Great News From Cigna!

You asked for it and they listened! Direct deposit (electronic funds transfer) is now available for all of your Cigna Dental payments – DHMO, DPPO and indemnity. You will also be able to access your remittance reports, financial reports, and office management reports online.

Why should I enroll in electronic funds transfer (EFT)?

You will receive your payments more quickly because they will be deposited directly into your bank account. You will also obtain your reports faster – on the same day as your EFT payment.

How do I enroll in EFT?

If you are already registered for CignaforHCP.com, you can enroll in EFT at CignaforHCP.com > Working With Cigna > Enroll in Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Options.

If you are not registered to use the website, go to CignaforHCP.com and click Register Now. Once you complete the registration process and your information has been validated, you can enroll in EFT.

What do I need to know about online reports?

•	You can store and search for payment information more easily, share the reports with office staff, and obtain copies anytime.
•	To access your online reports, you will need to be registered for CignaforHCP.com.
•	You will receive all of your reports online once enrolled in EFT and you will no longer receive paper reports.
•	We will make exceptions when there are disruptions in your internet service that prevent you from accessing online reports (e.g., you are moving office locations). Log in to CignaforHCP.com > Working with Cigna > Manage EFT Settings > Update Delivery Preferences.

How do I access my online reports?

Log in to CignaforHCP.com > Payments (Claim Status Reports) or Reports (Office Managements and Financial Reports). Note that if you are registered to use CignaforHCP.com and do not have access to the appropriate reports, your office’s primary or secondary website administrator can delegate you access.

What about Electronic Remittance Advices (ERAs)?

If you are enrolled in ERA (ANSI 835), you will still receive your ERA reports through your clearinghouse.

Questions?

For more information on EFT and online reports, click here for frequently asked questions. You may also call Cigna at 1.800.Cigna24 (1.800.244.6224). Identify yourself as a Health Care Professional, request More Options, Contracting, and identify yourself as a Dental caller.

We hope you will enjoy these new services and we look to continue improving your online experience with us.

DENTRIX - The Huddle Report Is Priceless!

In team sports like football, members of the team gather before and during competitions for a huddle. It’s during these huddles that a team makes a plan of action or changes a previous plan based on how things are going during the game. A dental team should be no different. Take the time each day to huddle up: make plans, review how things went yesterday and strategize for the remainder of the day and the coming month.

Amy Morgan, CEO of Pride Institute, has said, “The morning huddle is the only way a team can feel informed, focused, and productive. If you want to deliver the very best service and care to your patients in the most efficient manner, then you and your team have to plan for the day. There is no better solution for organizing chaos and confusion.”

The Daily Huddle Report, available in Dentrix G4 Productivity Pack 8 or newer, provides practices with a blueprint for their daily huddle sessions. The report shows a quick snapshot of how the practice did the day before on production, collections, case acceptance, new patients, and scheduling, and shows how the practice is progressing toward goals for today and the remainder of the month.

To generate the Daily Huddle Report:

1. From the Dentrix Office Manager, click the Analysis menu and select Practice Advisor.
2. From the Practice Advisor dialog box, click Daily Huddle Report.
3. In the Daily Huddle Report dialog box, make selections based on the type of information you want the report to show.
   Note: You can save selected report options and then use them to generate the report in the future by clicking Save Options and assigning the saved options a name. Next time you generate the report, select your saved options from the Options drop-down list in the Daily Huddle Report dialog box.
   
4. If you want to customize which items appear in the report and in what order, click the Scheduled Patients Setup button. Choose the items you want on the report, set them in your preferred order, and then click OK to save these options.
5. Click the Preview button to generate a preview of the report. Note: The Daily Huddle Report will take a few moments to process and generate the preview. You can continue to use Dentrix during this time. When the report is ready for viewing, a Print Preview screen will open, from which you can print the Daily Huddle Report if desired.

For more information about using the Daily Huddle Report, log in to the Dentrix Resource Center and view the “Daily Huddle” webinar recording. There are also several topics relating to the Daily Huddle in the Dentrix Help that can be found by searching for keywords “daily huddle.”

Disclaimer: This is a repost from the Tips & Tricks section of the Dentrix's website.
Author: Sean Eyring
Published: 10/31/2012

DC Won't Renew Chartered Health Plan Contract

By Mike DeBonis, Published: October 15

The District is moving to end its relationship with the health-care company owned by embattled campaign financier Jeffrey E. Thompson after auditors discovered significant financial irregularities in its books.  Read more

The following is a re-post from a blog written by Larry Goldberg - "Accountodontist" at Glass Jacobson.

Last blog I discussed the highly informative DVD by Gordon Christensen titled “Protecting Your Dental Office From Embezzlement & Fraud”.   I mentioned many, but not nearly all, of the things you as a dentist could do to prevent one of your employees from embezzling your hard earned money.

This blog looks at some of the characteristics of the employee who might be stealing right under your nose.  Dr. Christensen mentions going with your gut feeling.  If you suspect someone is up to something dishonest you may want to follow up on your suspicion.

Some of the more general identifying characteristics such as you, the dentist, working as hard as ever and cash deposits that have declined may be hard to differentiate as stealing or a drop off in business due to the current economic climate.  Others such as a large number of adjustments showing up in your dental software merit close inspection.

As Dr. Christensen mentions, many of the characteristics that make a good employee are some of the same characteristics that are the earmark of the employee who’s taking you to the bank so to speak.  Here are just a few.

• Employee wants additional hours
• Employee wants to work alone and will not delegate tasks
• Employee is very loyal
• Employee resents your lifestyle or apparent income
• Employee works late or comes in early
• Employee takes work home
• Employee refuses to take vacation
• Employee with lots of discretionary income.  Get suspicious if your single employee making $25,000 per year is driving a brand new Mercedes and has a five bedroom house with a pool and tennis court and does not have a large trust fund.
• Employee is a long-term employee.  Why would they want to leave your dental practice since you are their personal ATM machine?
• Employee does not want overtime

So what are you supposed to do now?  Do you instantly start suspecting each and every one of your employees of being a clandestine thief?  Of course not!  However, armed with the information from this and the previous accountadontist blog you should realize that you cannot just be a passive observer in your dental practice.  You need to get involved in many of the business aspects of your dental practice that you previously ignored.  YOUR money is at stake!

If you suspect fraud in your practice, or want to set up preventative measures, contact us.  Glass Jacobson’s fraud prevention team can help.

Questions for the Accountodontist?

larry.goldberg@glassjacobson.com

Educate your team. Perfect your practice.

The Dentrix Business of Dentistry Conference is the must-attend event of the year for dental professionals looking to improve the productivity and profitability of their practices. For three days, you’ll have the opportunity to choose from more than 40 sessions, including new clinical courses, to learn from leading Dentrix and industry experts and exchange best practices with more than 1,000 peers and colleagues. Every member of your team who attends will gain critical new Dentrix skills, actionable insights into running a more profitable and productive practice, and great ideas for receiving even more value from your Dentrix investment.

Learn more...