October 2, 2004 to November 15, 2004

Hello!

It's time again to update you on all the cool things happening on Club Lighthouse! 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
New Articles
New or updated downloads
Interesting posts
Seminar schedule


New Articles
Paying on Production vs. Collection
For some reason, the conventional wisdom in dentistry is that people (especially associates, but also hygienists and "owner-doctors") should be paid in part or in full based on collections, rather than on production. This article describes what the differences really are (not much, actually) and why we believe that, in most cases, production is a better way to go.

 

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

Appointment confirmation tools
Version: 10-11-2004
Several Contact Experts to help you confirm 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. To print and take home, to confirm at night.

-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).

Misc. Document Merge Variables
Version: 10-14-2004
UPDATED 10/14/2004: Added "Patient internal ID number" UPDATED 10/13/03: Added "Patient age in whole years." FIXED 8/25/03 (The SSN's added on 6/6 were added so they were visible only if the document was "based on" appointment info. Now they're available from ANY "based on" type. Just re-install the entire package.) UPDATED 6/6/03 (Added SSN for every person type, and marital status for patient.) If you write many letters, you're gonna love this one! It's a collection of user-defined merge variables for the most common combinations of system-defined merge variables. Just one example: "Patient full name". This takes ALL of the following into account to build the appropriate full name for a patient (and there are versions for Responsible Party, Lives With, Referral Source, Primary and Secondary Insured Parties): Title, Legal name/First name, Middle initial, Last name, and Jr/Sr. So one merge variable will give you any of the following: Mr. Joseph A. Blow, Jr. Mr. Joe A. Blow, Jr. Mr. Joe Blow, Jr. Mr. Joe Blow Joe Blow and any other combination of these fields. Other examples include Address1+Address2, CityStateZIP, and Greeting. Also, there are a bunch of male/female pronoun combinations that let you use, for example, "he" or "she" in a document. And there are all the Primary and Secondary insurance merge variables you're likely to need, for the Insured Party, the Employer/Plan, and Insurance Company. Do a "custom" installation of the Exchange Pack, but just to see what all is in it. Once it comes up in the Expert Exchange window, drag and drop the entire "Misc merge variables" folder from the right side to the left side.

The Rx Farm
Version: 11-12-2004
A collection of Rx's that aren't in the PW Plus Pack. These simply add to your list of Rx's when you write a new one. (We've also updated the PW Plus Pack Rx's to add the "Phoned in" option that's on all the LH Rx's. To download them, click here.) See the article that describes how to install and use them.

Completed treatment notes
Version: 11-03-2004
A set of notes to document completed treatment. Read the associated Article entitled "Going Chartless Part 4: Completed Treatment Note Templates" for details on installation and use.

Treatment Proposal Tracking System
Version: 10-04-2004
A system for preparing a very nice looking treatment proposal for patients, and for tracking case presentation and acceptance. Consists of a Form, a Document, a Contact Expert, an Analysis Expert and several AutoLinks. 9/30/2004 UPDATE: Another version of the Form and Document were added. Treatment is presented as Immediate, Anticipated and Cosmetic/Elective phases. Just another way to present a significant case w/o using the PW Tx Proposal. See the article that describes the system by clicking here.

LH Program Launcher
Version: 06-24-04
A program that insures a patient specific data directory exists, then launches a program specified on the command line. Unzip this file in the C:\PWORKS directory of each workstation. This is part of the "Lighthouse Patient Document Explorer" system described in this article.

e-mail Export
Version: 10-14-2004
A field export document and an AutoLink on the Person Pick List [Actions] button to create a comma-delimited, quote-enclosed ASCII file of every patient with an e-mail address - their name, e-mail address, phone and internal ID. Created to send to CAESY for them to send their newsletter to your patients.

Play a .WAV file from command line
A freeware program found on the Internet that plays a .WAV file from the command line. Can be used in conjunction with the Automation Expert's "Run another program" response to play a .WAV file in response to an Automation Event.



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

Analysis Expert Cell Farm

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 Suggestion Box



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
Six new dates added!

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 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