Improve Efficiency and Accuracy with Multi-Codes

Imagine that you have several assistants in your office, all with different levels of Dentrix experience. It’s common for some of the assistants to treatment-plan a crown but forget to treatment-plan the buildup to go along with it.

To solve this problem, you can set up a multi-code, which is a custom code set that contains two or more procedures. The multi-code for this scenario could contain both the crown procedure and the buildup. That way, when you treatment-plan a crown using the multi-code, the buildup won’t be forgotten.

Examine the procedures you routinely complete in your office. You may find that creating a multi-code would save you time by allowing you to post several procedures with one click—or prevent mistakes, as in the example above.

To set up a multi-code:

1. In the Office Manager, select Maintenance > Practice Setup > Multi-Code Setup. The Multi-Code Setup dialog box appears.


2. Click New. The Multi-Code Editor dialog box appears.


3. Enter the basic information about your new multi-code.
   • In the Description field, enter a description of the multi-code that you are adding. The description can have up to 31 characters.
   • In the Multi-Code field, enter three characters to use for the multi-code abbreviation.
     Note: Dentrix automatically adds the "xx" to the beginning of the multi-code abbreviation, so when looking for multi-codes you can look for the "xx" at the beginning.
   • In the Abbrev. Desc. field, enter a short description of the multi-code (up to nine characters).
   • In the Appointment Type drop-down list, select the appropriate appointment type.
   • In the Procedure Time box, click the search button and select the number of time units that should be used in the Appointment Book for this multi-code.
   • In the Type group box, select whether this is a standard multi-code or a bridge.
   
   
4. Click Add to add the procedures to the multi-code. The Add Code dialog box appears.


5. Select the codes you want to add to the multi-code and click OK. You can select from ADA Codes or Dental Diagnostic Codes.
6. Repeat steps 4–5 for any other procedures you want to add to the multi-code.
7. Click OK to save and close the multi-code.

Once created, the multi-code can then be selected from a list of procedure code categories when you create an appointment in the Appointment Book or when you post procedures from the Patient Chart or the Ledger.

For more information about creating and using multi-codes, see the topics in the "Multi-Code Setup" folder in the Dentrix Help.