November 16, 2004 to January 3, 2005

Lighthouse announces new practice management software!

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday. Now that we are all back to work, it's time again to update you on all the cool things happening on Club Lighthouse, including our exciting new practice management package (see below)! This newsletter represents a summary of the best of what's going on at the web site.

To properly use this newsletter, you should first log into the Club web site directly from this newsletter. Once you are logged in, you can click on any of the links in this newsletter to jump directly to the article or download of interest. To start your web browser now and log into Club Lighthouse, click here! That will open up a browser window on your computer. You can then Alt-Tab back to this e-mail and select any link in this email. Clicking on the link in this email will cause that article or forum post to appear in the browser window (you will have to Alt-Tab BACK to that browser window to see it).

If you forgot your user name and/or password, send an email to joel@lighthouse-pmg.com



In This Issue
The Big News!!!
New Articles
New or updated downloads
Interesting posts
Seminar schedule


The Big News!!!
Lighthouse begins the Kudzu Project, and announces Tech Support Services for PracticeWorks Users.

It's been 5 long years - but finally our non-compete agreement with InfoCure / PW, Inc. / Kodak. has expired

On December 23, we announced our long term initiatives to focus our efforts on you - our valued Club members.

First and foremost, to insure the security of your computing future, we are beginning development on the next generation in dental practice management \ software, codenamed "Kudzu". It will be "next generation" in both its capabilities, and in the way the development process will be managed - with total focus on you - the end user. Design discussions are occuring right now on Club Lighthouse. See the new Kudzu Project forum for details. Also, don't forget our upcomming cruise. It will be your first opportunity to really hear what we have planned.

We also announced the availability of technical support for PracticeWorks. If you have questioned the value you have been receiving for your annual support fees, our "pay as you go" service might be the best value for you.

Please see www.lighthouse-pmg.com for details.



In This Issue
New Articles
New or updated downloads
Interesting posts
Seminar schedule


New Articles
The Kudzu Manifesto
The details on our newly announced practice managment program, code named "Kudzu". This article describes our new approach to how the software will be developed, and who will have control over its development (here's a hint: its someone you know personally!)

 

Mass Mailing to "Everyone" in Your Practice
Over the years, one of the most frequent requests is for a way to "mail something to everyone in the practice". "Something" could be a Thanksgiving or other holiday greeting, a notice of change in address, a notice of a new doctor joining the practice (or an old one leaving), etc. But with just a little questioning, it always becomes apparent that the person doesn't really want to mail to everyone in the practice - it's usually just one person per family, and only if they're active. While there is no fool-proof way to do this, this article describes a way that will be almost 100% accurate, and provides a Contact Expert and some PW documents to make the job easy.

 

Configuring Automation Expert Document Printing
One of the most commonly used Responses of the Automation Expert is to print a Document. There are several types: letterhead, plain paper, postcard, mailing label, e-mail and field export. Before you do the actual printing of any of these (except field export, which isn't really a document), you need to make sure you have the printing properly configured on the computer from which you're printing. Here's how:

 

New or updated downloads
The following is a list of recent additions to the Club Lighthouse download area. It is important to remember that most downloads have a corresponding article or forum post associated with them. If they do, please read the article or post first before downloading the file. Also, for complete instructions on how download and install the files listed here, be sure to read the article on Installing from an Exchange Pack

LH Simple Recall System
Version: 9-16-2004
A Contact Expert, documents and "smart" AutoLinks that make it simple to send a series of recall reminder cards, and to do it once a week. See the Article "A Simple Recall System" for all the details. There are two versions of the Contact Expert - one to use if you don't do any calling of patients for recall, and another if you do want to call patients (in addition to sending the e-mails, postcards and letters). There are also some other "specific-use" Recall Contact Experts, including one just for kids, to be used when you're coming up on a school break. 6-1-2004: Minor update - changed the two "coming due" documents to use which takes a forced recall date into account, unlike the system-defined . 7-22-2004: Major update - added 4 letters to send to perio patients (anyone who's ever had a scaling/root planing or a perio maintenance visit) instead of the e-mails and postcards. The tone of them is much more serious, dealing with "periodontal disease" and keeping treatment costs under control, etc.

Appointment-specific Contact Experts
Version: 12-17-2004
Several Contact Experts related to appointments:

-Appt reminders for 1 week (to send postcards to)

-Two CE's, each for confirming 1/2 the alphabet, so two people can confirm simultaneously.

-A CE showing all hygiene appointments for one day, showing last BWX, last pan/FMX, last prophy, last periodic exam, last comprehensive exam. To help prepare for the day. UPDATED 2/23/2004: Now also looks at the "Outside x-rays received" Form to get the absolute latest x-rays we have. UPDATED 10-11-2004: Now you are prompted to select a single hygienist, or get all appointments for all hygienists (which is the behavior up until now).

-A CE listing all appointments for one day, w/ home and work #'s, and next Dr. and Hygiene appointments. To print and take home, to confirm at night, or to do follow-up calls from, or to see if appointments are being made for everyone. Can show all appointments, or only doctor, or only hygiene, appointments.

-A CE of any appointments in a date range that are outside normal working hours (pre-defined as 8:00 to 5:00, but you can edit to reflect YOUR hours).

Miscellaneous Contact Experts
Version: 12-08-2004
A collection of various Contact Experts for a number of different things: **LH99 Person lookup by phone number (find anyone in PW if you know a home or work phone number) **LH99 Ptn/IP's w/ a selected InsCo (Find all patients who are also their own Insured Party, and who have an Insurance Company you select at runtime. Useful for doing a mailing to IP's w/ that Insurance Company.) **LH99 Birthdays for one week (All patients w/ a birthday in a one week period beginning two weeks from this Monday.)

LH Mass Mailing System
Version: 12-08-2004
A Contact Expert that lets you find all your active patients, and even your most valuable patients, during a period of time. Used primarily to generate some kind of mass mailing to them all. 5 different "Mass mail" documents: letterhead, plain paper, postcard, mailing label and field export. For detailed instructions on installing and using this sytem, see the article Mailing Something to Everyone.

LH Referred Out Tracking System
Version: 11-22-2004
A complete system for tracking your referrals to specialists. The main part of the system is a set of Forms for recording each referral, and a Contact Expert for finding any "AWOL" patients (referred out and not seen again). There's an optional sub-system for printing the specialist referral documents, and another optional sub-system for recording and tracking any communications received from the specialist after the initial referral. 5/4/2003: UPDATED: A new version of the "Referred to " document has been added for each speciality; it lists all the specialists you refer to, and lets the patient select the one they see. 11/22/04: UPDATED: Added an AutoLink that displays the history of ReferOut Forms at patient seating if the patient has an incomplete "F/U" (follow-up) Form. To read the Article "The Lighthouse Referred Out Tracking System" for details on installation, configuration and usage, click here.

LH Treatment Tracking System
Version: 1.2
PLEASE READ the associated article prior to downloading and installing. This system will find all patients that have recently been seen, with an active treatment plan, and do not have a non-recall appointment. It will age and escalate their contact through a series of emails, postcards, and letters, resulting in a final CALL list for staff to contact. *** Updated to include MORE patients for contacting. Read article for details. ***

Bleaching promo e-mail list
Version: 12-16-2004
A Contact Expert of all active patients who have an e-mail address, who are over 17 years old, and who haven't had any of these bleaching codes: 3960, 3975 or 3979. Created for Steven Bloom.



Interesting posts

The following list represents topics on the Club site that either have had a lot of posts made, or have been read by a large number of Club members.

PracticeWorks

General discussion (PracticeWorks)

Expert Creation Requests

Automation and PracticeScript

The Business side of things (not PracticeWorks related)

General discussion (Office Admin)

Hot Deals!

Computers and Technology

The Clinical side of things (not PracticeWorks related)

Clinical technologies

Going chartless

Club Lighthouse

General discussion (Lighthouse)

The Kudzu Project

General Discussion (Kudzu)



Seminar schedule


Lighthouse Cruise!
The "We love our members" Valentine's Cruise (Feb 6-13, 2005)

We are so pleased to announce the first (of many, we hope) Club Lighthouse Illumination Seminars on a boat - a really big boat - Royal Caribbean's "Rhapsody of the Seas"! There will be seminars where you'll learn things you can't get from any other Lightouse seminar, there will be lots of opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with fellow PracticeWorks users, and a whole lotta fun!

For more information, click here!


New Seminar - Paperless Charting

At Club Lighthouse, we are all about maximizing the efficiency of your computer system. There is no better way to do that than to rid your office of the most significant time drag most of you still have: your paper charts.

Learn to rid your office of paper charts once and for all. Click here for more information, as well as dates and locations.

On-line seminar registration now available


Turbo charging your practice with PracticeWorks
Come SKI in Denver with us!

Back by popular demand, this two day seminar is sure to improve your understanding of PracticeWorks, as well as give you a better understanding of what we are trying to accomplish here on Club Lighthouse. Don't forget: Club members get a 10% discount off of the registration fee!

To see dates and locations, or to register on-line, click here.


We hope you found this newsletter informative and helpful. Remember, its our job to make your job easier! If you have ANY question, be sure to either post a question on the Club, or if you are uncomfortable posting your question in public, please feel free to contact one of us directly using email.

Thanks again, and see you on the Club!

Allen Jorgensen: allen@lighthouse-pmg.com
Brian Smith: brian@lighthouse-pmg.com
Joel Kozikowski: joel@lighthouse-pmg.com

© 2003, 2004, 2005 Lighthouse Practice Management Group
"PracticeWorks" is a registered trademark of PracticeWorks, Inc.
Lighthouse Practice Management Group and its principals are not affiliated with PracticeWorks, Inc. in any way