Thanks for all the ideas.
More about "where I am coming from"....as a specialist, I have heard many complaints in recent months from referring docs (mostly internists and FP's) along these lines: "I hate the notes Dr. Specialist sends since he/she got an EMR. I used to get a 1/2 page SOAP note that told me what they thought. Now I get 2 pages that is mostly reiterated stuff that I already know (like FH, SH, and a 5 system ROS) and a load of diagnostic codes that I don't even want. The information I need is buried in the note and I have to work to find it!" So that is what I want to avoid.
Bert, it sounds like you (and I presume 99% of other AC users) have a family history, social history, etc, in EVERY follow-up note. Is that really your preference? Do you do that to improve reimbursement to allow upcoding? I can't imagine you did that in the pre-EMR days when you wrote or typed your notes....
I hope these questions don't sound aggressive or hostile. Believe me, I very much appreciate your willingness to share your information (about AC and in general). I would never presume to argue against your practices; I just want to better understand them and how they might apply to me.
Travis, if you have 7 weeks of AC experience that puts you about 6 weeks and 6 days ahead of me. I will try your suggestion, but won't that still leave me with the "ROS/SH/FH" headings with nothing after them?
John, your idea seems (to this overwhelmed mind) to have the most promise, but I am not familiar enough with the letter writer to see how functional this would be. I guess the idea is to keep all the information (FH, etc) in the NOTE which is good for coding purposes, but to create a "letter"--which would actually be the SOAP note--to send to the referring doc. It is just a ? of how many extra clicks and pastes this would take.
Again, thanks to all for the help....
Last edited by JBS; 09/25/2009 5:24 PM.
