practice perfect Nov/Dec

Practice Perfect's online newsletter for November & December 2017

PRESS

THE

NOV/DEC 2017

2-344 North Rivermede Road, Concord, Ontario L4K 3N2

www.practiceperfectemr.com

UNDER DEVELOPMENT: ENHANCING PRACTICE PERFECT’S ACCESSIBILITY Updates to the Practice Perfect Web App and Our Direct Outbound Faxing Add-On Will Improve Your Practice Perfect Experience

DIRECT OUTBOUND FAXING

In the second edition of our Under Development series, we’re going to dive into some exciting advances revolving around the Practice Perfect web app, our new faxing integration and updated client statements. The Practice Perfect EMR web app has become a staple for many of our users. Although it doesn’t offer all off the features yet, it provides users with access to the information they need, when they need it. Regardless of their OS, clients are using it to complete their daily scheduling and documentation tasks, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Profiles.” Previously limited to basic demographic information, you can now look up, enter and modify details contained in all tabs within the client’s detail records, including all guardian and incident-related data. Additionally, we’ve added the ability to access physician profiles and other contacts in the web app. ENHANCING THE WEB APP The Practice Perfect web app now includes complete “Client In the next iteration of the Practice Perfect EMR web app, we’re giving users the ability to view any documents under the “Activities by Documents” screen, not just the customized docs. Furthermore, the “Contact Log” is also under development for the web.

Practice Perfect will be able to be faxed. Furthermore, faxes will automatically be logged in the Contact Log for easy record keeping and for you to create follow-up reminders, if required.

To date, faxing has become one of Practice Perfect’s most in-demand add-ons. The fact that users could fax physicians, adjusters and other contacts a variety of documents from directly within the clinic’s EMR software is a huge timesaver for busy clinics. However, we relied on a third- party vendor to provide this service. Recently, they announced they will no longer be in the faxing business. As a result, we’re offering something that we’ve created in-house. Imagine being able to send faxes with the click of a button, no cover page necessary and no more idly standing around the faxing machine while you wait for your documents to be sent. There are three distinct aspects to Practice Perfect’s new faxing feature: 1. You’re able to easily send faxes through your email. Basically, the body of the email will serve as the cover page, and all of the documents you attach to the email comprise the fax. 2. You’ll gain access to the faxing web portal, a way for users to view a complete list of all the faxes they’ve ever sent.

4. For those of you who are interested in going entirely

paperless, we’ve developed a system that lets you receive faxes electronically, which in turn makes your fax machine obsolete! These features will be available to Practice Perfect users in the coming months. We’ve totally revamped the look of our client-based statements! The new statements provide additional information pertaining to each individual charge: how much is the patient’s responsibility, how much is the payer’s responsibility, how payments are allocated and even a column for adjustment details, as well. The new client statement can be generated with the click of a button. Upgrade to version 487 today to begin using this feature. To inquire about any of the above features or to get help installing the latest version of Practice Perfect, don’t hesitate to contact the support department. UPDATED CLIENT STATEMENTS

3. You’ll be able to send faxes

directly through Practice Perfect. This is hands down the most anticipated faxing feature. Any document that you can print in

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TROUBLE BREWING IN THE CLOUD

systems can fall prey to a determined hacker . And with these types of data breaches becoming increasingly common, it’s more important than ever to secure your data. When a clinic chooses to start using a cloud-based EMR system, all of their sensitive client data, financial data and clinical data are tossed into one large database alongside hundreds, if not, thousands, of other clinics. And if, for any reason, that company’s singular database is compromised by either a hacker or a disgruntled employee,

It seems that more and more people are looking at cloud-based practice management solutions. Wooed by their supposed ease of use, accessibility and newfangled features like client self-booking (which we offer), clinics are being convinced to sign contracts with cloud-based EMR systems without fully understanding the implications. If the recent hacker attack on Equifax — a company whose entire business is based on their ability to protect consumer data — has shown us anything, it’s that even the most secure

you’re on the hook, and the consequences are disastrous. Imagine, every scrap of financial and clinical data about your business — gone. What happens if your clinic is selected for an audit and you’re unable to reproduce key financial and clinical documents? The fact is, when you sign up with an cloud-based EMR system, your data belongs to them . If the company were to go out of business, or if you have a falling out, you’d lose access to your data. We’ve seen instances where clinics had lost access to the software and still needed to pay a fee just to access their data. Other times, we’ve seen them receive raw data that only a programmer could decipher. In either case, clinics were stuck between a rock and a hard place when they decided to leave their cloud-based EMR system. So, if your clinic is thinking about making the leap to cloud-based EMR, consider some of the pitfalls discussed in this article. And remember: While Practice Perfect remains locally installed, we provide you with the best of both worlds by offering remote access and client-self booking. At the same time, we give you control and ownership of your own data .

MEET MICHELLE, OUR CLIENT COORDINATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE!

When it comes to working closely with our clients, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone better than Michelle. She’s our resident jack-of-all-trades, handling everything from client relations to social media management. After joining the team four years ago, Michelle has never looked back. “I like being able to get involved in different aspects of the company,” she says. And it’s true, she rarely has the opportunity to get bored. Whether she’s applying her years of experience in graphic design in order to spice up our visual profile or traveling to trade shows to meet our clients in their own element, Michelle is always up to something awesome. Part of Michelle’s multitalented skill set springs from her time in visual design. “I’ve always loved art and magazines,” she says. “It’s fascinating how artists are able to take an idea that pops into

their brain and turn it into something that’s shareable with others.”

When she’s not hard at work in the office, you’ll usually find Michelle engaged in one of many creative pursuits. “Whether I’m drawing, writing or reading, I always seem to be doing something creative,” she says. “And when I’m not, I’m probably deep into a movie marathon or organizing my next trip to see the Backstreet Boys in concert.” It’s difficult to imagine Practice Perfect without Michelle on our team. We look forward to seeing her apply her creative talents in the years to come.

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HOW TO ENHANCE COMPLIANCE WITHOUT LIFTING A FINGER (OR A PHONE)!

TIPS TRICKS: RECOVERING DELETED NOTES AND DOCUMENTS Have you ever been cleaning up a patient’s “Activities by Progress Notes” or “Activities by Documents” screen and accidentally flagged the wrong item for deletion? Little mistakes like these happen all too often. But before the panic starts to set in, try to remember this one easy tip for recovering deleted progress notes and documents. When browsing “Activities by Progress Notes” or “Activities by Documents,” you have the ability to filter items according to a specific provider, or their “Status.” In the case of progress notes, one of these statuses you can select is called “Deleted Progress Note(s).” And like the name suggests, this is where deleted progress notes end up. To recover deleted progress notes, simply flag the deleted documents you wish to recover and click “Restore selected document(s)” on the function bar. After that, the progress notes will return to where they belong. is virtually the same. By changing the “Status” to “Deleted Document(s),” you’ll be presented with a list of the documents you’ve deleted from this patient’s client record. Simply flag the deleted documents you wish to recover and click “Restore selected document(s)” on the function bar. So, if you ever find yourself needing to recover deleted progress notes or documents, don’t panic. Just remember these easy steps! The process for recovering deleted items from the “Activities by Documents” screen

Has this ever happened to you? You fight traffic, find parking and run up the stairs to your doctor’s office. Once there, you realize that your appointment was at 11 a.m., not 1 p.m. Oh well, the front staff is helpful and reschedules the appointment. No harm is done, right? Unfortunately, missed appointments can and do affect patient outcomes. This is particularly the case for physical

patient outcomes as well as the practice’s bottom line. Whether you choose to send calls or text messages doesn’t seem to matter. But reminders must be accurate and consistent to have the biggest impact. That’s where Practice Perfect can help. Practice Perfect has partnered with ReminderCall.com to make patient appointment reminders a breeze. A seamless integration means you don’t even need to click a button to send phone call and text message reminders. You can send reminder calls in English, French or Spanish. You can send reminder text messages accurately and securely. When you consider how much money you’d be paying a staff member to make those phone calls, ReminderCall’s automated appointment reminders are a no-brainer. You also won’t have to worry about your staff tying up the phone line and potentially missing important incoming calls and referrals. As a bonus, the system works even when your staff is away. You can send reminders in the evenings when more patients are likely to receive them. You can send reminders every day, even on Sunday for Monday appointments. Best of all, your reminders are consistent and accurate. This gives your practice a professional, state-of-the-art feel. After your initial setup, the ReminderCall.com system runs in the background. You can set it and forget it. For more information, or to sign up for a one-month trial, please visit ReminderCall.com.

and speech therapy. When a patient shows up twice a week instead of three, it prolongs their therapy. It stretches out the duration

of their recovery. Their activity level remains reduced. Over time, the lack of improvement can chip away at the patient’s confidence in the therapist. They may even drop out of rehab altogether.

To add insult to injury, no- shows dramatically impact your revenue. What patients don’t realize is that your business must pay staff and overhead, even when they do not show up.

When longer appointments get missed, it can be quite costly, especially since other patients could have been booked into those spots. Over time, these losses add up and become a financial drain. So, why are these appointments missed? One reason is that most patients need to come in for treatment several times a week. Sometimes, this can be confusing. For example, Monday at 11, Wednesday at 1, and Thursday at 1 is hard to remember. If these times change weekly, it gets even more complicated. There are other reasons why a patient may fail to show up for a scheduled appointment. Some reasons, such as family emergencies, are unavoidable. But most of the time, the reasons given for a missed appointment include “I forgot” or “I got the time wrong.” Luckily, these are problems that you can easily and automatically address.

Studies show that appointment reminders do indeed reduce no-shows. They improve

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

2-344 North Rivermede Road Concord, Ontario L4K 3N2 support@practiceperfectemr.com

Under Development: Enhancing Practice Perfect’s Accessibility Trouble Brewing in the Cloud Meet Michelle, Our Client Coordinator Extraordinaire How to Enhance Compliance Without Lifting a Finger (or a Phone)! Tips and Tricks: Recovering Deleted Notes and Documents Practice Perfect Parmesan Pesto Potatoes Practice Perfect University

PRACTICE PERFECT UNIVERSITY: Making EMR Easy

PRACTICE PERFECT PARMESAN PESTO POTATOES

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds red potatoes, quartered 2 tablespoons basil pesto Salt and pepper, to taste 3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Access an Array of Robust Tutorials

• • •

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. In large bowl, combine potatoes and pesto. Toss to coat. Transfer potatoes to large baking sheet or shallow roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast 20 minutes and remove from oven. 3. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over potatoes and put pan back in the oven. Roast for additional 10–15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and crispy. Remove from oven and serve warm.

Visit http://practiceperfectemr.com/ learningcenter/ to access our library of tutorial videos! Topics range from how to create “Client Profiles” and how to complete SOAP notes, to how to schedule new appointments and submit claims.

Recipe courtesy of TwoPeasAndTheirPod.com.

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