Medical Data Solutions

Medinotes Newsletter - December 2005

My Mom used to tell me that as you get older the years seem to pass by much faster, she’d say, “day by day things may not seem to change, but before you know it, everything is different.” I think there should be website devoted to Mamma Jo’s pearls of wisdom because as much as I may hate to admit it, the woman makes some good points! Anyway, the point is that before you know it, it’s once again the end of year, and in the interest of “not looking back” as Mamma Jo advises you start looking to what’s ahead for 2006.

Given the amount of attention electronic medical records received in 2005 by various medical associations and the federal government, it’s pretty fair to assume that the EMR movement will continue to escalate in 2006. In the interest of continuing to spread the word about the benefits of utilizing an EMR, MediNotes would like to enlist the help of our clients.

Throughout the year, MediNotes is asked to have our clients participate in various speaking opportunities at trade shows and association meetings. We also receive multiple requests from trade publications asking for quotes from our most satisfied users.

If you are interested in participating and you can fit a few speaking engagements into your 2006 agenda, please contact me directly. After all, Mamma Jo says, “Knowledge is power.” Well, maybe that isn’t a Mamma Jo original, but she sure repeated it a lot!

Calling All Wireless Users
One of the most frequent requests we receive is for comments from physicians who are finding success in a wireless environment. If you are currently using a Tablet PC in your office, we’d like to hear your story. Has the Tablet PC improved your charting speed? Have you been able to save money by reducing the number of terminals in your office? Please email me your entries before January 1, 2006. Your story may be used in MediNotes marketing materials or directed to editors hungry to publish interesting tidbits about how electronic medical records are actually used.

Have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!

Lana Overturf
Marketing Communications Specialist

It amazes me that this is the last newsletter for 2005! Looking back at the comments I made at the end of 2004, it seems that, at least in most cases, that I could write very similar statements. What I found particularly interesting is how accurately I predicted some of the events that actually transpired this past year.

The following is an excerpt from the 2004 Newsletter…

”There has been a steady ramping up process in the government and initiatives are being put into place to accelerate the use of electronic health records. 2005 will likely be a year of incredible progress both in the adoption of EMR/EHR, but also in vendors partnering to ensure that they are aligned with companies that can secure a large market share. Medicare and other agencies are already pondering incentives to dangle in front of physicians to ensure that they are taking advantage of the technology that is now available to them. The efforts being made by physician organizations, HIMSS and the EHR Vendor Association will help further define what is going to ultimately going to be the infrastructure needed to insure proper implementation of automation within the industry.”

Much of my time throughout this past year has been spent working to understand the direction the federal government is taking in regards to several EMR initiatives and where some of their pilot projects (Recently the government awarded 3 pilot projects for RHIO’s to test the concepts of interoperability on a regional basis) are leading. I also continue to be heavily involved with the Electronic Health Record Vendors’ Association (EHRVA) and their efforts to achieve one standard interface for all EHR/EMR vendors. I am continually monitoring all of these initiatives and how the government certification of EHRs might impact our clients.

Working with the ever-evolving aspects within MediNotes has also been a focus in 2005. We once again have experienced tremendous growth this year and this fact was recognized as MediNotes was named on Inc Magazines Inc 500 list, which details the fastest growing, privately held companies in the nation. However, growth alone is not what we are striving for, client satisfaction is our ultimate goal. We will continue to put the needs of our clients first by listening to their needs and doing what we can to make our product and our services better. Having said that, everyone within the company was been focused on bringing version 5.0 of our product to our clients. We are all very excited about this release and feel that it will take our product to new levels of usability and offer features that are not currently seen in the market today! Please stay tuned for more information about the release of version 5.0!!

I would like to thank all of you for believing in and supporting MediNotes. Without your support over the years we would not be one of the largest EHR companies in the country today. We look forward to helping you achieve success, and as always, appreciate your feedback!

Above all, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

Don Schoen, CEO and President
MediNotes Corporation

2006 Maintenance – In the Mail
By now many of you have probably received your annual maintenance invoices, and if you have not, rest assured, the final batch of invoices are hitting the mail this week!

As usual, the 2006 invoices are due on January 31, 2006 and if you pay on or before that date you will be entered in a drawing to receive two roundtrip airfare tickets to anywhere in the continental United States. As a reminder, we follow a FIFO policy for upgrades. We track maintenance payments by date and ship the upgrade based on the order in which maintenance invoices are received - First In, First Out.

For both of the reasons above as well as the tax ramifications involved, please submit your maintenance fee as early as possible.

Clarification of Maintenance Invoices
Our Client Care Department has received an influx of calls lately due to some confusion regarding the 2006 maintenance invoices and the new fees that are associated with licenses for ancillary staff.

The maintenance fee for Nurse with Signing, Nurse, Clinical/Staff and Staff licenses are all exactly the same - $30. Because the Charting Plus licenses have evolved over the years, this has created some confusion in billing the new maintenance fees. Maintenance fees for Nurse with Note Signing, Nurse, or Clinical Staff license, the maintenance fee is $30.00 and is found under the heading “2006 Charting Plus Maintenance – Nurse” on your maintenance invoice. The old staff license applies to very few users, but can be found under the heading “2006 Charting Plus Maintenance – Staff”.

Before you call, please add the total number of licenses for Nurse with Signing, Nurse, and Clinical/Staff and compare with the number listed before “2006 Charting Plus Maintenance – Nurse”. The total for the three licenses should be exactly the same as the quantity number for that line. If you believe that there is an error, please email our Client Care department indicating what you believe the correct amount should be and they will review our records.

There have also been questions regarding unassigned licenses. If, when you purchased the software, you left a license unassigned, a maintenance fee will be assessed for 2006. This is the best time to go ahead and assign that license to a specific user so you can put it to good use in your office.

If you have additional questions regarding your 2006 Maintenance invoice, please don’t hesitate to contact your value added reseller.

New Features in Version 5.0
With Version 5.0 coming out very soon, we felt it only fair to give you a sneak peek at two of the brand new features the version will include.

Workflow
One of the brand new features that you will see with Version 5.0 is Workflow. This is an extremely useful tool that will help both physicians and their staff stay on top of tasks that need to be accomplished with particular patients and exams, as well as provide a tool to use for tracking patients as they move through the office.

The diagram above is meant to give you an idea of how a typical patient encounter will work when utilizing the workflow feature. Workflow consists of a series of tasks that can be customized and assigned to a specific user or group of users.

Using workflow correctly and effectively will have a tremendous impact on how tasks are completed in your office, as well as your ability to track the patient’s progress through the office.

ePrescribing
One of the most eagerly anticipated aspects of Version 5.0 is the ability to do ePrescribing. Sold as an enhancement feature with an annual service fee, ePrescribing works hand-in-hand with the medication and prescription portion of your program.

Currently, 48 of the 50 states either allow ePrescribing or are working to approve its widespread use. Adding ePrescribing to MediNotes will allow physicians to create prescriptions within the program as you normally would, but also allows for some additional features, such as drug interaction notification. By pre-selecting the patient’s pharmacy, prescriptions can be sent electronically to a local pharmacy, and if the pharmacy is not set up with ePrescribing, a fax will be sent as long as their fax number is included.

Online Updater
Because or our extreme development cycle we commonly release a new update every 4-8 weeks. This frequency has made it frustrating for some practices to manually install the system on every terminal in the office. If this sounds like you, the Online Update included in Version 5.0 is the magic pill for the updating woes in your practice.

One person on the staff (typically the practice manager or system administrator) will initiate the download from the Tool menu. The administrator will then run the update which will update the database and the client application on his/her terminal. From that point on, as each user logs in, the system automatically upgrades their client before letting them access the program.

Mark Your Calendar - 2006 MediNotes User Group Conference
Start making your summer vacation plans early, and make sure you fit in a trip to Chicago for the 2 nd Annual MediNotes User Group Conference. The dates have been set for June 9-11, 2006 at the Westin O’Hare Hotel. As requested by several of last year’s attendees, the hotel is located near the O’Hare airport and a block of rooms has been reserved for the conference, as attendees will be making their own reservations for the 2006 conference.

Last year we estimated attendance at 150 attendees, however we had an overwhelming response and expanded the conference to include over 200 Charting Plus users at the 2005 Conference. Despite this we had to turn away over 50 people who wanted to attend because of space limitations. The 2006 conference has been moved to a larger facility to ensure that everyone who wants to attend will have the opportunity to do so. However, because of the success we saw at last years conference, we once again expect to have a high level of attendance, so get your registration in early to guarantee your spot!!

We are currently working on the agenda and look forward to sharing that information with you soon. With the release of Version 5.0, the conference will focus on the training of the programs new features, such as Workflow and ePrescribing. New to the 2006 conference will be session that are geared toward both clinical and non-clinical users. By doing so, we are hoping to bring a greater overall understanding of how Charting Plus can be utilized by everyone to improve office efficiency.

Over 95% of last year’s attendees requested additional time to meet with their peers and share ideas, another new aspect of the conference will be specialty sessions that allow for more peer to peer interaction. To get things started, I’d like to encourage you all to visit our User Forum and start discussions within the specialty fields on the Forum. This will give us an indication of the topics you feel are important to discuss, as well as get the ball rolling for future discussions at the User Group Conference in June!

We will pass along more information as it becomes available. Registration forms for the conference and reservation information for the Weston O’Hare will be emailed to you in the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing you at the 2006 MediNotes User Group Conference!

ICD-9 Update Available
The 2006 ICD-9 codes are now available on our support website. They are effective for use as of October 1, 2005. To update, simply download them to your server and install them using the DB Updater located in the Program Files/MediNotes directory.

Go to the Download Page

New York Prescription Laws
The state of New York recently announced that they will be locking down their prescription paper. Beginning in April 2006, physicians will be required to purchase their prescription paper through the state of New York.

To purchase the 8.5 X 11 prescription paper needed for Charting Plus, please visit www.medical-forms.com, and select Prescriptions from the menu on the left side of the screen. This website currently prints prescription forms for the state of New Jersey and they will be printing the prescription paper for the state of New York as well. These forms are perforated and they work well with Charting Plus. Additionally, if you are utilizing a prescription printer, paper specific to the state of New York’s regulations will also be available.

With the release of version 5.0, MediNotes users will be able to utilize ePrescribing ensure even greater security for their prescriptions in New York and across the country.

Charting Plus in the News
With the increased interest in Electronic Health Records in recent months, MediNotes Charting Plus has been featured in several publications, ranging from MSNBC to Western Pennsylvania Hospital News. In just the last three months, Charting Plus has appeared in three online articles, as well as three printed publications.

This, of course, can only mean one thing, that people in the medical community are truly beginning to embrace the need for and benefits of electronic health records. Please take a moment to review the attached articles and see how other physicians are implementing and utilizing EHRs.

	Des Moines Register October 19, 2005 Four Iowa firms on Inc. 500 list
	Physicians Practice September 2005 Small-Town Doctor, Big-Time Technology
	MSNBC September 2005 IT, Pasco lure chain of clinics

When is the Right Time? NOW!

You’ve been thinking about it all year. You’ve done your research, you’ve seen the demonstrations and you’ve spent time talking to sales representatives at recent trade shows. The end of the year is a perfect time to purchase software, due in part to Section 179 of the tax code.

Section 179 allows business owners the option to depreciate 100% of the cost of new equipment in the year it is placed in service, (versus depreciating the cost of the equipment over its life) and the limit was just raised to $105,000 for 2005!! However, the best part of this tax code is that when you factor in the cash flow impact of a 4th quarter purchase, the benefits continue to grow!!

Basically, the bottom line is that by purchasing an EMR in the final month of the year, you will be able to improve your cash flow, reduce your tax liability, get the equipment you need and put money pack in your checkbook! Can you think of a better reason to go ahead and jump off the fence and onto the road of an EMR than that?? Me either!

For our current clients, paying your 2006 prior to the end of the year will also give you an opportunity to claim the fee on your 2005 taxes, not to mention that it will put you on the list to receive the latest versions of the program when it becomes available in January.

Happy Holidays From the Support Department

As always, it has been a busy month for the Support Department! Due to an incredible sales boom, we have seen an immense influx of calls that made us realize that we were understaffed, so we quickly hired four new staff members and are working our way to being back on track!

The week of November 14-18 we received 570 calls (which is the highest number on record) and I am pleased to say that the average wait time to talk to a Support Specialist was still less than two minutes!!

Currently 66% of our incoming calls are being answered immediately. This is a good start, but we know that we can do better, and as a department we have set some ambitious goals to continue to serve our clients better. To help us reach these goals we are looking at alternative ways to help our clients, as well as expanding our staff by 40%! Be on the look out in the coming months for announcements on how we plan to serve you better!

There are alternative methods you can use to contact a Technical Support Specialist. For simple problem fixes, I invite you to visit our website and use our online chat or email services. You can also view the Frequent Asked Questions on our website, you’ll often find the solution you are looking for there.

Please also keep in mind that due to holiday vacation, we will have a reduction in our staff on Friday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 27th.

Have a great month!

Jamie Osborn
Technical Support Manager

Dr. Faith Meyers
Opening a Practice Without Paper Charts

Like most pediatricians, I love children. Unlike most, I don't like paper medical charts. When I opened Pediatric Wellness of Lisle, Illinois three years ago, I never created a paper chart. Ever. I took the advice of my husband and used an electronic medical records system from the very beginning. And I must admit, this has been one of the best business and clinical decisions I have made.

During my search for the right EMR for my practice, most systems I found didn't offer what I needed, given that I deal with children. I needed a system to integrate with my existing practice management system, MediSoft. Not many vendors did. I finally found a product called Charting Plus, an EMR from MediNotes Corporation. Charting Plus was very competitively priced, an area of concern for me since I was just opening up my practice. It was flexible enough to fit my needs as a pediatrician. And it would integrate with MediSoft. I knew that I had found my solution.

Click here to read the rest of Dr. Meyers' story

Charting Plus Remote Access - MediNotes Sync vs. MediNotes Remote
One of the powerful options that MediNotes has made available to our clients is remote accessibility. Since 1997 we have supported functionality that allows our users to create a duplicate copy of their database for remote use and “sync” it back to the main server. This year MediNotes has released another mechanism for remote access. MediNotes Remote is similar to Citrix as it uses the system’s server to process the application and send visual information to the client machine. This method requires very little processing speed for the client machine and for very efficient wireless or dial-up connections.

Although both MediNotes Sync and MediNotes Remote are tools to enable remote access to Charting Plus, they both function in completely different ways. MediNotes Sync is intended for only a few connections, does not require a connection for use, requires no additional hardware, and is licensed per spawned database. MediNotes Remote is designed for many connections, requires an active connection to the server, is available on many client operating systems, may require additional servers depending on needs, is licensed by concurrent user and offers a single point of technical administration.

Our Recommendations:
MediNotes Sync is more appropriate for small offices (1-3 providers) and for larger practices that need remote connectivity without a direct connection to the server.

MediNotes Remote is more appropriate for larger clinics and clinics that are interested in running Charting Plus on operating systems that are not natively supported by Charting Plus.

If you’re familiar with Citrix, you already know how powerful it can be when properly implemented into your IT structure. You probably also know about the price.

MediNotes is now offering a very reasonably priced alternative – MediNotes Remote. This program gives you all of the power of Citrix at a fraction of the cost. One of the main reasons to consider MediNotes Remote is to enable Wide-Area-Networking between satellite offices, but it has many merits that even a small office might consider.

Reasons to consider MediNotes Remote:

• Satellite offices - Clinicians can run in real-time from the main database instead of synchronizing periodically.
• Single-point Administration - Since none of the client machines actually run the software, the server is the only device that must be upgraded to new versions.
• Wireless Performance - All of the processing is done on the server. Wireless bandwidth is drastically reduced.
• Lower Hardware Requirements - Again, since all of the processing is done on the server, less expensive older machines can be re-purposed as MediNotes Remote stations.
• Cross Platform Access - Suddenly your Windows applications are now available on Macintosh and Linux terminals.

For more information, please contact your Value Added Reseller.

General Surgery Content Now Available
We are pleased to announce that General Surgery content is being released. Over 200 templates will be available for your use! Follow-up and consultation/initial visit templates covering the abdomen, anus, breast, hernia, scopes and skin/wound care, and all the new objects that go along with them, are included. In addition, there are Misc. templates for use when patients phone into the office for various postoperative complaints. Operative report templates have been created for such procedures as breast, cholecystectomy, scopes, hemorrhoids, hernias, and more. These are great to complete at your worksite, digitally sign, and send to the facility where the procedures were performed. We very much appreciate the valuable assistance our clients have provided in the development of this new content!

Frann Otte, Cynthia Cain and Lisa Mueggenberg
enhance@medinotes.com
Medical Content Specialists