If you are a multi-location practice and want to manage the organization as a whole, while operating each location as an individual entity, this post is for you. We’ll explain the Clinics feature in Open Dental, and how to know if it’s a fit for your organization.
What is the Clinics Feature?
The Clinics feature is used when there are multiple office locations that share a single database, but want to keep information separated by physical location. See Clinics in our online manual for more.
Is the Clinics feature right for me?
If any of these apply, you may want to consider Clinics.
- You have more than one location.
- You have patients that move between locations.
- You have providers that move between locations.
- You want to access all patient data from any location.
- You want to keep financial information (reports) separate by each location.
Using Clinics allows you to keep all of your data in one place. It makes it easy for patients and providers to move freely between locations and makes scheduling and patient management a breeze. Reports can be run for all, one, or multiple Clinics, keeping your financial data organized to measure success at the clinic level, and for the organization as a whole.
I have a different database for each location, can I move to Clinics?
Yes! If you have multiple locations, our conversions team may be able to merge multiple Open Dental databases together into one database that has Clinics turned on. There is a fee for each merge. If any of the locations’ databases are not currently using Open Dental, there will also be a separate data conversion fee for each database converted from another software.
How are Clinics set up?
There are a few parts to setting up Clinics.
- Your IT.
Your IT Professional will need to set up your network in a way so all locations can access the same database. Typically this is done through a VPN, however, they may have other options better suited to your office. - Setting up Clinics within Open Dental.
Contact Open Dental to ensure all your offices are on support and schedule any necessary data conversions or merges. We can help you get your Clinics set up.
Is the Clinics feature easy to use?
Yes! Once you have set up Clinic information in your system, Open Dental assigns Clinic information automatically, so you don’t have to worry about manually setting the Clinic when scheduling appointments, charting procedures, sending claims, or even collecting payment. It’s all done for you!
For example:
You’ve created an appointment in Clinic A. The procedures associated with the appointment will then be assigned to Clinic A. When the procedures are attached to a claim, the claim will be sent under Clinic A. When you receive payment for those procedures, the payment will be associated with Clinic A, and so on, and so forth. Once you’ve set the Clinic the first time, you don’t have to manually select it as you go.
Stay tuned for our next post, Multiple Locations: Clinics Setup. We’ll go into more detail on how to set up various aspects of the program to help each location function the way it needs to while allowing you to manage all your locations seamlessly.
If you have questions or want help setting up Clinics, contact our friendly and helpful support staff.
Information in this post reflects features available in Open Dental Version [24.1]. For the most up-to-date information, please visit our manual.