Electronic Transactions for Dental Services


Sending and receiving data electronically is not just for Medical Providers!  Dental claims, payments, reports and even x-rays can be transferred electronically.  See below for more information.

Why Exchange Electronically? | Calculate Savings | What Can Be Exchanged? | Which Payers Are Available? | How Do I Exchange? | Billing Services/Clearinghouses | Enrollment Tips
 


 Why Exchange Electronically?

  • Sending your claims electronically provides faster payments on your services and will reduce your Accounts Receivable.  Some of our providers have experienced a reduction in the time it takes to get a payment from 2 to 3 weeks to 4 days.
  • You reduce expenses for labor, paper, claim forms and postage!
  • You control the accuracy of your claim as the data your send is electronically transferred to the payer with no keying errors!
  • Increased automation in your office-your staff will have more time to work on the other office tasks!
  • Increased security of the data-you direct where the claims need to go with no manual mailing! 
  • Electronic transactions include the ability to check the patient's benefits and maximums!

Use this calculator provided by the National Dental EDI Council (NDEDIC) to estimate the amount of savings electronic claims can provide you:

cms/cmsfiles/NDEDIC%20ROI%20Calculator.xls

What type of information can be exchanged?

Electronic transactions are formatted in a national file format.  This ensures that anyone that is receiving or sending transactions can expect that the data will be in the same place in the file.  These formats are called ANSI or X12 formats.  The following are common transactions that are exchanged for dental services:

Claims-also called the 837

Reports that tell you if the claims were received-also called the 277FE

Payment Remittances, EOBs or vouchers-also called the 835

Electronic Eligibility Requests and Responses-also called the 270/271

Electronic Claims Status Requests and Responses-also called the 276/277

Electronic prior authorization-also called the 278 

X-rays, perio charts, etc. can also be exchanged as an attachment

Who participates in electronic Dental Transactions?

The table below lists the payers and the types of electronic transactions they process

Payer/Clearinghouse Contact Information
Telephone/email
277FE 835
270/271
276/277 278 Attachments
Capario (formerly MedAvant)* UHIN Member Relations

(801) 466-7705, option 1

864 is used Yes        
Dental Select EDI Department EDI@dentalselect.com or (801)495-3000/(800)999-9789  Yes          
DMBA EDI Enrollment edienrollment@dmba.com or (800) 777-3622, option 1,3 and then 4  Yes          
Emdeon* UHIN Member Relations (801) 466-7705, option 1 Yes Yes        
EMIA Provider Assist (801) 262-7975 or 1-800-644-5411 Yes Yes        
Medicaid (Utah) Purita Buck (801) 538-6509 or https://mmcs.health.utah.gov/hcfenroll/index.jsp Yes Yes Batch Batch Yes Yes
PEHP EDI Help Desk (801) 366-7544 Yes Yes Batch/Fast Batch Batch/Fast Batch    
Regence EDI Support Center (801)333-2900/(888)344-5583 or edisupport@regence.com Yes Yes Batch/Fast Batch Batch/Fast Batch    
Select Health Front End EDI Team (801) 442-5442 or edi@selecthealth.org Yes   Batch/Fast Batch Batch/Fast Batch    

*Capario and Emdeon are clearinghouses that can connect you with National payers not contained on this list.

How Do I Exchange Electronically?

You need to create a file of claims, transmit your file and then receive and review the acceptance reports.

There are 3 common ways that you can exchange claims and other data electronically:

Option 1:  Using your practice management system create an ANSI or X12 file.  Some practice management systems have this functionality.  You will want to contact them to verify.  Then you can directly connect with the UHIN network to send the file or you can use the UHINt software (free of charge) to pull your file into the gateway.

Option 2:  If you do not have a large volume of claims to send, you can type claims directly into the UHINt software.  This software will create an ANSI or X12 file for you and send it to your payers.

Option 3:  Use one of the approved billing services or clearinghouses to create a claims file and send it for you. 

Which billing services are connected through UHIN?

Name Contact Telephone Number email Address
A & A Billing Service Margaret Adamson 801-292-2146 aabillingservice@qwest.net
APEX EDI Rod Waller 800-840-9152 info@apexedi.com
Bentley Medical Billing Christine Bentley 801-685-8132 tcbentl@netzero.net
William W. Neff, CPA PC Bill Neff 801-566-9800 wwneffcpa@comcast.net

Which clearinghouses are connected through UHIN?

Name
Contact Telephone Number email Address
APEX EDI Rod Waller 800-840-9152 info@apexedi.com
Capario UHIN Member Relations 801-466-7705, option 1 customerservice@uhin.com
Emdeon UHIN Member Relations 801-466-7705, option 1 customerservice@uhin.com
Infinedi Stephanie Wright 800-688-8087 swright@infinedi.net
National Information Services Hayden 801-763-9300 kbarton@dentrix.com
Practice Works Sales Department 800-944-6365 www.e-services.net

Enrollment Tips

In most situations, payers do not require an official enrollment process.  Getting setup for EDI is a very simple process.  Most payers want to know a provider's Tax ID (for payment), National Provider Identifier (for identification) and a trading partner number (for security and routing).

Have you submitted a paper claim to the payer in question recently?  Most payers require current billing and rendering information in their processing system prior to EDI setup.  Tax ID, National Provider ID (NPI) and billing/service location details are the common pieces of information required.

An electronic Trading Partner number is required by payers for EDI.  Many of the clearinghouses already have a trading partner number and are connected to the payer you are interested in sending claims to.  For direct connections, UHIN issues the trading partner number.  You can contact UHIN at (801) 466-7705, option 1.  Payers may require electronic testing prior to going live.  As you contact them, they will review the process with you.

With your Tax ID, NPI, and clearinghouse or trading partner information, use the payer contact list above in order to get setup for EDI.  The payer will work with you on the next steps.