Get Your Data Ready for the D7

Ready to make the most of the D7 Patient Care Tracking report?

Start by reviewing your practice setup. Be sure to read to the end so you know the next step!

The D7 uses information throughout Tops Ortho to calculate visits, treatment progress, financial information, and other practice metrics. Correctly configuring Appointment Types, Treatment Statuses, Treatment Methods, and other practice settings helps ensure your D7 data is meaningful and accurate.

Review Your Appointment Types

Go to Tops Ortho > Practice Setup > Calendar > Appointment Types

Appointment Type settings can automatically update patient information and help Tops determine how appointments are categorized for D7 reporting.

As you review each Appointment Type, ask yourself:

"If I schedule this Appointment Type at any point in a patient's care and the appointment is completed, what should always happen?"

Should it always populate a Treatment Start Date? Should it always be considered a Records Visit? Should the patient’s Treatment Status always change?

These settings can be a powerful way to keep patient information accurate and up to date. However, because they apply whenever the Appointment Type is used, an incorrect setting can also negatively affect your D7 reporting.

Need help with additional Appointment Type settings? See Managing Appointment Types in Tops Ortho linked at the bottom of this article.

Tops Tip: Only apply an automatic action or reporting classification when it should consistently apply to that Appointment Type.

Link Appointment Types to Treatment Statuses

You can configure an Appointment Type to automatically change a patient’s Treatment Status when the appointment is kept.

1. Select an Appointment Type, such as Deliver Initial Aligners.
2. Locate When appointment is Kept, change Tx Status to: box.
3. Select the appropriate Treatment Status.
4. Review the additional classification checkboxes for the Appointment Type.

When the patient checks in for a qualifying appointment, the Treatment Status changes and is displayed in red in the Tx Notes section.

This automatic status change applies to appointments scheduled after the setup is configured. Continue reviewing the patient’s Treatment Status during appointments to make sure it accurately reflects the patient’s current treatment stage.

Classify Appointment Types for D7 Reporting

The classification checkboxes in Appointment Type setup help Tops determine which appointments should be included in specific D7 calculations.

These classifications can also be reviewed or changed from the individual appointment information window.

Emergency

Select Emergency for Appointment Types that should be identified as Emergency Visits.

Emergency Visits are included in both the Ex Visits and Total Visits counts on the D7 Patient Care Tracking report. They are also used when calculating Value per Total Visit.

Once an appointment is identified as an Emergency Visit, it is counted regardless of how the appointment ends. This means the Emergency Visit is still counted if the appointment is:

• Completed
• Cancelled
• Deleted
• Missed
• Rescheduled

Because of this, it is important to select the Emergency checkbox only for Appointment Types that your practice considers true Emergency Visits.

Count as New Patient Exam

Select Count as New Patient Exam when a completed appointment should be included in the practice’s number of New Patient Exams for a defined period of time.

This classification affects D7 reporting for Exams and No-Show Exams.

Appointments identified as New Patient Exams are not considered Treatment Visits when calculating Value per Treatment Visit.

A Consult Visit is not necessarily the same as a New Patient Exam. If your practice considers an initial consultation to also be a New Patient Exam, select Count as New Patient Exam if you want the appointment included in your New Patient Exam reporting.

Records, Recall, Consult and Retention Visits

Appointments identified as Records, Recall, Consult, or Retention Visits are not considered Treatment Visits when calculating Value per Treatment Visit.

Use the appropriate checkbox to classify the Appointment Type as:

• Count as Records Visit
• Count as Recall Visit
• Count as Consult Visit
• Count as Retention Visit

These classifications allow Tops Ortho to distinguish these appointments from regular Treatment Visits for applicable reporting.

Some classifications also affect other reports and integrations:

Count as Recall Visit reports a completed recall exam as an Observation Visit in Gaidge Analytics.

Count as Retention Visit reports a completed retention appointment as a Retention Visit in Gaidge Analytics.

Count as Retention Visit also affects the Too Many Retention Visits report in D7 Patient Care Tracking.

Emergency appointment indicators and associated reasons are are reported in Gaidge analytics.

Count as Virtual Visit

Unlike Records, Recall, Consult, and Retention Visits, an appointment identified as a Virtual Visit is considered a Treatment Visit and is included when calculating Value per Treatment Visit, provided it otherwise meets the requirements for a Treatment Visit.

Understand How the D7 Calculates Visits

Important: Unlike a regular Treatment Visit, an Emergency Visit does not have to be completed to count. Once an appointment is identified as an Emergency Visit, it is included in Ex Visits and Total Visits, even if the appointment is later cancelled, deleted, missed, or rescheduled.

Link Dispositions to the Usual Next Appointment

Linking a Treatment Disposition to its usual next Appointment Type allows the next appointment to automatically populate when the disposition is selected. Treatment Disposition is a column header in the D7. For more information on Treatment Disposition, reference the article listed at the bottom of this page.

Go to Tops Ortho > Practice Setup > Labels

1. From the Labels Type, select Treatment Disposition.
2. Select a Treatment Disposition.
3. Click the Usual Next Appointment field.
4. Select the appropriate Appointment Type.
5. Repeat for each Treatment Disposition.

Customize Treatment Methods

Treatment Methods allow the D7 to help compare treatment duration and financial performance by method.

Go to Tops Ortho > Practice Setup > Labels > Treatment Methods

• To add a method, click the plus (+) and enter the new method.
• To edit an existing Treatment Method, select it and click the Edit Label button.

If a Treatment Method has already been used, review the warning displayed before making changes so you understand how the change may affect existing records.

Treatment Methods should be specific enough to represent meaningful differences in treatment, but they should not overlap. A patient cannot be assigned to multiple Treatment Methods simultaneously.

For example, if your practice needs to distinguish SureSmile treatment with and without extractions, create separate Treatment Methods that represent those combinations.

There is no limit to the number of Treatment Methods you can create. However, creating too many highly specific methods can divide your data into groups that are too small to provide useful D7 Matrix comparisons.

Customize Financial Statuses

Financial Statuses provide a quick way to identify how patients are paying or categorize other financial circumstances your practice wants to track. The Financial Status appears on the D7 as a column header and can be used to sort patients by their Financial Status (i.e. Paid in Full).

Go to Tops Ortho > Practice Setup > Labels > Financial Status

• Click the plus (+) to create a Financial Status
• To edit an existing status, select the Financial Status and click the Edit Label button 

If a Financial Status has already been used, review the warning displayed before making changes so you understand how the change may affect existing records.

Identify Treatment Coordinators

If you want to give access to a staff member to view the D7 Patient Care Tracking or track D7 information by Treatment Coordinator, make sure the appropriate staff members are identified as Treatment Coordinators.

Go to Tops Ortho > Practice Setup > Staff/Security

1. Select the staff member
2. Check Treatment Coordinator

Practice setup complete? You’re halfway there! Accurate D7 reporting also depends on accurate, up-to-date patient information.  Next,  👉 Get Your Patients Ready for the D7