In the Office Manager, one of the most versatile tools you have to work with is the Patient Report (By Filters) option within Letters & Custom Lists. With dozens of filtering criteria, you can use this report to generate custom lists of patients using the information in your Dentrix database.
The possibilities for generating custom reports are endless. For example, you could find out:

• Which patients had a D6010 implant procedure completed in the last two years
• Which patients have had scaling and root planning (D4341-D4342) treatment planned since April
• Which patients came in for a new patient exam (procedure code D0150) in the last 6 months but have not returned for a follow-up visit

Though the details are slightly different depending on specific information you want to find, generating the list follows some common steps:

1. From the Office Manager, click Letters & Custom Lists, and then click Misc.
2. Select Patient Report (By Filters) and then click Edit.
3. From the Letter or Custom List Setup dialog box, select the search criteria for filtering your list.

Based on the examples above, the list should include patients with a procedure code, or a range of codes that have a specific status (completed, treatment planned, etc.).

In the list of filters, click the search button next to Procedures.

Under Search For, select the status of the procedures you want to find from the options given. You can select more than one status if needed.

Under Select Procedure Codes, enter a Beginning and Ending code to include in your search. If you are only looking for a single code, enter it in both fields.

Under Select Procedure Date, enter a Beginning and Ending date range for the procedures. Then click OK.

Set any other filters as needed in the Letter or Custom List Setup dialog box, and then click OK.

From the Miscellaneous Letters & Custom Lists dialog box, click the Open List Manager button to open the List Manager and see a list of patients that match your criteria. From the List Manager, you have the ability to select a patient and open other Dentrix modules to view the details.

For example, if you generated the list for patients with treatment-planned D4341 or D4342 procedures, you can select a patient in the list, open the Ledger, switch to the Treatment Plan Ledger option, and view dates, amounts, and whether or not a pre-authorization was created for the procedure.

The possibilities for creating custom lists and reports based on information in your Dentrix database are endless when you understand how to customize and use the filters within the Patient Report (By Filters).

For more information, read our previous tip titled, Using the Patient Report (By Filters) to Find Specific Groups of Patients, and The Dentrix G6 List Manager article in Dentrix Magazine.