In the same vein as Adam I am going to try to document for all you folks in AC land our experiences with File Assist Pro or FAP, designed by our dear friend Dr Bert Adams and his good friend and programmer Ed (whose last name I'm still not sure of).
It was suggested by our fellow User George that Jon design and package a "kit" for other software developers to then be able to design value added side programs that could work in conjunction with AC in a symbiotic kind of relationship. These are known by a few similar names, such as SDK, for Software Developer Kit. These kits allow other developers access to some of the inner workings of a bigger program so that they can then develop associated side programs that users can pick and choose which of any they may want or need to for their own use. FAP is this kind on animal.
It basically taps into your AC database enough to know who all your patients are in real time, so as you add 'em it gets the info too because it is connected to that part of the AC database.
So picture a sort of Virtual Index Card Box that you can make and choose the subject headings of your choice that are then all laid out alphabetically. So We have made such catagories are Old Charts, Intake Forms, Insurance Cards, Images, Labs, PT (physical therapy) Specialist Notes, Hospital Notes, Carrier stuff (for like requests of more chart info and other garbage they throw at us that is patient specific and half Med and half business), Calls (for pages and over night calls that we get a small faxed break down the following day for our answering service), Prior Auths, and we are still slowly thinking about creating one or two others. I think I will add a general Tests, tab for this like over night Oximetry and other tests run for us or by specialists.
So I purchased a Fujitsu ScanSnap 510 after all the glowing reviews posted here previously. Except for the fact that this little speed demon is USB only (not networkable) it is as we like to say in AC land "Amazing". I drive V-8's, and skate in some fairly up tempo hockey games with older teens and young adults; We now own a Xeon quad core, 4 gigs of RAM main tower that rocks; I know fast and this little sucker is fast!!! It rocks my scanning world. Thanks to all who put up with me and finally convinced me to purchase, it does not disappoint.
So this little beauty when combined with Bert's FAP I can see already is going to change our disorganized paper work. Our MA seems OK with while Nancy is still "adjusting". She wishes it was all in one chart and place. But as I said to her, look most labs since we shuffle most of them off to Quest now will be in the Imported Items as always and as AC grows up the data will continue to be more trackable, searchable and crunchable, which is a great thing. All the MidMark we run will still be in the imported items as well easy to pull up in their semi-native software as AC has interfaced.
Then Everything else will be in FAP. It really is that simple. It just takes a new set of habits to learn, that's all. But no more filing back log, searching thru accordian folders, paper files that run concurrent to our EMR files, and now we can all be looking at the same file for our various tasks. Shel the MA can be looking at something to start a visit, I can be looking at the intakes or insurance stuff for coverage issues, while Nancy is reviewing the same patient's labs just before she goes into the room to start a visit... Bam!!! In the word of Marissa Tomey in My Cousin Vinny, "What a F'ing Nightmare!!!" This is great!
Now what I really like about FAP over AC imported Items is we are scanning everthing to pdf format via the scansnap. It came with a two license version (two computers, same person that is) of Adobe 8 standard. Click and with a few gigs of RAM in this old tower that used to be our main tower until a few weeks ago, that puppy pops right up. Heck the scanner only cost about $300, so in a real sense I got $200 worth of top quality, real ownership software plus a great little scanner too. No less the other nice drivers and software that is the scanners too.
But instead of having files that simply say, 000000001, 000000002, that can one day loose their association to their charts and be a nightmare to relate back to their proper patients and chart, these things are named, by the Patient's Name, the catagory tab that we created on our own choice, and the date of the scan. And if and when Nancy starts another business, joins another group (hopefully never) sells the practice (when we retire), the CCHIT police shove their idea of the "perfect" charting system down all our throats, these folders, these PDF's, are all there in a great format, with a really solid naming system for easy transfere or archiving.
There are a few things to set up, but if you are sort of used to the setting the path and activation thing after your learning how to live with AC, then this should be a fairly simple set-up for you. Heck I have even solved a number of small details on my own after all the good teachings of our friends here at the board. At times I almost feel like I am getting "confident" and getting the hang of and understanding these things....
FYI, I am almost half way thru our first of three accordian files stuff with back filing. And more importantly I have so far easily kept up with the flow of new stuff coming in, so we don't continue to chase our tails in an attempt to catch up...
So I would say so far I am very happy, the MA is sort of happy and she will continue to be increasingly happy as this is one less clerical task for her to do, that me and my little scanner are going to relieve her of.... As for my doctor (my wonderful wife...) I think as she simply gets used to the basic change she will at least be quite OK with it. Matter of fact, seeing that I am now relieving the MA of a certain pain in the @$$ filing and clerical task, as my doctor starts to regain a few good minutes to perhaps an hour or so of her assistant every day, I think she is going to grow increasingly happy with the new system....
Just had a great idea of Bert, let me run....
Paul
