In the last blog post I outlined how Panara alerts the operator if treatments are likely to result in reclaims.
Where the operator goes on to carry out the treatment anyway, a clinical necessity
needs to be entered on the claim form to avoid a reclaim.
Prior to the update released today Panara provided the ability to store clinical necessities only for items for which prior approval was being sought.
So Panara did not have a way of allowing the operator to enter clinical necessities during charting for later printing on the claim form. It also did not warn the operator at claim time of the necessity to enter a clinical necessity.
Now that they have been added, this video illustrates these new features in action.

Panara has long had the ability to check the validity of a Medical card online.

In the last update this was extended. Now if a PPS number is known, the relevant Medical card number can be retrieved as well as eligibility for an examination and for fillings.

This information was then stored in Panara for reference purposes in the following format :

Check Date : 21/02/2011 12:16:35
PPS Number : 1234567Y
Status : Completed. 21/02/2011 12:17:20
Med card Number : 7654321A
Med card Expiry date : 30/04/2011

11 : Tooth is recorded as missing
12 : Tooth is recorded as missing
13 : Tooth is recorded as missing
14 : Tooth is recorded as missing
15 : Filling will be reimbursed
16 : Filling will be reimbursed
17 : Tooth is recorded as filled within the last 5 years
18 : Tooth is recorded as missing
….

As was pointed out by several users, this information would be more useful if it was directly integrated with charting in Panara

In the update scheduled to be released in the next couple of weeks this enhancement has been implemented.

Now as you chart treatment in the normal way, the program will check it against the information downloaded from the PCRS database and flag any issues that arise.

So, for example, if you attempt to chart a cavity/filling on the GMS for UR7 you will be warned about the fact that the PCRS database has a filling less than 5 years old, recorded for this tooth.

Being aware of this when making a claim and providing a clinical necessity can hopefully help to prevent a reclaim

If a person has only 1 premolar present in a quadrant, some people will chart it as a second premolar, others as a first premolar

Now if you wish you can directly incorporate the PCRS’ chart of missing teeth into the patient’s chart in Panara.

This should be especially useful for new patients.

This will then help you to chart the premolar present as a 5 rather than a 4 so it won’t appear to the PCRS that you are restoring a missing tooth if you later need to fill this tooth.

In the update released Panara now allows for a more complete check to be made on a GMS patient’s eligibility for dental treatment. Provided you know the patient’s PPS number you can retrieve their medical card number, its expiry date and their eligibility for an exam and for fillings on all 32 permanent teeth.

Also in this update Panara offers direct support for intra-oral cameras. This means you don’t need to purchase a third-party package and also better integration of your patients’ images with their dental records.

Because Panara doesn’t tie you to a proprietary implementation you are free to purchase an inexpensive intra-oral camera on ebay for about €100 (inclusive of shipping) which, considering the diagnostic, educational and marketing potential, has to represent good value.
Obviously it can’t be guaranteed that every camera will be compatible but most should be.
This is the particular model we used during the development of this feature, we’ve haven’t had it that long but so far it has performed well.

Another addition in the update released today is an enhancement to the caller id functionality. Panara now stores all caller ids and the date and time of the call. One benefit of this is that you can now see who has called when the practice was closed.

Another new addition to the program is the ability to email referral letters as attachments direct from the window in Panara where you compose the letter. You write your referral letter in the usual way and then instead of clicking on the Print button you simply click on the new email button.

One of the problems with printing letters that contain images from a patient’s radiograph is that the x-ray is rarely as clear as it appeared on screen. Sending the letter as an attachment bypasses this and saves time and money.

For the complete release notes and to download the newest version of Panara please go to downloads