Joretta Beanland, president of New Horizons Software Inc in Vancouver, Wash, founded the company in 1988.

OP: What types of practice-management software does your company provide to orthodontic practices?

Beanland: Our company covers all the needs of an orthodontic practice—from patient check-in, to scheduling, to electronic treatment cards, to a full accounts-payable system.

OP: What features are included in the OrthoExec Advanced Series software?

Beanland: All the basic features any software program should have that handles full accounts receivables, including posting, daily journals, deposits, coupon books, and truth-in-lending contracts. We have developed a way of controlling insurance billings that allows an office to accept assignment of benefits without the need of a dedicated staff member to devote their time to only insurance. Patient check-in features, patient schedulers, and electronic treatment cards allow the patient to flow through the office in an efficient manner. The program also includes e-Sign, which allows patients to sign medical and dental forms, treatment contracts, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act forms, and treatment consents. It also has a feature that allows storing digital photos, which allows the orthodontist to retrieve images while treating a patient.

OP: What programs does the OrthoExec Advanced Series interface with?

Beanland: OE interfaces with MS Word and WordPerfect to create customized correspondence; insurance clearinghouses for electronic insurance filings; and automatic patient withdrawal for auto payments via credit card, checking, or savings accounts. The software also interfaces with other proprietary imaging programs and auto phone-calling programs.

OP: Does your company provide software training?

Beanland: New Horizons provides extensive initial and ongoing training to users. Even with the most intuitive system, training is still a key factor to getting the most out of your staff as well as the software. Sometimes, training requires rethinking of how a task is accomplished to develop better internal systems.