Teresa Duncan – “Documentation Drives Revenue”

Teresa has a motto she reinforces in all her courses: “Documentation Drives Revenue.” In our conversation today, she gives unique insight into how your clinical team can create better clinical notes to get claims paid faster, satisfy new coding rules and give your insurance coordinator the information she needs for claim attachments.

During our conversation Teresa offered up two of her famous tip sheets for your office. You can download them by CLICKING HERE Enjoy! If you are interested in Teresa’s insurance course, you can find it HERE

Below is the full transcript from our podcast. It was transcribed by Otter AI so it is not perfect but you get the idea. 🙂

Teresa Duncan—championing her signature motto, “Documentation Drives Revenue”—provides dental teams with indispensable guidance on enhancing clinical notes to boost claims approval, meet evolving coding requirements, and streamline insurance workflows. She insists that radiographs must be prescribed based on clinical need and patient risk, not insurance schedules, and that documentation must include the reason for imaging, confirmation of review, and that findings were discussed with the patient—a stipulation now embedded in updated coding language. She warns that diagnostic‑quality imaging is non-negotiable: poor-quality X‑rays may trigger audits or costly reimbursements recouped by insurers. Teresa advocates replacing limited narrative fields with full clinical note attachments, favored by claims processors, provided the notes are comprehensive with details like crown age and reason for replacement. To help teams implement these practices, she offers practical tip sheets—a visual guide for required documentation and “insurance-friendly” templates for streamlined note-taking—that foster consistency, safeguard provider licenses, and ultimately drive revenue.