New Features, Fixes, and Enhancements

This release includes the following enhancements:

Ability to Archive Patient Records

Sensei Cloud now provides you with the ability to permanently move unneeded, inactive Patient Records to an Archive, helping clean up clutter within the system caused by unneeded records piling up. 

When archived, all aspects of a patient's record are erased from active areas of Sensei Cloud and moved as a read-only copy to the Archived Patients list (Dashboard > Archived Patients). Archived patient records are no longer active, so they are also no longer searchable from the Patient Search bar, and all associated line items are removed from all reports and every other screen.

Note: 
-- Team members must have the Archive Patients setting enabled in their user permissions to archive patient records that are no longer being used (this setting is part of the General Permissions section in the team member Permissions tab).
-- The archived records exclude patient images and files. You cannot access patient images or files anymore post-archiving. 

IMPORTANT: A series of windows are displayed when using the Archive function to ensure you are absolutely positive that you want to archive the patient. This action is permanent and cannot be reversed, so it is crucial to confirm that the patient record needs to be archived. If you archive a patient in error, the only remaining available action is to create a brand new record from scratch (Note: A new record for the same patient will not conflict with the old record as it is archived). 

The Archive Patient feature is accessible from the Actions menu of the Patient > Home. 

When this option is selected, an Archive Patient Record readiness check is performed to determine if the patient is currently eligible to be archived. Patient records must meet certain criteria in order to be archived, in order to help prevent premature archival of records. 

When any of the following criteria apply to a patient, their record cannot be archived:

• A non-zero balance exists 
• Open or active financial agreement (i.e., Payment Plan / Ortho Contract)
• Transactions on an open Financial Daysheet
• Open or outstanding insurance claims
• Transactions posted within the last 2 years

Note: When any of the preceding conditions apply to the record, a message is displayed, listing the conditions that are preventing you from archiving the record at this time, and the only option is to click Cancel. 

You may also receive a warning message if a patient fits any of the following criteria, but for these scenarios, you are able to proceed with archiving the patient record if you deem that this action is still necessary: 

• Patient record was created within the last year
• Open treatment plans
• Scheduled Appointments

When you do not have any conditions that are hard stops (i.e., conditions that prevent archival altogether), and you choose to proceed with archiving the patient record, a disclaimer is displayed that must be acknowledged by selecting a checkbox and clicking Proceed to Archive.

Next, you are required to enter a reason for the archival: Deceased, Inactive, Patient Request, or Other.

Note: There is also a Notes field where you can provide additional details. This field is required when Other is selected as the reason.

After the you select a reason and click Archive, there is one final warning message prompting you to confirm that you want to proceed, as this action cannot be reversed.  

** IMPORTANT: This is your last chance to click Cancel and keep the patient record as is! There is not an option to recover an archived patient. **

Click Yes, Archive to archive the patient's record and store it as a read-only copy in the Archived Patients list. 

Archived Patients List

Archived patient records are retained in the Archived Patients list (Dashboard > Archived Patients). From here, you can:

• Search for and view archived read-only patient records.
• Click the Printer icon in the upper right of a patient record to print a PDF copy. 
  Note: All of the record sections are automatically expanded in the PDF.

Simply enter any known information in the applicable fields under Filter List, and then click Apply Filter, to execute the search. 

Up to five results are displayed at a time in the left side panel. Select a result to open the patient record. 

Note: You can add information in as many of the fields as needed to locate the desired record. For example, if you have several John Does in the initial search results, you could input their date of birth or phone number to narrow the search results. 

The top of the record includes pertinent information, such as the patient name, patient date of birth, name of the team member who performed the archival, the date/time the record was archived, and the reasoning. 

Quickly and easily view the record details by clicking on the menu headings and subheadings to expand additional information. 

Reminder: Besides printing, there are no other available actions from an archived record. This is simply a read-only copy which also preserves when and why the record was archived in the first place. 

See How to Archive a Patient Record for more information.

Optimized Team Member Permissions

Individual user permissions have been relocated so that they can be managed directly from a Team Member record (Administration > Team > Team Members). This allows you to conveniently view and manage all aspects of a team member from a single area within Sensei Cloud.

While the overarching functionality has not changed for team member permissions, (i.e., team members inherit certain permissions based on the Group they are part of, and these settings can be manually overridden as needed) the interface is now part of the Team Member Settings, and there are some formatting improvements to increase overall usability. 

After selecting a team member from the Team Member Settings window, the Information tab is displayed by default, which includes the team member's basic information and settings. 

Click the Permissions tab to view their existing permission settings. The permissions are organized by category, and each section has a checkbox at the top which gives you the ability to select or deselect all of the permissions for that category. 

Note:

• There is a Default From Group column which includes a checkmark icon when the default permission setting for the permission was inherited from the Group that the team member is assigned to. 
  Tip: If you hover over the checkmark, a message states which Group the permission is granted by. The message also states whether the default has been overridden.  
• There is now a Modified column, which includes a checkmark icon when the permission has been modified from the default selection. 
  Tip: Hovering over checkmarks in the Modified column provides a message with an explanation on what was changed (e.g., Granted - Overridden to Yes for this team member).
• Permissions that are manually granted or cleared (i.e., have been changed from the default) are reflected by bold purple text (e.g., if the team member inherits the Lab Tracking permission from their Group role and the permission is cleared, then Lab Tracking turns purple). Permissions that are granted because they are group defaults are displayed in bold blue text.
  

To edit an individual user's permissions, click Edit Selected Member Permissions from the Actions column. You can then select any permissions that you want to grant or deselect permissions that you want to remove.

Tip: Hover over the Question Mark icon to view more information on what each permission entails. A message is displayed that describes in detail what type of access the permission grants to the team member.

Reminder: The filters under Filter Permissions allow you to quickly view which of the team member's permissions are set to Yes or No (All Yes | All No | All).

Group Permissions have also moved and are now accessible from the Administration tab's Team drop-down list (Administration > Team > Group Permissions). From here, you can manage which team members are part of each permissions group.

See How to Assign Group and User Permissions and Permissions List for more information. 

Ortho Contracts: Easily Update an Insurance Policy (US Only)

Sensei Cloud now provides you with more control over Ortho Contracts, enabling you to more efficiently swap insurance coverage on an active Ortho Contract to a different policy, without needing to remove an existing schedule and add a new one. 

You can update an Insurance Charge Schedule to use a different insurance policy and all ongoing charges and Continuation of Treatment claims are associated with the new policy. The agreement remains as is with the same payment schedule and amount, but the new insurance policy is charged for all future charges. 

Note: You still maintain the ability to add or remove Insurance Charge schedules as necessary. 

To update the insurance policy that is attached to an insurance charge schedule, select the patient's Ortho Contract and click Edit Contract. Next, scroll to the Insurance Charge Schedule and select a different plan from the Plan drop-down list.

Note: 
-- You can either use the Plan drop-down list in the contract summary or within the Insurance Charge Schedule itself.
-- Insurance policies must already be attached to the Patient Record in order to be selectable from the Plan drop-down lists. 
-- Charges and payments that have already been posted retain the original carrier within the Ledger. 

When you click Save Contract and the associated Insurance Policy is changed, the existing insurance claim automatically closes, and a new claim is generated for the new policy. 

See How to Update an Ortho Contract Charge Schedule and How to Create an Ortho Contract for more information.

Defects and Small Enhancements

30 defects and small enhancements were addressed, including:

• The Scheduler Day View now loads faster and stays responsive as practices and their data grow, thanks to a behind-the-scenes rework, with no change to how the screen works.
• The Patient Ledger now opens faster, especially for accounts with large (often converted) transaction histories, by loading a lighter initial view and pulling full transaction detail only when a row is expanded.
• The imaging mapping option in Imaging Settings (Administration > Devices & Integrations > Imaging)  now correctly reads Sensei Record ID (previously "Patient ID"), and a read-only Sensei Record ID field now appears on the Patient Record. 
• The checkout screen no longer shows a treatment plan item count for patients who have no treatment plan or unscheduled procedures.
• The Provider Summary report no longer lists providers whose net total is $0, even when offsetting reversals or adjustments sit behind that zero. 
• An issue where some insurance payers were not being recognized as supporting electronic claim attachments (NEA), which had blocked attachments and led to rejected claims, has been fixed. US Only
• When run on a Distribution Date basis, the Collections by Provider Report now correctly represents a payment's unallocated / undistributed amount. 
• Switching a tooth between its primary and permanent equivalent now updates correctly on the dental chart. 
• A "session storage quota" error that could log users out when managing an NHS Contract has been resolved. 
• Patient Record fields no longer trigger browser auto-fill, preventing saved browser data from overwriting a patient's contact details. 
• Adding treatment plan procedures to an appointment now updates the plan's status to Scheduled, keeping the Treatment Plan Worklist accurate. 
• Editing an appointment note now records the person who made the edit instead of the appointment's original creator. 
• On ADA claims, the Box 46 (Date of Accident) calendar now opens to the correct year after a validation error when editing additional claim info. US Only
• Converted orthodontic contracts can now have an insurance schedule added, which correctly creates the associated claim. 
• Inactive insurance policies are available again across policy-selection lists (for legitimate billing in arrears), with clear status and coverage-order indicators so an inactive policy is not chosen by mistake. 
• Routing slips now print the correct Last Bitewing and Last Pano/FMX dates (previously displayed a day early in some timezones). 
• When booking from the patient home screen's "Request Next Appointment" button, hygienists can now be selected as the appointment Provider. 
• Deposit Slips now print correctly and quickly instead of holding onto large amounts of unexpected payment data (converted organizations). 
• A UI issue where the Claim Summary would not close in the Patient Tab's Claims Management view has been resolved. 
• The checkout treatment plan item count now stays accurate immediately after a plan's status changes, without requiring a reload. 
• When scheduling treatment plan items from the Checkout Queue, the appointment card now defaults to the Treatment Plan section instead of Appointment Info. 
• Orthodontic contracts that include a discount can now be activated successfully.