| In a previous article I outlined some of the | | | | at, and placed in the appropriate patient files. |
| benefits achieved from creating an office | | | | 5) Confidential documents. Our bookkeeper and |
| network. Even as we prepared for the EMR | | | | business office personnel can send certain critical |
| system implementation, we began to see | | | | documents electronically with password-protection. |
| unexpected benefits. At the time, the idea that a | | | | 6) 'All hands' alerts. Previously, someone from |
| computer network would increase overall | | | | medical records would have to call the satellite |
| productivity was met with great skepticism from | | | | offices to try to locate a missing chart or |
| staff members, including some of the doctors | | | | document. Now this alert is sent to everyone in |
| who were financially vested in the project. Now, a | | | | the practice via the network. This has significantly |
| year later, I've made the decision to contact the | | | | cut down on hours spent on this process. |
| staff in person to see how they'd used the | | | | 7) Emailing documents instead of printing. Any |
| network successfully in their own jobs. | | | | forms that have to be distributed throughout the |
| 1) Work order system. Our staff utilizes an on-line | | | | practice are 'printed' as PDF files and emailed, |
| work order system for department-specific | | | | instead of printing memos and physically handing |
| issues. Examples include printer cartridges needed | | | | them out. This also allows the sender to keep a |
| at a particular location, a leaky faucet in a satellite | | | | record of what has been sent. I have also used |
| office, or a new employee who needs orientation, | | | | this to scan and email myself important |
| security codes, and timecard access. These | | | | documents which can then be shredded, so I |
| 'orders' would then be distributed to the | | | | don't have to drag paperwork home from the |
| appropriate department (physical plant, clinical | | | | office. |
| supervisor, IT staff, HR staff, etc.). In the past, | | | | 8) Triage system. It has now been over two |
| this required phone calls or paper messages which | | | | years since we started using our web-based |
| would invariably get lost. | | | | triage program, and it has become an |
| 2) Security issues. Prior to setting up our | | | | indispensable tool for documenting and tracking all |
| practice-wide network, we had a rag-tag collection | | | | patient-related phone calls. All phone calls from |
| of PCs which were unsupervised. Any employee | | | | patients are logged into the system by the |
| could send email or access the Internet with | | | | operators. Two or three medical assistants are |
| impunity. Now that the amount of bandwidth | | | | assigned to triage depending on the volume of |
| needed for our EPM and EMR is critical, | | | | calls. Because of the wide-area network, any |
| unauthorized use of this resource is a problem. | | | | other medical assistant in any office location can |
| Our administrator can access email or Internet | | | | help out by logging in to the triage system and |
| usage and determine its appropriateness. It is | | | | assessing the patient's problem. Very rarely is a |
| important to note that employees should be | | | | phone call not returned, a prescription not refilled, |
| instructed that use of practice computers is not | | | | or a problem not resolved the same day. |
| considered personal and is subject to scrutiny. | | | | 9) Networked devices. Expensive peripheral |
| 3) Computerized HVAC control. The system | | | | devices such as color laser printers can be shared |
| tracks temperature and humidity throughout the | | | | among employees, making them more |
| building and plots these on a graph. Our nurse | | | | cost-effective. |
| administrator can optimize the system depending | | | | 10) Public folders. We talked a bit about this earlier. |
| on the use of the facility, and can even remotely | | | | Our executive secretary posts the doctors' social |
| monitor the system from home if there is a | | | | schedule, meeting schedule, and on-call schedules. |
| problem at night or over the weekend. We have | | | | The clinical supervisor posts announcements, |
| been able to run the building much more | | | | memos, and meeting minutes. The doctors have |
| efficiently, recouping half of the system cost | | | | also posted any articles of interest to others for |
| already from energy savings. | | | | viewing. Our marketing director posts ad tracking |
| 4) Batch scanning of paper documents. | | | | data, as well as advertising proofs, for review. |
| Temporary workers help handle the load of | | | | Our EMR committee has a shared task-list folder |
| documents which need to be scanned into the | | | | for sharing progress on template changes or |
| EMR system. The batches are then processed by | | | | other projects. |
| clinical techs, from whatever location they may be | | | | |