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Excerpt from How to Select and Implement the Right Computer Solution for Your Practice  Click here to order your complete copy (including FREE RFPs) online (e-version or traditional guide)! Click here for more information. Table of Contents Introduction Practice Management System Requirements Questions Electronic Medical Records/Computerized Patient Records System Requirements Questions TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1: The Computer Users Chapter 2: Necessary Features Chapter 3: Request for Proposal Chapter 4: Finding Software Vendors Chapter 5: Software Demonstrations Chapter 6: Check References Chapter 7: Hardware Chapter 8: Negotiation Chapter 9: Site Visit Chapter 10: Your Final Selection Chapter 11: Pre-installation Chapter 12: Hardware Installation Chapter 13: Training Chapter 14: Going Live! Chapter 15: After the Installation Chapter 16: Support and Updates Chapter 17: Do I need a consultant to help me with all of this? Chapter 18: Case Studies of Computer Implementations Appendix A: Practice Management System Subject Headings Appendix B: Electronic Medical Records System Subject Headings Appendix C: Practice Management System Requirements Questions Appendix D: Electronic Medical Records System Requirements Questions Appendix E: Sample Request for Proposal Appendix F: Sample Cover Letter to Include with a Request for Proposal Appendix G: Sample List of Questions to Ask References for Practice Management Systems Appendix H: Sample List of Questions to Ask References for Electronic Medical Records Systems Glossary About the authors INTRODUCTION Whether you are investing in a practice management system, electronic medical records system or both, your system choice affects your entire practice. That is why doing your homework to insure a proper fit with your needs is critical. Your practice may spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on computer hardware, software, training, support and upgrades, so making sure those dollars are well-spent is imperative. The correct choice will make your practice run smoothly. It will help keep your accounts receivable low and collections high. It will help your staff to schedule more efficiently. It will help make your charting and subsequent referral letters go more quickly. It can also make chart reviews more efficient. An incorrect choice can be disastrous. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars in lost productivity, lost revenue and even lost charts. From the time you decide to look for a new system to the time the system is fully implemented, six months to a year can pass. The process can be so lengthy because it encompasses so much to do it properly. The process includes researching your practice’s needs, consulting with staff members, preparing lists of wanted features, seeking out available systems, seeing demonstrations, doing site visits, installing the hardware and software, converting data from your present system if there is one, training the staff, going live and using the system productively. (The meaning we give to being “live” on the system is to be using the system for its intended purposes in your daily work.) This guide will guide you through the steps that will lead to a successful computer implementation. This guide does not recommend any particular computer system. No one system fits the needs of all practices. Systems change. They come and go. Systems mentioned and screens displayed are for illustration purposes only and do not constitute a recommendation of any system. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can find and determine which systems are best for your practice. This guide will address both electronic medical records systems and practice management systems. Electronic medical records (EMR) systems are also referred to as computerized patient records (CPR). I will refer to them as electronic medical records or EMR in this guide. They store and organize patient medical charts. They should allow you to enter data as quickly as you can write on a paper chart. You should notice time savings when you generate referral letters, when you supply records to an auditor, when you don’t have to search for a lost paper chart, and when you connect from home or a satellite office to view a patient’s chart. Practice management systems help your staff to perform the clerical, financial, and administrative duties of a medical office. Typical functions offered are appointment scheduling, recalls, patient registration, billing, electronic claims and reporting. Some systems include inventory, accounts payable, payroll, time clock and general ledger. Most sections of this guide will apply to both systems, but where appropriate, I will point out features specific to practice management systems and features specific to EMR systems. APPENDIX C: PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS QUESTIONS (partial listing) Appointment Scheduling Will you schedule on the computer? (If not, skip down to the next section.) How do you schedule appointments now? What length of appointment do you want the computer to allow? Do you have variable length appointments? Do you want to be able to see a day at a glance, a week at a glance or a month at a glance? Do you want to be able to see schedules for multiple doctors on the screen at one time? Do you want to select the patient and then the time slot, or do you want to select the time slot and then the patient? Do you expect the system to schedule your resources? Does the system allow for synchronizing appointment times between 2 providers or 1 piece of equipment and 1 provider? Do you want to be able to search for available, open time slots? Do you want to be able to find patients’ existing, future appointments quickly? Do you want the system to print appointment reminder cards? Do you want the system to call patients to remind them of upcoming appointments? Do you want the system to print new patient letters? Do you want the system to notify you if patients who were seen today are not scheduled for future appointments? Do you want the system to prompt you for authorization numbers at the time the appointments are made? Do you want the system to notify you of how many visits and allowed dollar amounts are left on authorizations? What kinds of reports do you want regarding appointments? Billing Do you put charges into your system as patients leave your office (at the point of service)? Do you want the system to calculate the amounts due from the patient and insurance at the point of service? Do you take payments when the patient checks in or out? Do you take payments prior to procedures—cash in advance? What is your patient mix—mostly cash (so you might want a balance forward system), mostly insurance (definitely need line item), capitated or fee for service, what type of insurance—mostly Medicare, a lot of public aid, mixed? How do you handle capitation? If you have capitated contracts, do you want to see what you would have made if the procedures had been billed as FFS? Do you want to enter charges and write them off at the end of the month for capitation? You should have the salesperson show how hard or easy it is to do this. Do you need to use authorization numbers or referral numbers? You should ask to see how the system handles those. Do you want a system that updates A/R in real-time or one that has to be closed out before the A/R is updated? What type of reports do you want from your billing module? Statements Do you want to print statements on your own special forms? Do you want to print statements on plain paper? Do you want to print statements on self-contained mailers? Do you want to have a third-party company print and mail your statements? How often do you wish to send statements? How do you want the system to allow grouping patients when preparing statements? Insurance Filing Do you file insurance forms or does the patient? Do you wish to file electronically? For which insurance carriers? Do you want the computer to post your payments and adjustments from insurance electronically (automatic remittance)? How often do you want to file insurance? <APPENDIX D: ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS/ COMPUTERIZED PATIENT RECORDS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS QUESTIONS (partial listing) Following Patients How do your patients move from room to room? How will you follow them with their charts? How do you need for the medical record to follow the patient? Will a technician or a nurse be writing in the chart and then the doctor? Knowledge Base What medical specialties does the EMR need to accommodate? Do you want to build your own knowledge base? Do you want a knowledge base for your specialties to be provided with the EMR system? Do you want to modify the knowledge base? Entering the Exam Data How do you want to enter data—voice, mouse, pen, keyboard? Do you want to copy in data from previous exams? This can help you save time if the data is similar. How do you want the system to allow entering findings that are normal? Do you want all options to be listed as normal unless you change them? The danger to this is that something could be listed as normal that was never examined. Or would you rather be able to touch or click a normal option and have the system pull in the verbiage for normal? How do you want to be able to correct unsaved findings? How do you want to enter medications? Do you want to associate medications with diagnoses? A Division of KeyMedical Software, Inc. 1700 N. Lebanon St. P.O. Box 588 Lebanon, IN 46052 888-953-9633 toll free 765-482-7964 voice 765-482-7833 fax | Introduction | Practice Management System Requirements | Electronic Medical Records System Requirements | Order Online | | Return Home | View Excerpt | Fax Order Form | Consulting Services | Great Links | Contact Us | |
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