The Family Module is the hub of patient data including patient information, family members, recall dates, and insurance plans. In this post, we’ll cover the basics, and introduce you to some features that may be new to you.

Family Members Grid

The Family Members grid shows at the top of the Family Module. Quickly see the basics (name, age, gender, etc) or click to move between patient accounts.

By organizing patient accounts into families, you can easily add insurance plans to children, send statements for the family balance and schedule recall appointments for the whole family.

To organize multiple patient accounts into a family, take these steps:

• Leave the account that will be the guarantor alone.
• Go to the family members’ accounts, then click the Move button, and select the guarantor account to move them into.
• Repeat this for each family member until they’re all part of the guarantor’s family.

TECH TIP: If you accidentally moved the guarantor into a child’s account, for example, no problem! Select the guarantor for the family, then click the Set Guarantor button. Guarantors display at the top in bold.

Recall Grid

The Recall Grid shows the due dates for the selected patient. Double-click on a Recall to customize it for the patient.

Here, you can change the recall interval, change the due date, add recall-related notes, or disable recall entirely.

Edit Patient Information Window

In the Family Module, double-click in the Patient Information area on the left.

The Edit Patient Information is home to patient name, phone number, address, preferred providers, and more. You’ve probably seen this window a lot, so we’ll just point out a few highlights.

1. Appointment Scheduling is Restricted
   Check this box if you no longer want to schedule appointments for this patient. When checked, a prompt will prevent a user from creating an appointment. This is useful if you have a patient who has a balance that must be paid before additional work is done. When you are ready to see the patient again, just uncheck the box.
2. Patient Status
   By default, all patients are entered with the status of patient. But, you can change the status to keep them off reports.
   For example:
   • A pediatric office might put in the parent as a non-patient so they are not included in reports but are available for contact information and insurance.
   • A patient who has not been to your office in three years might be marked as inactive.
   • A patient who moved to another state might be marked as archived.
3. Ask to Arrive Early
   This is a great tool to help those late-arrivals show up on time. Enter how many minutes early the patient should show, then use the Time Ask to Arrive on eReminders, eConfirmations, postcards, emails, and more.
4. Language
   If your office communicates with your patients in several languages, be sure to set the patient’s Language. Not only does this provide a reminder ahead of time, but you can also set up Language Translations for Sheets, and send eConfirmations, eReminders, and automated thank-yous in their preferred language.
5. Same for Entire Family
   This checkbox appears a few times throughout the window. Check this box to keep the information within that area the same for all family members. If the information is different (for example, mom and dad have different phone numbers) uncheck the box then make the change. The box only remains unchecked if a change has been made.

Insurance Plans

Add Insurance Plans for a patient and enter benefit information, fee schedules, limitations, deductibles, maximums, and more.

Remember to use Pick from List when adding insurance to prevent duplicate plans for being added, and use Drop when removing an insurance plan from the patient.

Here are some past blog posts on insurance plans that provide additional information:

The Insurance Playlist on our YouTube channel has lots of videos that can help!

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Do you have any tips or tricks you’d like to share about the Family Module? Leave them below!

If you need help with this or any other part of Open Dental, we’re only a chat or call away!