Each of us wants success. To most, this means helping the greatest number get and stay healthy. Management seminars teach us to bring in patients. But, without the right tools, we spend our income on many staff members, and time is wasted on paperwork. The tool that keeps the staff small and efficient is the computer. We just need the right computer with the right software. The right software touches most areas of practice, except for hands-on treatment of each patient.
Let’s start with documentation. Are records still in paper files? Are you required to print notes daily so someone can waste time filing them? The right software stores records in the computer. There is little or no filing. Instead of wasting time with files, the staff can concentrate on recalls, reactivation, collections, and practice building. And requests for notes or narratives are answered in minutes in dictation quality English.
Look at office management. The right software does electronic billing for free, and saves a copy of every claim sent out. Again, no paper to file. Missed appointments are tracked, so no patient is lost or forgotten. Statistics are as detailed as you want.
Finally, there is integration. The documentation and management software must interact. Entering information in one means that it automatically is present in the other. Why should new patient data, a diagnosis, or an appointment be entered twice? And when the right software is integrated, it makes sure that documentation and billing match. The front desk can never forget to enter charges, nor enter charges for services not performed. Add in all the other features of the right software, and your practice hums with success.
Dr. Paul Bindell, President of Life Systems, Inc., is a 1975 Palmer graduate, in practice in Rockaway, NJ, since 1976. In 1991, he began Life Systems so that the profession would have reliable computer programs based on chiropractic practice. Dr. Bindell can be reached by email at [email protected].