Glad You Asked...about Software

What do you like about the software you use?

    We started using MedeSoft in August 2002. There’s not too much software that is designed for O&P, so we use medical office software that we’re able to customize.

    I especially like Crystal Reports, an additional piece of software that will work with all of our databases. We can customize any type of report.
   
    I can make reports for anything I want to find out—like “What is the highest-billed procedure code?” I can also send out a patient care survey for [patients we’ve seen in the last] 90 to 120 days. We have five [main] billers, and I can do a customized aging report. That way we don’t have to have a big meeting seeing how we’re going to divide accounts receivable up. We can have one report.
   
    I think the biggest thing I like would be having a software program that can be customized a little bit. [With an off-the-shelf software package] you’re stuck with whatever they give you. Maybe you think “Well, it would be nice if we could do this,” but you can’t.

Ann Moss
Manager of Systems & Development
Union O&P
Pittsburgh, Penn.

    We switched from MedFlex to Futura because we were having problems with the connection [to MedFlex.] Right now we work with QuickBooks in conjunction with Futura.

    Most software has the bases covered. You’re able to pull up patient notes, the amount of money spent, insurance information…just everything you can think of. With Futura, there are a lot more reports available, and that is helpful. There was a lot of information we had to put on there, but we use all of it.

    The vendor information is most helpful to me. We can pull up invoices and see which to pay first, and Futura can create graphs that show the amount of money spent. It lets us know where the money is going.

Sylvia Meads
Office Manager
Albemarle Orthotics & Prosthetics Inc.
Elizabeth City, N.C.

    We use Futura for patient information. We can run any kinds of reports on it, and do billing. There are certain things you need a chart for, but I see in the future going paperless because you can put all the information in the system. We’re not using the system to the fullest potential.

    Our prothetists use CAD software, and they like that it gives a more precise product. They don’t have to use plaster.

Crystal Thomas
Administrative Manager
Dayton Artificial Limb
Dayton, Ohio

    Well, I’ve looked at every O&P software product in the past 25 years.

    We use Medical Manager, customized for our practice, because it allows us to network. Some software was originally not written with that in mind.

    [The frustration with software] is that some of it is still not quite specific enough. Medical Manager is not an exact fit because it’s written for a physician’s office, and they know that. For instance, we can register one referring physician but not two. We have to input it in the comment lines. Some of our reports we’ve had custom-written because of [the need to] examine our data in ways the program didn’t do already.
   
    We recently went electronic. I was scared, because I’m an “old dog.” But it’s really nice not to have to go looking for a chart. Electronic charts are the wave of the future. I hear that more all the time.

Chris Wilkerson
Medical Office Manager
SCOPe Orthotics & Prosthetics Inc.
Escondido, CA

    I do like that [Futura] can help you send prescriptions. Years back, we had to type them out in Word. Now, it comes right out of the software.

    I also like that, in Futura, you can set the schedule to accommodate all practitioners. You can see all of [their schedules] or just click on the ones you want to see. It’s like looking at an appointment book laid out on a desk.

    The main thing I don’t like about Futura is that it is mouse-friendly. I hate to have to keep clicking on one for everything. I like to go straight through [the forms], and that slows me down.

Kim Hudson
Administrative Assistant
Albemarle Orthotics & Prosthetics Inc.
Elizabeth City, N.C.