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Volume 2 Issue 5
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CDA
at
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ork
An important feature of CDAnet is that it was developed
by dentists for dentists.
These days, it is hard to imagine a dental office without a
computer, but Dr. MacFarlane remembers the committee
discussing the untapped benefits of using a computer
in the office. “Don Gutkin was frustrated that the office
computer was not contributing more to office efficiency
and said, ‘Shouldn’t we be able to send dental claim
information digitally to the dental plan companies?’”
Bringing this idea to fruition took about 4 years. Consultants
were hired to explore the technical requirements of the
project and discovered that the technology was already
being used by financial institutions. The heads of major
insurance companies initially doubted it could be done,
but soon came to be convinced of its possibilities and
potential cost savings. Software developers were hired,
software vendors notified, and eventually the concept
was promoted to dentists. The task of negotiating legal
agreements between CDA and various interested parties—
provincial associations, network providers, insurers, and
software vendors—was managed by Dr. Bernie Dolansky of
Ontario, who joined to committee to lead this crucial work.
In 1991, the system they called “CDAnet” was officially
launched. Technically defined, CDAnet is “the agreement
between the dental profession and the insurance carriers
on the format in which the information normally found on
dental claims will be forwarded to the respective carrier
electronically.” Practically speaking, CDAnet opened the
doors for dentists to send patient insurance claims online.
An important feature of CDAnet is that it was developed by
dentists for dentists. “In our negotiations with the insurers,
we insisted that CDA would retain all rights to the system
and it was CDA ownership that gave the dentists of Canada
a feeling of security in joining,” recalls Dr. Gushue.
“As someone who spent many days promoting CDAnet to
dentists, I can tell you that the fact that it was owned and
controlled by CDA was a comfort to many of them.”
Today in Canada, with the exception of Quebec, all
provincial fee guides and code lists are based on the
USC&LS and more than 14,500 dentists, representing
about 85% of licensed dentists, subscribe to CDAnet.
“These days, for young dentists coming out of dental
school, CDAnet has always just been there,” says Dr. Gushue.
“But I look at it as a crowning achievement for CDA and it
was my pleasure to have been a part of it.”
a
CDA's
Communiqué
magazine featured information on CDAnet in
anticipation of its launch in1991.
What if we didn’t have CDAnet?
To imagine alternative solutions to CDAnet, consider how
dental offices transmit claims in the U.S. using EDI (Electronic
Data Interchange). Dentists in the U.S. must select at least one
EDI dental clearinghouse, such as DentalXChange, and pay
an annual fee for services that “simplify business processes,
increase productivity and enhance themanagement side of
your dental practice by providing streamlined connectivity
that bridges the gaps between payers, patients and providers.”
There are roughly 15 companies that provide these services
in the U.S.
Each EDI dental clearinghouse has connections with individual
dentists and providers. Unlike in Canada, where every dentist
can transmit to every carrier, in the U.S. a dentist can only
transmit to the carriers that are also signed up, or connected
to, the same EDI dental clearinghouses as the dentist. It’s a
fragmented systemwhere dentists have little influence, and
where there are greater costs for the dentist.
It’s difficult to calculate the exact cost savings per claimby using
CDAnet compared to a systemused in the U.S., because there
aremany factors to consider. However, conservative estimates
suggest that CDAnet saves Canadian dentists thousands
of dollars each year.