Procedure codes represent the services that you render and products that you sell. You can edit procedure codes that have not been posted to or charted in patients' records.
Tip: If you want to edit the treatment area or charting symbol for a procedure code that is attached to patients' record, you must first delete all instances of that procedure from patients' records. Alternatively, you can create an alias code (a procedure code followed by a period and an alphanumeric suffix) for the procedure code that you want to edit and begin using the alias code from that point on instead.
Note: Procedure codes are set up at the organization level, but locations can each have different fees for a given procedure code. However, if you change that procedure code's fee at one location, that change will be reflected in that location's preferred fee schedule, which is accessible across the organization.
To edit a procedure code
If you are not already viewing the correct location, select it on the Location menu.
On the Settings menu, under Production, click (or tap) Procedure Codes & Conditions.
The Procedure Codes & Conditions page opens.
On the Procedure Codes tab, select a procedure code.
Notes:
To quickly locate a procedure, type a code or description in the Search for specific procedure box near the top of the page.
To filter the list of procedure codes, in the View list, select whether you want to view all procedures, only the favorites (most commonly used procedures), only active procedures, or only inactive procedures.
The Edit Procedure Code dialog box appears.
Change the description, office code, category, amount, treatment area, and other options as needed.
Set up the following options:
Description - Enter a description, either the standard ADA description or a custom description, for the procedure. You can search for procedures by the description wherever you can enter a procedure.
Note: Changing the description of a procedure code here affects the description for the same procedure code in the location's default fee schedule (the fee schedule that gets created automatically for each location in your organization).
Office Code - Enter the code, either a shorthand version of the ADA code description or a custom code, for this procedure.
Category - Select the ADA Procedure Code category that this procedure belongs to. There is also an option to specify that this procedure is a product (such as a power toothbrush or a home bleaching kit) that will not be billed to insurance.
Add to favorites - Favorite procedures are the ones that you use most commonly. Set this switch to Yes to mark this procedure as a favorite so that you have quick and easy access to the procedure when you are charting procedures. Favorites have a yellow star next to them in the list of procedure codes on the Procedure Codes & Conditions page.
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Bill to insurance - To flag the procedure as being billable to insurance by default when posting the procedure, turn the switch On. If the procedure should not be billable to insurance by default, turn the switch Off. Even though this option is available for an alias procedure code or a non-standard code, some carriers may reject that procedure on a claim or may reject the entire claim due to the presence of an unrecognized procedure code, so turn this option on with care if the procedure code is not standard. Being able to bill a non-standard code, such as a rate code, to an insurance carrier is helpful for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) when a rate code is needed for a wrap claim.
Note: Changing the state of the Bill to insurance switch here is tracked in the audit log.
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Active - To make the procedure available for selection wherever procedure codes can be selected, set the switch to Yes. To make the procedure not available, set the switch to No.
Location fee - Enter the default amount that you charge at this location for this procedure.
Note: Changing the fee of a procedure code here affects the fee for the same procedure code in the location's preferred fee schedule, which is accessible across the organization.
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Treatment area - Select the treatment area that this procedure corresponds to: Tooth, Mouth, Surface, Quadrant, Range, Sextant, Root, or Arch. This option is not available if the selected Category is Products.
Note: You cannot change the treatment area for a retainer procedure code (an alias procedure code with a .RET suffix).
Charting symbol - According to the selected Treatment area, select how you want this procedure to be charted (only the symbols that are applicable for the selected treatment area appear in the list):
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Tooth, Quadrant, Sextant, or Arch - None, 3/4 Crown - hatched, 3/4 Crown - outline, 3/4 Crown solid, Apicoectomy, Bridge - hatched, Bridge - outline, Bridge retainer crown - hatched, Bridge retainer crown - outline, Crown - hatched, Crown - outline, Crown solid, Denture - hatched, Denture - outline, Denture - solid, Extraction, Implant - blade, Implant - cylinder, Pins, Posts, Root canal, Sealant, Bridge - solid, or Bridge retainer crown - solid.
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Surface - None, Surface restoration - dotted, Surface restoration - hatched, or Surface restoration - solid.
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Root - None, Apicoectomy, or Root canal.
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Mouth - Not applicable.
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Require clinical note - To require a clinical note for this procedure when it is completed, set the switch to Yes. With the switch set to Yes, completing this procedure affects the Not Entered count in the Clinical Note Tasks box on a location's Overview page and consequently which patients appear on the Not Entered tab of the Clinical Note Tasks page. With the switch set to No, completing this procedure does not affect the count of clinical notes that were not entered but should have been.
Note: For procedure codes in the Product category, you probably do not want to require a clinical note.
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Require treatment info - If the Code corresponds to an orthodontic procedure (D8001-D8999), this switch is available. To require the placement date and remaining months for this procedure to be entered when the procedure is completed, set the switch to Yes; otherwise, set the switch to No.
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With the switch set to Yes, if the treatment information is missing for this procedure, Dentrix Ascend does the following to remind you to enter the treatment information:
When you attempt to complete the procedure, a pop-up message appears. To proceed, you must enter the treatment information.
When you attempt to create a claim for the procedure a warning message appears. To include the procedure on a claim, you must first enter the treatment information.
With the switch set to No, the options to enter the treatment information are not available for this procedure.
Note: For procedure codes in the Product category, you probably do not want to require treatment information.
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Click (or tap) Save.
Comments
10 comments
I need to be able to edit a procedure code treatment area without deleting it from all the patients records or creating an alias. For example, alveoloplasty should be assigned the treatment area of quadrant not mouth. Based on the way this is in the system I am unable to post multiple quads at one time - and there is no designation for the quad on the claim. Which will delay the adjudication and payment. Thanks for considering.
You can select multiple quads at a time to post. Select the appropriate quads before you add a procedure.
One thing you can do, Deanna, is to create an alias code.
https://gryphondds.zendesk.com/entries/42748377-Creating-alias-procedure-codes
With the alias code, you can put the ADA code and then a period, followed by Q (for Quadrant).
What will print on the claims is just the ADA code and it will prompt for a quadrant when you use the Q alias.
Michael, if alveoloplasty is supposed to be for a quadrant, why do we have it as a mouth procedure in Ascend? Or is it that it can be either quadrant or mouth? (if it is the later, I guess the only thing we can do is to have an alias code.)
To make sure we're all on the same page, here's what I found out:
Without using an alias code, even if you select multiple quads and then post the alveoloplasty, the procedure is posted only once and without a quadrant designation (since the tx area is mouth).
With an alias code set up for alveoloplasty using a quad tx area, you can select the quads and post the procedure to have the tx area on the claim show as quad.
You cannot change the default tx area of procedure codes if the procedure is posted to any patients' records, and for any patient's who already have an alveoloplasty (with the mouth tx area) posted, the system will not allow you to change it to a quad. So for now, you have to delete the procedure from all patients and re-post it either with an alias code (with the correct quads selected) or with the standard ADA code (after changing the default tx area).
I'm not an expert with all of the CDT codes, especially with oral surgery. I saw that it is that way by default and have asked for review on those codes by our CDT code specialist. I am thinking 2 of the codes should be quadrant (4-8) while 2 more of them should be tooth range (1-3). When we get a response on how things should be we can work on getting that fixed. What I outlined to Deanna is something so the office can work without waiting on us.
Thanks for the prompt reply Michael.
Also, I added clarification to this article regarding the treatment area option when editing a procedure code: this option is not available ... if the procedure code is posted to at least one patient's record.
I think there should be a sort button in the header so it will be easier when we try to edit or locate code in the same category.
For example all of the in-house code in Dentrix were brought over to Ascend become products and some of others ADA code also have that problem. I have to go in every single one of them trying to fix but it'll be easier if we can sort them by category. Also when I'm done editing one code, the table come back to original view and I'll have to go down the list trying to figure out where I left of. I know that we can search for specific code in the search area but again, after I'm done with one code, everything went back to the original view.
I think all of the new 2014 code have products category in ascent.
Added sort option as "feature request." Click here to see.
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