OSSNews This quarterly electronic publication will keep you up-to-date on events at OfficeMate. OSSNews is our primary forum for communicating with our clients. There have been many changes at OfficeMate over the past few months and many more exciting new changes to come. Stay tuned for future editions of OSSNews!
I want to take this opportunity to wish you, your staff, and your family a Happy New Year!
As 2005 begins, I simply find it hard to believe that another year has passed. 2004 was an excellent year at OfficeMate Software Solutions for every facet of our business. Most importantly to you, our client service levels have improved dramatically since we implemented real-time service. In fact, I think that the OfficeMate service levels are the best in the eyecare software industry!
The OfficeMate Client Services team, under the leadership of Dr. Ian Lane (VP of Professional Services) and Violet Baker (Director of Client Services), continues to work diligently to deliver high service levels. This team is committed to continuing its service efforts in 2005. New staff members and new technology acquisitions will assist them in these efforts. If you have any comments or suggestions for enhancing our Client Services department, please send us an e-mail message at support@officemate.net.
2004 also saw the introduction of ExamWRITER 5.0, OfficeMate’s new electronic medical record (EMR) software program, designed exclusively for eyecare professionals. The professional and industry response far exceeded our expectations! As I write this editorial, the OfficeMate development team is busy working on ExamWRITER 6.0, which is scheduled for release late in the first quarter of 2005. Version 6.0 will continue to make ExamWRITER the eyecare industry’s premier EMR software program. Plan on visiting OfficeMate at Vision Expo East in March in New York for a personal preview!
You may be wondering what other changes are in store for OfficeMate in 2005. Well, read on!
As I have noted above, we plan to acquire new phone and software technology to continue enhancing our client service levels. Additional Internet-based training and education tools at OSSU will provide more ways for you and your staff to learn and successfully implement the new features in OfficeMate and ExamWRITER. Significant new enhancements to OfficeMate are scheduled for release late in the first quarter of 2005. And new business services from the OfficeMate Mall that will make your practice more profitable and efficient are also on the way!
Do you have colleagues who are dissatisfied with their practice management software? If so, OfficeMate has an excellent conversion department and team of software professionals that can convert their patient data for use in OfficeMate. Refer your friends to OfficeMate!
As we begin 2005, we want OfficeMate to be a more integral tool in the successful management of your eyecare business. Tell us how we can help you—give us your input!
The different ways to contact us are listed below:
The 2004 American Academy of Optometry (AAO) conference was held in Tampa, Florida. This conference signals the end of a very busy year for the OfficeMate team who attended conferences all over the country. In our opinion, attending conferences is valuable because it gives us the opportunity to meet you, our clients, face-to-face and get to know you personally. Conferences also give us the opportunity to listen and speak with current and potential OfficeMate Suite users. These conversations provide invaluable input for the ongoing development and enhancement of OfficeMate and ExamWRITER.
This year our overall impressions at the AAO conference were overwhelmingly favorable from both the perspectives of current OfficeMate clients and doctors considering bringing OfficeMate and/or ExamWRITER into their practice. Feedback has been extremely positive in areas such as customer support, training, and implementation. The continued “industry buzz” regarding OfficeMate and ExamWRITER confirms that we are providing powerful and flexible software solutions to eyecare professionals.
To add to the excitement at the AAO conference, we offered visitors to our booth the opportunity to enter a drawing for a Motion Computing Tablet PC installed with ExamWRITER and OfficeMate—an $8,000 value! Visitors completed a registration card and were automatically entered to win the grand prize. Needless to say, the amount of entries was impressive!
Upon arriving back at our corporate office in Irvine, California, the entries were placed in a steel box where representatives of Brinks Security oversaw a bonded and blindfolded security guard draw the winning card (actually, I closed my eyes and reached into a cardboard box that contained the entries). The results—Karen Wolf, O.D., and Gil Houston, O.D., practicing in Ponte Vedre Beach, Florida, were selected as the winners! When we contacted their office, Dr. Houston responded, “Wow! This will be awesome for our practice. I’m excited to take our office to the next level!”
Dr. Gil Houston and his wife, Dr. Karen Wolf, (center) and their staff in Ponte Verde Beach, FL.
Trade shows and conferences play a critical part in our business and we will continue to participate in these events throughout the country in 2005. We hope that in the near future we’ll be able to see you in person. From all of us at OfficeMate Software Solutions, we wish you all the best for a healthy and prosperous new year!
Doctors, trainers, and even a witch gathered in Salem, Ohio, on October 29, 2004, to participate in the launch of live, interactive ExamWRITER training in an office setting. Dr. Lorie Lippiatt led the successful training seminar in her office and instructed the participating doctors on how to use ExamWRITER in their “offices of the future” to document patient exams.
Dr. Price, Dr. Slosar, Dr. Lippiatt’s mom dressed in her scariest Halloween costume, and Dr. Eaton.
Using detailed training manuals and examples and hands-on demonstrations, Dr. Lippiatt showed the participating doctors how to setup and customize ExamWRITER, create electronic medical records (EMRs), modify patient demographic information, print EMRs, select diagnosis and procedure codes, create exam notes and drawings, finalize EMRs, and interface with digital refraction equipment. The highlight of the training seminar was a “live” patient examination using ExamWRITER and digital refraction equipment. The participating doctors learned how to operate ExamWRITER in conjunction with digital refraction equipment and gain an understanding about how digital refraction equipment facilitates the examination process.
Dr. Slosar, Dr. Eaton, and Dr. Price learning how to use ExamWRITER at Dr. Lippiatt’s office in Ohio.
Each participating doctor left the training seminar with a working knowledge of ExamWRITER, including the know-how to customize ExamWRITER to their practice needs, develop templates to streamline their examination processes, and code and finalize exams. Because of the intimate office setting, the participating doctors were able to closely interact with Dr. Lippiatt and accelerate their learning process.
Dr. Lippiatt strongly recommends live ExamWRITER training in an office setting. “It is beneficial to participate in this type of training and truly understand how the implementation of ExamWRITER in optometric offices can improve workflow, accuracy, and consistency.”
For information on future ExamWRITER training seminars in office settings, contact OfficeMate Sales at sales@officemate.net or 1.800.269.3666.
Before you call the OfficeMate Client Services team, gather the information below about your issue or question. Providing this information to the Client Services team allows the team member helping you to make an accurate recommendation regarding your data, program, and office systems and components.
What program or window was active at the time of the error? (For example the Fee Slip, Ledger, or HCFA program/window.)
What is the error number and explanation displayed at the top of the window?
What is displayed after the “What Happened” message?
Can you duplicate the error?
If you can duplicate the error, list the detailed steps necessary to duplicate the error.
Provide the following information to the Client Services team member, if available, by clicking “System Info.” on the Error Has Occurred in OfficeMate window.
—User ID
—Form Name
—Procedure
—VB Message
—Error Number
—Windows Version
—Memory
—Free Resources
—Date/Time
Having this information before you call Client Services will save you time and help our team to make an accurate recommendation regarding your issue or question. Also, be sure and familiarize yourself with the OfficeMate and ExamWRITER system specifications, which are located online at http://www.officemate.net/PDFs/System%20Specifications.pdf.
Are you a new client who has not yet taken OfficeMate or ExamWRITER OSSU training? If you answered yes to that question, don’t be surprised to receive a call from Dr. Ian Lane, VP of Professional Services, reminding you how important it is to complete OfficeMate or ExamWRITER training. We have started using 4PatientCare, an automated reminder program, to call and let you know that your office has not enrolled and completed any OSSU training. If you are interested in learning how 4PatientCare can be used in your office to call your patients, contact Marici Miller at
800.269.3666, ext. 5004, or marci@officemate.net.
There are several new iTrain recordings available on the OfficeMate Web site (http://www.officemate.net/OMiTrains.asp#). Two of the new recordings show you how to use ReportWRITER. Additionally, we have added the OSSU 320 and the OSSU 311 classes as iTrains. Check them out!
We want to hear from you! What features of our software are you using? What features do you like and use daily? How can we improve OfficeMate and ExamWRITER? Would you like to offer any other suggestions to enhance our business and services?
Your input is valuable in guiding the direction of OfficeMate and ExamWRITER in the future! Thanks for your input!
In the Fall 2004 edition of OSSNews, I discussed the ‘All OK/Except’ concept in ExamWRITER as it applies to the Review of Systems (ROS) portion of an eye exam.
In this edition, I will explain how to use the Auto dilation button in ExamWRITER and how to document a posterior segment exam using the ‘All OK/Except’ concept.
Using the Auto Dilation Button
To use the Auto dilation button in ExamWRITER:
Click the Examination tab.
Click Auto to automatically record the dilation orders that you defined in your default ExamWRITER preferences.
Documenting a Posterior Segment Exam
To document a posterior segment exam in ExamWRITER:
Click the Examination tab.
Click the Examination/Eye Health Tests bar.
Select one of the Posterior Segment ALL OK check boxes.
Select the Vitreous check box under the EXCEPT heading.
Keep in mind that you should select the Except check boxes only if there are exceptions to the patient’s healthy examination; otherwise, only select the ALL OK check boxes.
Click Process.
Select or de-select the appropriate check boxes.
The ExamWRITER screen will look similar to the following screenshot:
Using just a few mouse clicks results in a well-documented, text-rich examination—you never have to touch the keyboard!
This elegantly simple documentation paradigm is used throughout ExamWRITER 5.0 in the Patient History (HPI); Review of Systems (ROS); and external, anterior, and posterior segment portions of the physical eye examination.
In the next edition of OSSNews I will explain how to document an anterior segment exam using the ‘ALL OK/EXCEPT’ method. Stay tuned!
Dr. Ian Lane, Vice President of Professional Services ian@officemate.net
Today’s computer and Internet technology offers so many opportunities to generate more practice revenues, make you and your staff more efficient, and focus your attention more on patient care and less on day-to-day role activities. The OfficeMate Mall division is exploring new, creative, and cost-effective ways for you to enhance your business using OfficeMate as the platform for integrating business solutions.
Make Your New Year's Resolutions to Protect Your Vital Information OfficeMate Software Solutions knows that protecting your OfficeMate and ExamWRITER information is vital for the ongoing success of your optometric practice. The best way to assure the consistent availability of your data is to backup your data nightly to a secured, offsite location. DataHEALTH is an ideal solution for backing up your data and complying with the HIPAA security requirement for a data backup plan.
DataHEALTH’s online data backup service offers an automatic, secure, and cost effective solution for data backup, storage, and recovery. For the minimal cost of a one-time licensing fee and a low monthly fee, your data is encrypted with 448-bit encryption to keep all of your information completely private while it is transmitted to a fortified offsite data center. In the event of a hard drive crash or other form of data loss, you can automatically restore your backed-up data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For more information on how DataHEALTH can secure your vital data, contact Marci Miller at 800.269.3666, ext. 5004, or marci@officemate.net.
Increase Office Revenue and Patient Loyalty with 4PatientCare for OfficeMate
4PatientCare for OfficeMate, the most advanced patient communication solution available today, provides your patients 24/7/365 appointment scheduling access via the Internet. Your patients can automatically schedule appointments following your scheduling rules with absolutely no staff time or effort!
4PatientCare Web scheduling is synchronized automatically with your OfficeMate Appointment Scheduler. You can also specify what insurance plans you accept and how many days you need to pre-authorize each plan.
4PatientCare will save you money, fill your schedule, and help provide the best experience for your patients. Try 4PatientCare risk free with special pricing until
February 15, 2005. Experience a 4PatientCare demonstration at http://www.4patientcare.com/demos.asp or contact Marci Miller at marci@officemate.net or 800.269.3666, ext. 5004, for more information.
Those of you who have been around computers for a few years probably remember an Internet browser called Netscape Navigator. This browser was squashed (along with the company) by a new browser called Internet Explorer (IE) that came built into the Microsoft Windows operating system. Since it was introduced, Internet Explorer has since climbed to extraordinary usage numbers—over 98 percent, according to most reports. But with this fame came a price—Microsoft was not able to update the product as the usage increased. Because Internet Explorer has not been updated in several years and has a poor security structure, it has been the target of choice for hackers and has made headlines during the past 18 months.
These recent headlines have set the stage for the return of Netscape as a new company called Mozilla with a new, free, and open-source browser called Firefox. Firefox could not have been introduced at a better time! This new browser was built with strict security considerations—it has new features that IE lacks such as pop-up blocking, a very useful tabbed interface, built-in Google search engine, and the current “cool factor.” After using Firefox for several months, I’m now hooked! The piece-of-mind that I have knowing that I’m not open to all of the known IE security issues is liberating. What really won me over was the speed and customization of Firefox. Give Firefox a try (over 10 million other people have in the first month!); the price is right (free!) and you can “rediscover the Web.” Download Firefox 1.0 for free at http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/.
