Updated 10/3/2019

Continuing on the theme of Dentrix notes, this post will focus on the kinds of notes you can use to document patient information. While you could argue that every kind of note could technically be called “patient information,” keep in mind that in the coming weeks we will still be covering financial notes, insurance notes, and clinical notes. Today’s post deals with those notes that are specific to individual patients.

• Document Note – Each time you add a document or image to the Document Center, you can attach a note to the file as part of the Document Information dialog box. You can use this note to clarify information about the document being saved. For more information, see the Entering Document Information Dentrix Help topic.
• Office Journal Notes – Notes in the Office Journal have two main functions: to keep a record of past events and to remind you of events in the future. Dentrix adds automatic notes to the Office Journal, and you can manually add the following notes: Phone Call, Reminder, Miscellaneous, and HIPAA Privacy. For more information about the kinds of notes that are automatically entered in the Office Journal see the Understanding the Office Journal blog post.
  
• Patient Note – Patient notes apply only to an individual patient, and can be used to keep track of personal information about the patient that doesn’t belong in more specific areas. You might include information about hobbies, preferences, family situations, etc. You can choose to print patient notes on the route slip, and can hide them from displaying in the Family File. For more information, see the Entering or Editing Patient Notes Dentrix Help topic.
• Patient Alert Note – Patient alerts are pop-up messages to remind you of important information. You can create a patient alert for a single patient, an entire family, or selected members of a family. You can set a time limit on patient alerts so that you only see the alert when the information is timely, and you can select which tasks in Dentrix activate the alert so that you only see the alert when it is pertinent. For additional information, refer to our previous post about Effectively Using Patient Alerts.
• Referral Analysis – As you are reviewing referral information, you can add notes about your referral program in the Note dialog box accessible from the Referral Analysis dialog box. These notes will show anytime you attach the referral source to a patient. Additional information can be found in the Analyzing Referrals by Patients Dentrix Help topic.

If you missed it, be sure to read our previous post about Scheduling Notes.