Case Study: RWJ University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, depends on Dentrix Enterprise as they manage their unique dental workflow, a successful teaching clinic and more than 14,000 patient encounters each year.

Medical and dental clinicians practice differently. Medical practice management systems were not designed for the unique workflow of a dental practice where clinicians need specific data at their fingertips. Without it, dentists face additional stress, reduced productivity and hindered efforts to provide the best patient experience. Dr. Jacqueline Reid, dental director for Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, knows this well.

Dr. Reid joined the RWJ University Hospital in 2004 at a time when the dental clinic was still using paper charts. Her appointment to the director position, she says, was contingent on the clinic upgrading to a dental software management system with at least computerized billing. They chose Easy Dental, a Henry Schein One software system, which in 2009 they upgraded to Dentrix Enterprise. The residents and attendings in the practice see a variety of patients in their clinic as well as in the hospital, which requires flexibility in the system to track where the patient was seen. Dentrix Enterprise has made this efficient and effective for the residents and attendings as it interoperates with the hospital’s electronic medical record and shares patient and financial data, according to Dr. Reid.

“This is a general practice residency hospital based in a Level One trauma center, so we’re seeing all manner of patient. We are seeing hospital inpatients, we are seeing Ryan White patients (Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program), we’re seeing Medicaid, we’re seeing all insurance classes, we’re seeing self-pay. We’re seeing all of those.” In addition, the dental staff does pre-procedure clearances for the cancer and heart institutes. According to Dr. Reid, Dentrix Enterprise provides the right flexibility to manage this special workflow.