What is a treatment plan?
A treatment plan is how work is proposed, charted and charged for a patient. A treatment plan can contain work over multiple appointments and for multiple practitioners and payment plans if required.
Work on treatment plans is ordered by appointment. This makes the plan easy to follow for the patient and helps the reception team know which work is next in the plan to book.
How do I create a new treatment plan in Canada?
To start a new treatment plan (for Canadian users):
In Dentally, go to the 'Chart' tab in the patient record.
Click on the '+' button underneath the tooth chart.
This will open a new treatment plan.
The first appointment holder for the treatments being carried out will be automatically linked to the current appointment the patient has on the calendar.
💡Top tip: Linking appointments in Dentally is crucial for reporting and future appointment planning, and is best practice. Discover more about linking appointments here.
From here you can add treatment items to the treatment plan and edit the treatment plan details and settings.
When treatments are completed, you can mark treatments and the whole treatment plan as complete, in order to charge the patient.
How do I add appointments to a treatment plan in Canada?
Click the 'Add Appointment' button (the plus + icon at the bottom of the treatment plan).
This will add an additional appointment box for you to chart the future work to be carried out.
To re-order incomplete treatment, click on the re-order button in the bottom left. Drag and drop incomplete treatment items, and click 'Finished reordering' when you're done.
Any appointments you create will product e an unbooked appointment in the 'Appointments' tab in the patient record. The reception team can use these to book the patient in by adding these required appointments to the clipboard and putting them into the calendar before the patient leaves the practice.
The duration of the work you add to these appointments will tell reception how long the appointment needs to be. You can use the edit button (the pencil icon) on the right-hand side of the treatment to add guidance notes for reception about this appointment.
The treatment can be toggled between 'Not yet booked' and 'Do not book' by clicking the wording as it appears in the screenshot above. Setting it as 'Do not book' will mean that the appointment holder will stay on the treatment plan, but it will not show as an unbooked appointment 'Appointments' tab in the patient’s record.