Security - Users (Passwords and Usernames)

Once you have created User Groups, you can add users and create usernames and passwords.

For HIPAA compliancy, office policy should be that user passwords are never shared, and that each user has a unique password that only they know.  Having a unique, protected password is especially important for Providers. When logged on, some actions performed by the provider are the same as "signing off", such as writing Procedure notes or entering electronic prescriptions.  Having a unique password will help protect patient data and prevent abuse.

On the Security window, click Add User, or double click on an exiting user to edit.

Is Hidden:  Hides this user from the Security Log On window.  Use this option when a user leaves the practice, as users cannot be deleted.

Name: The User name this user will use to log on to Open Dental.

User Group: The User Group this user belongs to.  This will affect their security Permissions and any date/day limits.

Employee:  If you are using the Time Card feature, attach each user to one Employee. Also make sure that 1) TimeCardSecurityEnabled is checked on the main Security window, and 2) The Edit All Timecards permission is given to the appropriate user group.  Normally, regular users should not have this permission; only the office manager or administrator should.

Provider:  Attach the user to a Provider.  This is required for EHR providers, because some features require the logged on user to be a Provider with an EHR key.  It is also useful for Dental Schools, where each student is is a provider and a user and usage can be restricted based on which student is logged in.

Clinic:  Associate a user with a Clinic. This option is only available when Clinics is turned on in Show Features. It has two purposes.
1) When this user enters a new patient, this clinic will be the default.
2) If the checkbox for 'Restrict user to only see this clinic' is checked, patients from other clinics will not show in the Select Patient window.
This is not a completely secure method to prevent a user from selecting a patient from another clinic, as there are other ways to select patients. For example, it is possible to select any patient by clicking on their appointment. We recommend organizing Appointment Views by clinic so accidental selection won't happen. It is also possible to select patients from other clinics in Appointment Lists.

Create Password:  Add a new password for the selected user. Only users with the Security Admin Permission can create passwords here. Users can change their own password from the Main Menu, File, Change Password.

If 'Passwords must be strong' is checked on the Security window, then passwords must be at least 8 characters, and have at least one number and one uppercase letter.   Check Show to display the password characters instead of asterisks *.

If a user loses or forgets their password, a user with the Security Admin permission can create a new one, then give it to the user.  Then the user should click File, Change Password, and immediately change the password to a unique password of their own.