteen YearsDoug Olsan

Sixteen YearsJoe Levenhagen

Fifteen YearsDanetta Hiatt

Jesse Howard

Amy Schmidt

Thirteen YearsMichael DiSalvo

Chad Kellner

Tony Kooima

Eleven YearsChris Bennett

Eight YearsJim Powell

Six YearsMike Gude

Five Years

Mark Hoffmann

Joe Lynch

Three YearsLori Backous

Linda Cooley

Dylan Funk

David Hohbach

Michael Houlihan

Amia Sult

Referral RewardsYou can earn a $500 credit for each referral that results in an Ortho2 system purchase within six months. You can apply

the credit toward any current or future charge or purchase—it never expires. We frequently hear from doctors that they

wish we had contacted them before purchasing their current system. We wish we had too, but we didn’t know they were

looking. You can help us help your colleagues by letting us know when they are considering a change in systems. Enter

referrals online at www.ortho2.com and clicking on the Referral Rewards icon in the top right corner, call

(800) 678-4644, or email sales@ortho2.com.

12 13

Background image taken by Brandon Niewoehner

Chat SupportDo you need to call into our Support Team for a question, but it’s difficult to wait on hold, even for a few minutes? Ortho2

has you covered! Use our chat support to get in contact with us. When you use the chat support feature, you will be

added to the same queue as phone calls. You can choose to chat with the Software Support, New Customer Care, or

Network Engineering Teams.

In Edge, you can find links to chat support through the Help menu. In ViewPoint version 11, it is the bottom right Help

button in the Daily Activities menu.

So drop us a line when you are in a pinch! We are here to help you in whatever way is most convenient for you.

SupportBy Phone: (800) 346-4504

Available 7:00 A.M. – 7:00 P.M. Central

Time, Monday – Friday

By E-mail: ortho2support@ortho2.com

Response time is usually the same day or

at most within 24 hours.

By Fax: (515) 233-1454

You can fax us support requests. While not required, forms that help identify

these requests are available at www.ortho2.com > Support & Learning >

Requests/Forms > Fax Support.

And Don’t Forget Our Website: www.ortho2.com

Our website gives you 24/7 access to our knowledge base, FAQs, white

papers, visual help videos, and more.

Contact UsPhone

(800) 678-4644 (Sales)

(800) 346-4504 (Support)

Fax

(515) 233-1454

Internet

www.ortho2.com

Email

accounting@ortho2.com

admin@ortho2.com

engineering@ortho2.com

ideas@ortho2.com

orders@ortho2.com

ortho2support@ortho2.com

sales@ortho2.com

ugm@ortho2.com

Newsletter Submissions

editor@ortho2.com

Social Media

www.facebook.com/ortho2

www.youtube.com/ortho2systems

www.twitter.com/ortho2systems

www.linkedin.com/company/ortho2

www.instagram.com/ortho2systems

https://plus.google.com/+ortho2

http://blog.ortho2.com

www.ortho2.uservoice.com

12 13

14 15

David vs. Goliath continued from page 8

orthodontics, they will choose to refer to our office and not

our competitor?”

Here are three simple examples that are easy to

understand:

1. Be easy to do business with. Just like Amazon makes

buying easy with a few clicks of your mouse and

an Amazon Prime account, we, too, should make it

easy for patients to come in, find out about us, and

get started. The last thing we want is old antiquated

systems creating obstacles for patients to say yes to

treatment.

2. Create confidence in your practice. You may be a

smaller practice in comparison to the Goliaths out

there but you and your team provide an expertise

and experience that gives your patients comfort and

confidence that they are choosing the best practice for

themselves, their family, and their friends.

3. Educate your patients. Your patients want to know

that if they have an orthodontic problem and they

come to your practice you won’t just sell them on what

they need to do to fix their bite. They want to know

that you and your team are going to teach them and

educate them about the benefits of orthodontic care in

your practice. Show them what excellence looks like!

With these examples in mind, explore the reasons why

patients should select you over your competition. Focus

on making those attributes of your business the standards

against which all others are measured. Then you’ll be

separating yourself from your competition and moving from

basic customer satisfaction to coveted customer loyalty.

Remember in the story of “David and Goliath,” ancient

armies contained teams called slingers, who wielded sling-

shots and could be deadly from distances as great as 200

yards. The best, like David, were lethally accurate, and

Goliath was not a small target. Once David had persuaded

the Israelites that single combat didn’t need to mean sword

versus sword, but could be by any weapon, there was only

Specialist on page 4 of this issue.)

• Edge Signature, available for Edge, will allow patients,

doctors, and professionals to sign electronic forms

using an in-office tablet, or via email.

• Edge Pop (for both Edge and ViewPoint) will

automatically display the patient record for known

incoming phone numbers on most VOIP phone

systems that support the common SIP protocol.

This is a short list of some Ortho2 capabilities you may not

have been aware of. And remember, as the consultant’s

article I read advises, please don’t assume your system

doesn’t do something just because you aren’t currently

aware of it. We have spent the last 35 years working

to provide not only the features all of you have been

requesting, but also other leading functions you hadn’t yet

known you needed, but can’t (or soon won’t) want to live

without!

has an endless supply of energy and can be counted on

to create fun and laughter. Give her the responsibility

of coordinating internal marketing and team activities.

Toss her the ball and then let her run with it under your

guidance.

“The Voice” coaches encourage contestants who do not

successfully move forward on their first attempt; they

highlight the positive and point out specific measures

needed for improvement. The key is to remember that

if you are not successful the first time, it does not mean

failure. Instead look at it as:

F First

A Attempt

I In

L Learning

Just as Blake, Adam, Alicia, and Miley are not the perfect

mentor for every contestant, it takes more than one trainer/

leader to develop a gifted orthodontic team. Your dream

team is obtainable with the voice of the doctor, partnered

with a solid coaching and management program.

Orthodontic Voice continued from page 6

President’s Perspective continued from page 1

David vs. Goliath continued on next page

14 15

Schedule Outliers continued from page 9

still leaves 171 no-shows per month. By flipping only 38

patients from no-shows to completed appointments, if

appointments are 20 minutes each, the practice gains 13

total hours of appointments. In reality, the savings are

probably even larger, as we all know that the average

appointment time may exceed 20 minutes.

Percent of Retention Patients Seen Formula: Total Retention Visits ÷ Total Appointments

Completed

Target: Retention Visits 7% or Less of Completed

Appointments

Without a sound retention protocol in place, a schedule

can become over-filled with retention visits. These visits

may consume too many clinical hours, making it difficult to

schedule active patients.

Recommendation: If you do not have a retention protocol,

write one immediately. Support your protocol with

procedure codes that add clarity. Note that many retention

protocols do not include three visits. Determine what works

in your practice.

• Retention Check #1, 8 Weeks

• Retention Check #2, 4 Months

• Retention Check #3 – Final, 6 Months

Ask the clinical team to assist with moving the patients

through the 1, 2, 3 process. In addition, if a retention

patient fails an appointment for the second or third visit

in the protocol, make little or no attempt to follow up. At

the end of a patient’s formal retention period, the status is

changed to Graduate, and any future recalls are canceled.

This status change and closure to the retention period is

completed with a monthly report. You will see a decline

in scheduled retention visits following this process. This

process will aid in keeping the retention status data valid

according to your protocol.

The Value of Time Calculation: This practice was seeing an

average of 150 retention visits in a month, which was 17.3%

of all completed appointments. For round one, our goal

was to decrease to 14.3%, still far from the ultimate goal of

7%. This decline came out to 38 fewer retention visits each

month. Assuming 10-minute appointments, this equaled 6

hours of saved time value. Who would have thought these

visits could add up to so much – and we all know that

retention visits are often more than 10 minutes each.

ever going to be one winner.

As Malcolm Gladwell stated in his book “David and

Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants”,

“Goliath had as much chance against David as a man with

a sword would have had against someone armed with a .45

automatic handgun.” So remember the strong are often

surprisingly weak if looked at from the right angle. People

who seem weak can turn out to be surprisingly strong.

Don’t be a Goliath. Dare to be a David.

David vs. Goliath continued from previous page

1107 Buckeye Ave., Ames, Iowa 50010 • www.ortho2.com

“Delivering premium solutions for success to the orthodontic profession…”

Patient participation is a large part of keeping your

office on schedule. Use these three steps to ensure your

practice runs smoothly when all patients are participating.

page 7

The television show “The Voice” features

coaches who help musicians with their

journey in music. Find out which members of

your staff can be coaches like those on the

show.

page 6

The rise of corporate dental groups has some

orthodontists wondering if they can manage

going up against giant offices. Learn how to

become a David to defeat these Goliaths.

page 8 ORTHO2Sales (800) 678-4644 Support (800) 346-4504

Local/Intl. (515) 233-1026 Fax (515) 233-1454