5.44 Release Features

The 5.44 Release is here! Discover the latest enhancements and features designed to improve your experience.

What’s New!

• Practices can now automatically track Google Ads performance through conversions from Online Appointments, helping maximize reach and return on every dollar spent.
• Convert Google searches to confirmed appointments through your practice's Google Business Profile using the new Reserve with Google integration within CareStack.
• You can now tag Providers to Receipts to ensure accurate income allocation and collection based reporting.
• Easily track how early or late a patient arrives for their appointment using the new 'Early' and 'Late' indicators on the Appointment tile, Dashboard, and Patient Tracker.
• Enhanced security for sensitive actions using Authorization Code.

What’s Been Enhanced! 

• Introduced fields in Office Wizard forms that automatically sync with patient information in their profile.
• Filtering by Appointment Flag is now supported in the Appointments By User and Appointments By Provider Reports, as well as in the Opportunity Miner.
• Payment Plans now offer more flexibility, allowing multiple split payments for an installment, linking multiple receipts to it, or paying multiple installments with a single receipt.
• The Refer Out slide-out now includes an Internal Referral option, allowing instant internal referrals using Quick Send Referral, plus you can track these referrals using the Refer Out (Internal Referrals) Report.
• The Payroll system's Fixed and Performance Share profiles now use Daily Minimum Guarantee instead of Minimum Guarantee. This enhancement allows setting a fixed, provider-specific daily pay rate, regardless of earnings.
• Users can now attach multi-page PDF files, Perio Charts and Clinical Notes to CS Attachments. File name and date are automatically populated on upload, making the process quicker and reducing manual errors.

5.44 comes with even more improvements; read on to explore everything that's new!

Front Office ⌵

1. Easily Track Early or Late Patient Arrivals

a. Practices can now track how early or late a patient was for their appointment using the ‘Early’ and ‘Late’ indicators.

• The Early Indicator is displayed when an appointment is moved into an In Office status before the scheduled start time.
• The Late Indicator is displayed when the scheduled appointment start time has passed and the appointment has not moved into an In Office status.
• The timer shown alongside the indicator, highlights how long the patient is late and automatically stops once the appointment is moved to an In Office status.

Note: You can configure In Office appointment statuses via Practice Settings → Scheduler → General Settings.

b. The Early and Late indicators can be added to the appointment tile by customizing it in Practice Settings → Scheduler → Scheduler Settings.

c. To ensure clear visibility for staff, these indicators are shown on the Front Office Dashboard and the Patient Tracker Expanded and Compressed views.

2. View Cancelled and No-Show Appointments in Scheduler

a. The No-Show/Cancelled Appointments button in the Scheduler lets you view Cancelled and No Show appointments even if Double Booking is not enabled for your practice.

• Cancelled appointments are indicated by a mesh overlay and a strikethrough on the details.
• No Show appointments appear with slanting lines across the tile.
• Click any 'Cancelled' or 'No Show' tile to view appointment details, and quickly get to patient links with a right-click.
• Two new flags have been added to indicate Cancelled and No Show statuses.

b. You can use the whitespace next to Missed Appointments to book new appointments in that slot.

Clinical ⌵

1. Control XChart Access and Billing at the User Level 

a. Practices can now manage XChart access at a user level, to help prevent unintended usage and ensure accurate billing control. Here’s how:

• You can access this from Practice Settings → Services → XChart.
• Xchart access can be enabled or disabled per user. Only users with access enabled can Launch XChart.
• Disabling access hides the Launch XChart button and excludes the provider from XChart related billing.

Note: To Launch XChart, the logged-in user and the assigned Clinical Case Provider must be active in the User Access List.

2. Streamlined Procedure Code Handling During Checkout  

a. Previously, procedure codes linked to an appointment that were not completed were delinked from the appointment during checkout. Now, you can choose the codes to be marked as Completed or delinked, eliminating extra steps. Key details to know:

• All procedure codes that are not in Completed status will be displayed in the Checkout Confirmation screen.
• All codes are selected by default, allowing users to quickly proceed without additional steps.
• Selected codes will be automatically marked as Completed once the checkout is confirmed.
• Users can unselect codes as needed; these codes will be delinked from the appointment during checkout.

3. Improved Representation for Supernumerary Tooth Extractions

• Supernumerary tooth extractions are now shown with a smaller extraction draw type next to the main tooth, ensuring the main tooth remains visible on the Odontogram.

4. Extraction Draw Types Are Now Unified

• The Draw Type for all Extractions (planned, existing, or completed treatment, as well as extracted condition) now displays an X over the tooth.

5. IRIS Imaging Integration

a. CareStack now supports IRIS Imaging Integration, enabling a two-way workflow for capturing, managing, and syncing patient clinical images in real time.

• Users can launch IRIS directly from the patient Chart, capture or import clinical images, and automatically sync them with CareStack. This can be accessed from the Other Imaging Softwares tab within the Clinical Chart.
• Additionally, clinical images from IRIS can be attached to Insurance Claims as electronic attachments as well as to referral attachments during a Refer Out workflow.
• You can enable this service in Practice Settings → Services → IRIS Imaging (Overjet) → Configure.

6. Phase Duration Auto-Fills When Booking Appointments for Treatment Phases

• When booking appointments for Treatment Plan Phases with assigned times from the Treatment Plan Board or while adding them to the Clipboard, the appointment duration will be pre-populated based on the phase duration.

7. Easily Drag and Drop Treatments within a Treatment Plan Template

a. Easily move treatments between phases in a Treatment Plan Template using drag and drop, so you no longer need to delete and re-add them. 

• You can access this via System Menu → Practice Settings → Clinical → Treatment Plans.

8. New Filling Material: (GIC) Glass Ionomer Cement 

• Users can now select (GIC) Glass Ionomer Cement as a Material for Filling Procedure Codes. 

Note: When charted, GIC fillings will be shown using a cross-hatch draw type by default. This can be changed in Practice Settings → Clinical → Materials.

Patient Services ⌵

1. Google Analytics Integration for Online Appointment Portal

We have launched Google Analytics and Google Ads integration for your online appointment portal, giving you full visibility into how patients find and book online appointments.

Step 1: Set Up Google Analytics

Step 2: Integrate Google Analytics into Your Online Appointment Portal

Step 3: Add Tracking Parameters - UTM Tags

Step 4: Monitor Events and Mark Key Conversions

Step 5: Link Google Ads for Optimization

With this update, you can:

• Track where bookings originate (Google Ads, social, email, etc.).
• Measure which campaigns drive real appointments.
• Automatically optimize Google Ads using conversion data.

Less guesswork. More booked appointments!

2. Enhanced Print Consistency for Forms and Letters 

• Print formatting for ‘Forms’ and ‘Letters’ has improved, ensuring styles and fonts applied to a form or letter remain intact during printing or extracting as a PDF file, making prints more reliable and consistent.

3. Control Sharing of Forms and Letters to the Patient Portal 

a. You can now prevent incomplete forms and letters requiring patient signature from being automatically shared to the Patient Portal by enabling the newly added Form setting. This gives you more control and ensures documents are not shared with patients before they are finalized.

• When enabled, practices can manually share documents to the Patient Portal from the Patient Documents page.

4. Direct Appointment Booking via Your Practice’s Google Business Profile

a. Convert Google searches directly into confirmed appointments! CareStack’s brand new Reserve with Google integration allows customers to book an appointment straight from your practice location’s Google Business Profile (GBP), leading them right into your Online Appointment Portal.

• Appointments are booked securely within CareStack, ensuring no patient data is shared with Google.

Note: Reach out to [e-mail] to enable the Reserve with Google integration for your practice.

5. Build Forms in Office Wizard with System Components and Share via Patient Portal 

• We have added System Components in the Office Wizard form builder, alongside the existing Basic and Preset, to make it easier to create forms with common sections like patient details, contact info, referral info, emergency contact, and other details such as driver’s license, marital status, and SSN.
• You can easily add or remove fields, and mark them as mandatory, as needed. The heading of each component (for example, “Patient Name”) can be renamed to match your preference.
• Forms can be shared with patients through the Patient Portal. Existing patient data is automatically pre-filled, so patients can quickly review and update their information. 
• Any changes are saved directly to the patient’s profile the moment the form is signed, making it easy for them to manage their details during onboarding or routine updates.

6. Improved Online Booking Flow for New and Existing Patients 

• Patients now first choose whether they are a New or an Existing patient before booking online, helping them follow the right path and reducing booking errors and duplicate patient records.

Patient Engagement ⌵

1. Enhanced Duplicate Patient Check

a. The Duplicate Patient Check has been improved to ensure a more efficient patient and non-patient record management. Potential duplicates are now identified in real time during record creation and updates. Here’s what’s new.

• Real-time duplicate detection within the Add/Edit modal.
• Matches are identified using any of the following:
  • First and Last name combined with Date of Birth
  • Driver’s license
  • SSN
• Email is excluded to reduce unnecessary alerts for shared family email addresses.

When a match is found, click View to:

• Bypass the match and create a new patient record.
• Schedule an appointment for the matched patient (convert non-patients if needed).
• Access the Profile Overview.

2. Templates Now Grouped by Purpose for Direct and Bulk Communication

a. Templates are now grouped by purpose, so it is easier to find the right type quickly.

• Direct: Patient and Appointment templates are now combined into Direct Templates, making it easier to manage and use templates for individual patient communication.
• Bulk: Available for bulk communication across Opportunity Miner, Recalls List, Reschedule Queue, and Short Call List. 
  • Bulk message templates can now be easily managed in Practice Settings → Templates.
• Referral: For Refer Out workflows (no changes).

3. Enhancements to Quick Links in Messages and Templates

a. Quick Links now appear based on what is relevant to the message you are sending across Messages and Templates. For example, quick links related to appointments will not be available in bulk messaging or non-appointment campaigns, as there is no associated appointment.

b. Additional quick links are now available, allowing you to include more information in your messages.

• Prefix and suffix quick links under Patient and Provider categories are available across applicable areas for consistent personalization.
• A new quick link, Today’s Date, has been introduced in Direct and Bulk Messaging templates, automatically inserting the current date for same-day updates, confirmations, and time-sensitive announcements without manual edits.
• The Total Payment Plan Amount quick link has been added to Payment Reminder campaigns to help clearly communicate the overall payment plan value alongside the Total Amount Due.

c. Practice Settings → Templates now use Account-level and Location-level quick links in place of Business-level quick links, ensuring communications reflect relevant practice information. 

RCM ⌵

1. Multiple and Split Receipt Linking in Payment Plans

a. Payment Plan installments no longer need to match the exact receipt amount. Multiple receipts can be linked to a single installment, even if the individual amounts do not match the installment total.

b. Users can now link existing receipts with a remaining balance to a Payment Plan installment.

c. If a linked receipt’s amount exceeds the installment total, the remaining balance can be linked to future installments.

2. Tag Receipts to Providers

a. You can now tag Providers to Receipts for all Payments, Payment Plans, and Text-to-Pay requests. This ensures accurate income allocation and enables detailed, collection based revenue reporting.

• Provider Tagging can be configured using the new ‘Provider Tagging to Receipts’ section within the Others tab under Practice Settings → Payments & Billing → General. 

Note: This feature will not be enabled by default.

b. If the provider assigned to the selected receipt differs from the provider assigned to the selected codes, a warning will prompt users to either apply the payment across the providers’ codes or update all selected receipts to a single provider.

• This feature can be enabled by setting the Enable warning while making a provider transfer of receipt for advanced payments to Yes.
• A new Provider column has been added across the Payments and the Unapplied Credit Receipts grids, allowing you to easily view and filter receipts by provider.

3. Attach PDF Files, Perio Charts & Clinical Notes to Claims via CS Attachments

a. Users can now attach PDF files while adding CS Attachments to claims, enabling multi-page and detailed documents to be uploaded more efficiently, without any loss of clarity.

b. When adding electronic attachments to CSA-labeled claims, you can now attach Perio Charts and Clinical/Care Notes from a patient's Medical Chart via the CS Attachments pop-up. 

• Additionally, the clinical image attachment limit has been increased from 20 to 50 images.

 

c. When uploading an attachment, CareStack now automatically populates the file name and file date in the attachment fields, reducing manual data entry and ensuring accurate documentation.

• File Name: Automatically populated using the original file name.
• Date Taken: The file’s creation or last modified date.
• Attachment Type: Auto-populated when attaching Perio chart or Chart Notes.

 

d. If an attachment submission fails due to network or processing errors, the claim will automatically revert to Document Pending, and users will be notified to retry the submission. 

Referrals ⌵

1. Refer Patients Within Your Practice Using Internal Referrals

a. You can now refer patients internally using the new ‘Internal Referral’ option in the Refer Out slide-out.

• Send internal referrals instantly using Quick Send Referral, with no extra steps.

b. The Referral Tracker and Referral Hub now include a ‘Referral Type’ column to distinguish between Internal and External Referrals.

• You can also generate the ‘Refer Out (Internal Referrals)’ reports in Operational Reports.

2. Enhanced Referral Forms for More Control and Clarity

Explore the latest updates to Referral Forms:

a. Configure and display only the necessary providers for each location on the referral form to ensure relevant provider selection. 

 

b. ‘Select Teeth for Extraction’ has been rephrased as ‘Select Teeth’ for clearer understanding across all procedures

c. If a form has only one location, it will pre-fill automatically, reducing clicks for referral providers. With the new setting, ‘First Available Provider’ can be selected from the Provider dropdown, simplifying referrals when a provider isn’t specified.

d. To improve the accuracy of the Referral Effectiveness Report, the Referral Provider's email will be required on Referral Forms when the 'Referral Provider email' setting is enabled.

3. Manage NPI for Referral Providers

a. You can now capture and manage NPI (National Provider Identifier) for Referral Providers in CareStack.

• Add, view, or update a 10‑digit NPI for each referral provider.
• See a clear warning if another active provider already uses the same NPI.

This ensures your referral provider records accurate and aligned with US identification standards.

Reporting & Analytics ⌵

1. Introducing the Refer Out (Internal Referrals) Report

• With this report, users can track patients referred to another location or provider associated with the practice, generate Summary or Detail views for Internal Referrals, filter by Provider, Location, and Date Range, and also view Patient Referrals with Accepted, Proposed, and Presented Production values.

2.  Enhancements to the Production and Collection Report 

• Introduced two new columns: Refunds and Membership Credits. 
• Net Collection is calculated as: Gross Collection + Collection Adjustments − Refunds − Membership Credits.

3. Filter Reports By Appointment Flags

• A new Appointment Flag filter is now available in the Appointments by User and Appointments By Provider Reports and in the Opportunity Miner when the Appointments category is selected.

4. Impacts of Provider Tagging to Receipts Across Reports

When Provider Tagging to Receipts is enabled for your practice, it affects all collection-based reports.

• A Receipt Provider filter and column have been added to the Income Allocation Extended, Deposit Slip, and Payment Log Reports.
• The Income Allocation View of the Income Allocation Extended Report has been enhanced with two new columns: 'Payments' and 'Allocated Payments.' These display the total payments and allocated payments, respectively, that are associated with the provider.

• The Advance Payments and Allocated Advance Payments Views of the Income Allocation Extended Report have now been amended to Payments and Allocated Payments Views respectively, allowing you to drill down into all payments tagged against a provider.
  • You can also filter these views by Payment Category, Payment Type and Payment Method.

5. Introducing the Daily Minimum Guarantee

a. We have updated the Payroll system to replace Minimum Guarantee with Daily Minimum Guarantee for Fixed and Performance Share profiles. This allows you to set a Daily Minimum Guarantee, which is a fixed daily pay rate regardless of earnings and can also be set at the provider level. 

• Payout is based on whichever is higher: the average Daily Minimum Guarantee (calculated across working days) or the earned share percentage.
  •  A working day is any day with at least one completed service code for that provider at that location.
• To ensure accuracy, the Review and Publish workflow lets you manually adjust working days and track the full history of changes before finalizing.

6. Payment Log Report: Refunds Now Reflect Their Own Date, Location, and Payment Type

• Refunds now use their own Refund Date, Location, and Payment Type.
• When run by Payment Date, refunds are reflected by their Refund Date across both Summary and Collection views. This ensures a more accurate Net Collection and smoother day-to-day reconciliation.

7. Opportunity Miner is Now Real-Time

• Opportunity Miner now uses real-time data, so your lists always reflect the latest information, helping you act faster and with more confidence.

General ⌵

1. Introducing Authorization Code: A Dedicated Control for Critical Actions

a. We have introduced the Authorization Code, a unique 4 – 12 character alphanumeric credential separate from your login password. This establishes a standard control for critical actions across the platform.

• Users can activate their code in User Settings by verifying their identity via an email OTP. The status will update from Pending to Active once the configuration is complete.
• Authorization Code is now used to protect payroll information and for care note finalization, replacing the payroll PIN and decoupling these actions from user passwords.

CS Mobile App ⌵

Introduced a new Prescriptions section within Patient Details, enabling providers to create, manage, and track prescriptions, supporting both Paper and E-Prescriptions. 

• Providers can create prescriptions using + Create New Prescription, add medication details (dosage, duration, instructions), and perform actions such as duplicate, void, and download as PDF.
• E-Prescriptions are supported via DoseSpot integration through an embedded webview.
• All prescriptions are centrally stored and accessible within the patient’s Prescription details page.

       

Get the app and start your journey! Now available on the App Store and Google Play Store.
 

Check out the latest updates in 5.44 and share your feedback.

We can’t wait to hear what you think! Stay ahead with the exciting 5.44 updates, coming to practices by mid May!