August 2022

Looking ahead to Labor Day, the end of summer and Lab Lookup

It is not the official end of summer but here in the USA for many Labor Day marks the end of the summer season along with the return to school.  This year Labor Day is Monday, September 5.  Our offices will be closed but we have always done, we will check for emails from those in other countries.  

Instead of a July release, our major development project this summer has been Lab Lookup.  This will be an additional web-based benefit included in your service agreements that you can offer to your customers so they can easily check on the status of their current cases as well as reviewing history cases.  Included for each case are a tracking link for online shipment services and a detailed prescription form.  The dental office will also be able to send messages to the lab.  Lab Lookup can be used with both DQB Starter and Standard and with both desktop and online versions. 

The authorization and case searches have been designed for use by group dental practices so that their staff can easily check for all the doctors in the group.  It can, of course, also be used for individual practices.  The first beta-test for Lab Lookup has been scheduled to begin this month.   If you are eager to provide this service to your customers and would like to be included in the beta-test phase, let us know.

You can also request a copy of the two written guides for Lab Lookup, one for the lab and another that is a template for you to personalize to give to your customers.   These can give you an advance look at the capabilities of this service.

For those who are using DQB Starter

One of the most frequent questions to us from those who have licensed DQB Starter is this:    How is DQB Standard different from what I have?

Here are some of the features DQB Standard has that are not in DQB Starter:

• can have multiple concurrent users
• can add the supplements for images/digital files, barcoding, technician productivity, email notifications
• can request customizations beyond work tickets and invoices
  
• has more options for outsourced cases
• the Customer Center provides for business development and marketing
• an Event Log for tracking significant transactions
• has detailed security measures for limiting access
• in general has more features, more reports

The most frequent reasons for updating to DQB Standard are the first four above. 

For those synchronizing with one of the desktop versions of QuickBooks, we are offering a 20% discount on the upgrade plus one additional user.  This reduces the one-time license fees from $500 to $400 USD.

For those synchronizing with one of the online versions of QuickBooks, the upgrade plus one additional user will increase the monthly subscription to $140 USD.  

If you would like to include DQB Images/Digital Files with either version, the additional one-time license fee will be reduced from $500 to $400 USD.  

These offers will remain in effect until September 9, 2022.

The world we live in...

Having watched and been a part of the evolution of the internet, we have counted it as one of the most valuable resources in the world.   Some of its goals have been easy convenient access to a wealth of information, enhanced timely collaboration and communication, all with speed and accuracy. 

To borrow a phrase from Mike at Broughton Dental Lab, this is the world we live in and it has become quite different.  Because of the vast amount and variety of malware, the ever-increasing need for security measures has slowed down its implementation and use.   Two-step (sometime more) authentication has become the norm.   Organizations are trying out all sorts of techniques and this has meant constant learning, reviewing, setting and re-setting security measures.    Here are some of the ways this has affected DQB and DentalRx:   

• For those synchronizing with one of the online versions of QuickBooks, Intuit requires security measures be updated regularly to continue to connect with an integrated app such as DQB.  This means you must have a monthly subscription for both QBOE and DQBOE to keep both up-to-date and in sync.   
• For those synchronizing with a desktop version of QuickBooks, beginning with 2022 you must have an annual subscription to QuickBooks with automatic updates.  We recommend that you also have a DQB service agreement to continue to be in coordination with Intuit's updates.    Our tech support has helped a number of labs with the transition to the 2022 subscriptions and its new features.   Let us know if you need help with this.

To answer your questions....

Q: When receiving cases via DentalRx, we enter DRX in the Entry By field to search for them the Case List.   The list keeps getting longer and longer.  How can we see the ones we just received? 

A: When prescriptions are submitted via DentalRx, the DQB case record will have DRX in the Entry By field, will use the current date for Entered Date and the case status will be On Hold.   If you want to limit the case list to those just received, you can select the Entered Date in the criteria.  

When a case entered via DentalRx begins processing, the case status will typically be changed to Open/In Lab.   If you want to limit the list to the ones just received and not yet reviewed and processed into the workflow, also be sure the case status is set to On Hold in your criteria.  

Note that whenever you set criteria in the case list and then search, the screen will display a count for the matches.  You can use these features to monitor how many of your cases are being submitted via DentalRx vs the traditional methods. 

Q: Before we decided to go ahead with DentaLab for QuickBooks, we just made a paper copy of the prescription and marked it up to go into the case pan.  With DQB what are the best ways to track dates and progress for our cases? 

A: We strongly recommend:

• Setting up and using standard procedures for your typical case workflows.  When entering a case, you can always begin with one of these and then edit it whenever needed.  
• Automatically scheduling cases since this method takes into account the dates involved with the case, the work already scheduled, non-workdays and days with reduced hours.  You can edit the resulting schedule when you want to make adjustments.
  
• Print work tickets to guide the work of your technicians, provide the schedule, doctor preferences, enclosures and any notes/extra information for the case.
• The master schedule provides counts by date and work center as well as the specifics of the cases for each.  You can also mark completions from the schedule.  
• Learn to know and use the case reports and how to set criteria in the case list to monitor the progress of the cases.

All of the above is available in the Starter as well as the Standard version of DQB.   The Standard with its supplements can give you additional resources: 

• With DQB Images/Digital Files, you can scan the prescription or receive a digital one, and then have the essential case fields added at the top and print a copy of it to go along with work ticket into the lab. 
• With DQB/Barcode and Technician Productivity, you can have the work ticket barcodes scanned as the case steps are completed with date/time stamped as well as the technician. 
• With the DQBT Tablet Workflow App, you can provide your technicians with not only the work assignments and schedule but also auxiliary case information such as doctor preferences, case enclosures, case plans, alerts and communications, images and digital files. The technicians can also enter their notes and any actions required by the doctor.  The lab managers can also use the resulting counts and timings to fine-tune schedules and assignments.  
  
• The DQB Dashboard on the Home Page can provide up to the minute progress on your case workloads.  This also provides the ability to drilldown from the graphs to the details.
• If you outsource, you can use simplified case entry, set return dates, generate special outsource tickets and then mark batch completions/returns by date.
  
• If you offer the DentalRx web portal to your customers, most of the DQB case entry steps will have been completed at the dental office.  The prescription information will typically be easier to read, more accurate and complete.  Digital files from either the CAD/CAM providers or from the dental office will automatically be made part of the case record and easily accessible.
  

If you prepare for the worst....

There are many who firmly believe that if you are prepared for the worst scenario, it will never actually happen.  But just in case it does, know that those who have taken the initiative to be prepared can recover much more easily and fully then those who have not.   

Just this month we received an urgent call for help from a lab because their computer had been stolen.  Along the way, our support team has encountered a variety other issues where either recovery or transition was urgently needed.  These have included:   

• Employee errors. sometimes deliberate misdeeds
  
• Equipment failures
• Updates for other components of their system
  
• Internet malware  
• Water damage from leaking roofs and hurricanes 
• Smoke and fire damage
  
• Theft    
• Power spikes and outages
  

Here are some of the vital preparation steps to assure your system can be restored:   

1. When you purchase a license or subscription, be sure to record and keep in a secured location the critical information such as the product name and version, serial or registration number, the logins and security fields, relevant dates such as purchase/expiration, how to contact the vendor/provider.   
   
2. Be sure to keep your software and its support up-to-date with either automatic updates or an ongoing service agreement.  
3. Assure that your information is backed up to one or more secure locations/media on a regular basis.  We recommend that the backups be directed to both local and web-based locations and performed at least once each workday. Ideally, also having automatic backups at specific intervals and having them secured through encryption with software such as the Advanced Backup Protocol can add reassurance that you can always recover.
4. If working with local consultants for your hardware/network, be sure they provide documentation for your system and any security protocols that they have set up.
   
5. Provide training to your key staff members so that the above resources and information can be accessed whenever there is an issue.

To guide the work....

The original protocol for getting the lab work done goes back to the first computerized case management systems and continues on.   The steps are:  

• The prescription/script from the doctor is received with the case materials. 
• In the lab, the customer is selected and then the details of the case are entered into the computer and the work scheduled.  
• A work ticket is printed that includes that includes details on the customer, their standing preferences, the case, the enclosures and the schedule dates. 
• The original prescription is placed in a secure location. The work ticket and case materials are placed in a pan and sent into the lab.

Lots of suggestions from labs and advances in technology have added many more conveniences and efficiencies to this workflow.  Here are some of these:   

• To speed case entry, fields that are not needed can be disabled. 
• Whenever appropriate, case settings can provide automatic actions.
  
• You can easily lookup prior entries for the doctor and patient. 
• You can reactivate cases that have been out for try-in or on hold or transfer information to continuation cases. 
• Pre-booked cases can be entered and scheduled before the case arrives at the lab.  
• Offering the DentalRx web portal to your customers can result in most of the case details being entered at the dental offices as well as the transmission, naming and storage of digital files.  
• With the Images/Digital Files supplement, prescriptions and other case documents can be scanned, digital files can be transmitted from the dental office or one of the digital dental providers, cameras can capture digital images.   The case details can be added to the case documents and a printed copy sent out into the lab with the work ticket.  
• Note-taking features and activity logs provide for accurate and complete communications, alerts and tracking.
• Using the DQBT Tablet Workflow App, all the above can be made available on either tablets or computer stations for use by the technicians and their managers. 

If you wish to be removed, reply to this email with the subject "unsubscribe".