Are there any Dentists out there using OpenEMR or would like to use OpenEMR in their Dentistry practice? We have partnered up with a local Dentistry practice and are customizing a build of OpenEMR specifically for the Dentistry market. We would preferably like to have 3 different Dentistry practices to voice their opinion on what should be included and help shed some light on what needs to be added in order to use it in real life. If you are interested please contact me at: chris@ehrlive.com
Chris, if you “customize a build” for some field of practice you’re going to get out of sync with the project’s code base and create a big hassle for yourself as the project evolves (which by the way is happening rapidly these days). Please work with and communicate with the rest of the developers so we can all stay in sync. Thanks.
Thank you for your input. This is why I wanted to get a meeting of some Dentists minds so we can discuss all that would be needed to satisfy a Dentist needs from an Electronic Dentistry Record. I am sure it will be much more than just an encounter form.
I did this for a EMR I wrote in the 80s … the key differences (at the time) were:
1) replacing “modifier” with tooth and surface
2) creating billing output on the ADA format (vs HCFA 1500)
3) creating an ‘estimate’ that could be given to the insurance company and the patient as needed (we used the ADA format)
4) payment plans, way more important to dentists, they all have them
5) and dental specific ADA codes, of course
I bet a graphical form will be needed too. Preferably with an input that allows you to input location data, and have the marks show up on the dentition diagram, as well as being able to mark on the diagram and have the shorthand description show up. Probably integrated with an “issues” list.