Practice management software

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After 8 years in private practice I have finally been swamped by paper....my card file system has taken over my spare room and I am now forced to think of going computerized. Any suggestions on a good, easy to use appointment booking/history taking/HICAPS compatible system?

 

Software

Front Desk from SmartSoft

 

Front desk is the only way.We run it over a LAN and a WAN and its rock solid, easy to use and the support is great. Give then a call and they will send you out a fully working demo. E mail me if you want to chat about it.

cheers Stuart

 

thanks - that is one I will follow up. I can see long hours of data entry ahead..............

 

nothing a high speed scanner won't fix!

 

Also have a look at Networklogics NetPodiatry program. Offers alot more on the accounting side of things than Frontdesk and is hicaps compatible. Depends on what you needs are i guess.

 

I am also looking for a new system in the UK.

Having had my last two supposedly 'fail safe' systems crash, with the loss of 8,000 patient records, I have no wish for this to happen on a third occasion.

Can anyone recommend idiot proof software that will save me more grief?

I am looking for a simple programme, which will run a private 3-person surgery, records and appointment diary. Must therefore be suitable for a network.

Any comments or advice would be most welcome.

Anne

 

Anne

Try PPS www.rushcliff.com

Im looking at it myself but have no first hand knowledge of it. Just pointing you in the direction.....

 

Thanks LCBL,

This is one of the systems I'm looking at. I omitted to mention in my previoous post, I am also seeking a company which can offer good back up when needed.

Regards

Anne

 

Funnily enough this was in my Google ads for this page.....

http://www.e-clinic.uk.net/index.html

 

Thanks again LCBL,

Maybe this is fortuitous? Has anyone out there tried E-Clinic software and, if so, how have you found it?

Regards

Anne

 

Unless Net podiatry has been improved, the acounting software in that program is rubbish. Best to use a specialized program like MYOB or Quicken and let the practice management system do the rest.

We have 5 computers running Frontdesk and it is great. They offer a service to move your patient lists (address etc) and accounts over to Frontdesk (Provided you have been using some sort of billing system in the past)

 

management software

Do you use Frontdesk for patient records as well as appointment making, receipts etc. I have looked at the demo and it doesn't seem to have much set up for history and exam. Are you setting up your own formats and inputting data?? How easy is this? Or are you using another program for the patient history and exam data?

 

Hi PF3,

Many thanks for this practical advice. These are precisely the sorts of pitfalls that I hope to avoid. It would seem much more advantageous to have just the one company responsible for all applications. I have in the past had experience of working with two companies and it was too easy for each to blame the other whenever a fault developed.

I would expect all companies to transfer my existing list on to a new system – they have in the past. Am I expecting too much?

I note that you use Front Desk. I have looked on their website and, no offence intended to our American colleagues, it does seem very American. Are you using it in the UK and does it have any ‘foibles’ in this respect?

From what I see on the Front Desk website, there is little mention of medical application in their software. I notice from cpcpod’s input that there is uncertainty about the record keeping facility. Do you use it for this, or merely for office /receptionist purposes? How good do you find training in its’ use and backup when needed?

Many thanks,

Anne

 

Unfortunately recording of clinical records is more art than science. There seems to be 2 main types of clinical notes systems 1) those that hard code examination questions and answer fields and 2) those that allow you to develop your own custom fields/templates. The first option may have an initial wow factor, but can quickly become limiting and frustrating due to doing your notes in a pre-described manner, defined by others. Front Desk uses the second option.



On first looking at the system the clinical notes section seems a little underwhelming, but it is quite powerful if you have a close look. The people at Smartsoft describe it as a canvas to develop your own clinical notes recording system. This is achieved by allowing you to create custom templates, which imbed MS Word, Excel, Paint etc objects in your notes. They also comply with electronic clinical notes recording standards by keeping copies of previous versions of a clinical note if you edit your notes at a later stage. The digital X-ray functionality also works well. I would give it a second look.



As to the comment that is very American, it is developed in Australia and is sold in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. I would think it is more UK centric than American. ( long live America J )


regards
Stuart

 

Yep, they are based in Adelaide.

Can't fault the record keeping system. We have added in the template for the Foot posture index as well. You can also use a draw tool too mark specific areas on a picture of a foot.

So we pretty much have a paperless office. Next step is to get a scanner to scan in any referral letters etc.

Also really good for marketing. Can create patient groups and then do mail merges targeting specific group in your client list. We use this alot.


Cheers


Tom

 

A good way to get referrals etc in electronically is to subscribe to an online faxing service. Then any faxes received come in as a PDF on your e mail client allowing you to save them straight into front desk as an attachment.

It then forms part of the patient’s file allowing secure storage and off site back ups.

Cheers
Stuart

P.s any chance of a look at your template Tom?

 

Practice Advantage

Is anyone using Practice Advantage software - it used to be podiatry Practice Management Program (PPMP). I am interested if anyone is using it for their clinical notes or has any experience with it.
Can those that are using Front Desk advise what they are doing for backup of their system?
Thanks,
cpcpod

 

Hi

Backups are simple and reliable you can do them manually each night to removable media, or set automated backups which can keep incremental copies stored on the same pc or a networked pc for later off site transport.

We have a fairly large network running a server which allows automated backups over our WAN link twice a day to our home pc which ensures total protection from major pc failures. When we first started though, I just backed up to a zip drive (showing my age) each night and took it home.

The key point here is to ensure OFFSITE backups, backups to the same pc or stored in the same building are a recipe for disaster. Our backups are very important and have saved us more then once so treat then with respect so when that boot failure message pops up you won’t slash your wrists!

E mail me for more info if you like

Cheers Stuart

 

Stuart --- what is the MB size of the file that you back up for Front Desk for your clinics? - one option i am looking at it the uploading of the back up file to one of the online back up facilities (it beats having to remember to take the back up off site) and can be set to run automatically at the end of the day --- but may get costly if the file is huge.

 

Hi Craig

How’s Mimi?

150 MB takes about 20 Mins over our WAN but remember that’s with our size data base. Smart soft have a new utility that date stamps backups so you can do incremental file copies without overwrites. Its still being tested at the moment but it not far any. In the mean time the FD backup utility in the FD disk works fine, we just fire it with windows task scheduler.

Ours is sent home to a hard firewalled NAS drive, set and forget, the home link is very cool too its on a VPN so its just like sitting at my desk.

Chat soon

Stuart

 

Sorry, for the lack of communication. Have been away for a few days.

Many thanks for the input from all re Front Desk and my apologies for assuming that it is American rather than Australian.

Whilst it may be widely used in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore and may be more UK centric than American, I do wonder about back up from here when things go awry?

Your input is much appreciated

Anne

 

Sorry Anne are you in Australia?

regards
Stuart

 

Hi Stuart.

I'm not in Australia. I'm in the UK, which is why I'm concerned about back up.

Regards

Anne

 

Anne

Sorry FD 2005 isn't sold in the UK :-(

regards
stuart

 

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for that. This is why I haven't heard of it over here.

Regards

Anne

 

Practice software

A practical question!
Do you update your records on computer after your tretament when you have degloved. how do you move from screen to screen if you want to check other area of the file through a treatment or do you work with assistants that do the recording of data for you!!
Are you able to incorporate drop down boxes somehow to repeat the provious treatment if there has been no change and avoid having to re type the same entry??
Any other hints on how you have made this system work well.

 

The APodC infection control guidelines state that computers cant be used during treatment unless there is a pre-formed plastic film used over the keyboard and that it is cleaned as part of the routine between patient cleaning.

I managed to find a keyboard cover for my specific model laptop on ebay and it works quite well (although it took a couple of weeks to arrive from China). Also there is an american company that claims to have a cover for most keyboards at www.protectcovers.com. I havent been able to find any Australian providers and would be interested if others have.

Mark

 

I would imagine you would use the same method that you use to view / write in your paper files now?
Cheers
Stuart