ARGUS

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I am just wanting some feedback from those who use ARGUS.
I know alot if not all the GP's in my area (Melbourne) are on ARGUS,
I work from a number of locations, and I'm contemplating purchasing the program for easier communication, and keeping in touch with the technological world/ minimising paper usage..etc etc

I still need to contact the customer service rep as Im not sure if it can be run off a lap top, and I know that you need a PKI program to run it (eg frontdesk..)

Thought I'd ask my valuable Pod Arena colleagues first.

Thanks,

Sally Belcher

 

I looked into it about 12-18 months ago, as a couple of GPs wanted to email EPC plans to me rather than fax. I contacted Whitehorse division of GP BUT it was quite expensive to buy (Could have been $500 or so, I can't quite remember) and I decided that it was not worth the $$.

 

Hi

Argus (http://www.argusconnect.com.au/)doesn't interface with Front desk as front desk doesn't support HL7. PKI stands for Public_key_infrastructure Its a security feature that validates users, nothing to do with Practice management software. It does interface with some of the larger packages like med director etc.

Argus can be used as a stand alone program on any PC with internet access but yes allied health practitioners have to pay for it (GP's etc don't). its just like a fairly crude e mail program but with better security and proof of users.

We used it but found GP's were reluctant to as they believe an unsigned referral is not valid and unfortunately HIC have not done much fixing this misconception. We advertised our use of it to over 600 GP practices and only 2 took it up.

An interesting point though was our obstetrician claimed that over 75% of his correspondence was via Argus, so it seem some groups in the health industry have embraced it.

It is not the most reliable software as its based on word macro's which can be problematic.

Cheers
Stuart

 

Stuart,
On the ARGUS website, Frontdesk is a listed program that will interface with ARGUS.
Maybe there has been an upgrade.
Thankyou for your information, its most appreciated

 

Hi

The extent of the interface is that both programs use Word as a medium. Argus interfaces with word and Front desk interfaces with word.

True interface is program to program, for example Argus interfaces with Zedmed using a language called HL7 it allows the programs to talk directly to each other, an item sent via argus be it a letter or a path report will turn up in the patients Zedmed file and alert the user.

An article sent to an FD user turns up in a folder as a word doc on your desk top and then you have to manually attach it into a Front desk patient file.

We found that using a electronic fax converter (thanks CP) that allows a fax to turn up as an e mail attachment that could be then dragged into the patient file in FD worked really well when we were receiving around the 15 to 20 items per day. Another feature using this is that you can retrieve your faxes wherever your PC is.

Hope this gives you a better idea of the compatibility of the ARGUS system. I would want to hear from some of your referrers that they are committed to using it before you spent the money and time on it. The availability of support would be worth looking into as well.

regards
Stuart