Electronic Medical Records / PLUGGED IN
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who is not used to training people and is not knowledgeable about computers and he or she now has to spend an enormous amount of time on the EMR implemen- tation, he or she will not get the ‘real’ job done or might not be as effective as you want.” After you decide which system works
for you, you will need to create templates, which are the “sheets” that veterinarians and technicians actually fill out. They are the “paper” inside the virtual chart. “An important part of the initial setup
is developing templates,” Jones says. “You can have a template for a canine annual visit, and that template will have the health history and a place to record infor- mation about the physical examination, such as skin, coat, eyes, weight, etc.” You decide how much detail is recorded.
The templates may comprise simple check boxes or may have lots of blanks for detailed information about the patient. The
data will go into the EMR and might gener- ate several reports, such as patient infor- mation or referral sheets. The information should also go to the front desk’s PM soft- ware so that clients are properly charged. For instance, suppose the veterinarian
notices the dog has fleas. He or she will treat the pet and note the finding in the EMR. “From that EMR, you could generate a report to go home with the owner, tell the front desk to provide flea control and cap- ture charges for treatment [if the template is set up correctly],” Jones says. “Templates are important,” says Jones.
“Before you start using the medical records, you need to have all these param- eters set up in the computer so that, liter- ally, all you do is fill in the blanks, just as you would in a paper medical record.” Bundle services that are usually done
together, suggests Dewitz, which will help eliminate mistakes and missed bill- ing opportunities.
Consider hiring a practice consultant to help choose a vendor and implement the new system, especially if no one in the practice has the time or the skills for the task.
Trends magazine, November 2012
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