If you called a patient to schedule their appointment, but no one answered and you ended up leaving a voicemail message, where should you document this in Dentrix?

While you may not have spoken to the patient directly, it’s important to keep a record that an attempt was made.

You can record this type of communication in the patient’s Office Journal, just like you would document the phone conversation, had it happened.

Here’s how:

1. In Dentrix, select a patient and click the Office Journal button.
2. When the Office Journal opens, click the Add Journal Entry button.
   
3. From the Type list, select Phone Call.
4. The Date and Time fields automatically record the current date/time, but can be changed if you are documenting the phone call after the fact.
5. Change the Prov/Staff to reflect who in the office made the contact.
6. Add a Description, such as “Left Message” or “Collection Call”–something that will make sense to the person who reviews the contact in the future.
7. In the Note field, record the details of what happened during the call.
8. Click OK to save the journal entry.

Be as specific as possible when you are documenting your contact (or attempt to contact) a patient. Did you leave a voicemail? Did you leave a message with another family member? Did you ask them to call the office back? It may be a good practice to also include the phone number you were calling when you left the message. Any information you can provide can be helpful if you ever have to review the Office Journal in the future and need to know about the contact or attempt.

For additional information about how to review patient contact you recorded in the Office Journal, read this post.