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Does anyone know of a way to send a message to everyone at the same time without individually clicking each user name? I have found the messaging sytem to work poorly for me because if, for instance, I ask one staff member to call so and so about such and such and they leave a message for patient to call back, when the patient calls back, that staff member might be off or on break. It is then very difficult for other staff members to help them because they do not know where the message is or what it was about...they cannot see messages in others' boxes. In the paper world, staffers simply went from desk to desk to track down the messages. I would prefer to be able to send a "To DO" message to All Staff and then have whoever is free at that time take care of it. That way, the messages are where everybody can see them. Any staff member can open them at any time (as can I to chart the progress of things being attended to). When the message has been completed, it is then sent back to me to save. If there is something I specifically want only one staffer to do I can still send it to them alone.

Leslie

There should be an EVERYONE in the "To" drop down box. It is listed in alphabetical order. You will send a copy to yourself.

Geeze, I missed that one, Bill!! Never saw it before. Thanks!

leslie

Although more than one "To" and one "CC" would be nice, too.

Bruce,

I tried using the "Everyone" feature and it really still does not accomplish what I need. For example, Mrs. Knowitall had a mammogram and needs special views scheduled. I really do not care which employee does this (mine are all cross-trained), I just want to make sure it gets scheduled. If I send a message to Everyone asking that these special views get sceduled it shows up in all the inboxes. Say Lindsay is the first to get to that message, she takes care of it and sends back the message to me that it has been scheduled. But the original message remains in everyone else's box and they do not know it has already been taken care of. Can anyone think of a work-around or how does everyone else handle this? I would love to have a dropdown in the message section that would have everyone's inbox available for review of general messages. Then perhaps have a way to privatize other messages when they are sent. Say I want to send a specific message to Lindsay that I do not want everyone to see, I can mark it "Private" and it will not show in the community inboxes.
Any help would be appreciated.

Leslie

The messages to the rest of the staff remain in your "Outbox" until each person opens it on their computer. If you get a response from one staff member that the task is done, go to your Outbox and delete the messages to the rest of the staff.

Wouldn't that be great if we could retrieve or delete already-sent messages with regular email? It would have saved many a friendship, job, etc.

I may give that a try but it may end up being too much trouble for me to have to keep going to the sent box and deleting messages. Got to be a better way but thanks for the tip.

Leslie

It would be helpful if EVERYONE was also a choice in the CC dropdown box. Then, the person taking care of it could CC everyone, and they would know that message was being taken care of by that person. But, alas, there is not that option. We could ask for that option, but something tells me it would take months to get it into AC.

I don't use the EVERYONE much, but the answer for me would be to use the IPMSG (intranet messenger - still, by far, the best messenger ever made) so that the person taking care of it first, could then message everyone on that and let them know.

I would like to be able to send messages to more than two others. Often, I would like to send a message to my "front desk", "nurse" and a copy to myself. i do not want to send it to everyone.

I tried the "Everyone"....does not work well for me. There needs to be a way for the message to be cleared from the "Everyone" box when the message has been taken care of. Perhaps we need an "Everyone" which would be useful to send general messages to everyone but which do not specifically relate to any patients. Then devise a "Jobs To Do" user whose messages would automatically delete once a message has been opened and acted upon and saved or sent back to me.

Leslie

Maybe this will help some. Not perfect, but it's an idea.

Personally, I don't use the Everyone much. I don't even remember it is there for the same reasons Leslie is saying.

I thought Leslie used Yahoo. Even recall she uses it as an "excuse" to get out of a room. I don't think you can send multiple messages.

Maybe some can benefit from someone who has tried as LEAST 15 messenger programs. As above, IPMSG is far and away the best ever. Works right out of the box, can be set up much better -- would be glad to help out -- even remote in. It's great, because you can highlight as many or as few as you wish and you can make present groups, so front desk/billing or nursing/front desk. When I send out a "blast" the first staff member who wants to do the dirty deed sends back to all those involved, "on it." Oh, and the cost, free!

On the domain, it is nice because everyone has Outlook open so you can use that confidentially as well over the network.

Bert,
How do you save those messages and responses to the patient's chart? Yes, I use Yahoo all day long (and yes, I use it to get me out of rooms). But I still cannot send out a general task on a patient that needs to be done and needs to be documented in their chart. In my papered world, I would mark up a lab result or xray and put it in the "outbox". The first staff person free takes the document, acts on it (say schedules an MRA), calls the patient with the appointment or the results and then files it in their chart or, if waiting for the patient to return or waiting for the precert to come through, leaves it on their desk where other staffers can find it. Having a staff person off on vacation or leaving early does not keep others from knowing there are tasks there needing to be done. Easy for me, easy for them. In the unpapered world, things get placed in one staff member's box and no one else knows they are there. A patient returns a call or calls in about their tests and staff members have to go find me so I can find out what it was that is in the the unavailable staff member's box. Annoying for me, annoying for staff.
Paperport works really well for this most of the time. Everyone can see what is in everyone else's folder. Most of what I do does in fact go through Paperport. But, there are always instances where I must use the message feature in AC. For instance, a consultant calls me and recommends a mutual patient have another test or see another specialist. I message a staffer to make those arrangements and call the patient. The patient is not at home and a message to call our office is left. The patient calls back after returning several days later from their vacation and the staffer that called them is off and no one knows what the heck I wanted or what was arranged for the patient.
Also, at least twice a year I "purge" our charts. I may run a report of all patients not seen in the last 2 years and then have staff members contact them to see if they are still our patient and,if so, why have they not been in in 2 years? I do the same for diabetics and hypertensives and other patient groups. If they have not been in in 6 months, I want to know why and I want my staff to call them and schedule appointments. So, I send these messages through AC and it is hard for each staff member to keep up with whom other staff members have spoken.
There just needs to be a way for everyone to see everything.


Leslie

True. There would be no way to put the message on IPMSG into AC. Well you could, but it would not be very easy to do.

As far as your dilemma with others knowing what Employee A did, we have the same problem. But, I don't understand why it can't be solved this way:

If employee A sets up the lab but was unable to get hold of the pateint, don't they save everything to the chart so it is in the Visit History. Wouldn't it say, set up U/S for 1/15/09. Unable to get hold of patient. Waiting on call back, etc.?

This is just a second to Leslie's suggestion in another posting that there should be some way to look into all the boxes without having to log in and out of them.

A "console" for messages would e nice with the ability to just click on the box we want.

As long as I'm wishing, would like to be able to bring my email into AC.

Be careful what you wish for. I can think of nothing worse than having my email go through AC. Yikes. LOL.

Bert,

The problem with just filing away a message in patient History is that the message is then removed from the "Needs Doing" box and I believe it would be forgotten. We leave tasks in Paperport until they are completed. If someone has tried to call a patient and is waiting for them to call back but they do not, the staffer knows they will need to call again or send a registered letter.

Leslie

The only thing I liked about the horrible MYSIS system we used in St. Johns was the ability to use my email from wtihin the program. The messages came to my message box. Loved it. Didn't have to have 2 programs open or switch back and forth.

It acted as a POP server and the email messages were not saved to the program when you closed it.

Seems like we need a patient orders/tasks tab for the chart. It would be nice to be write the order, have it stay with the chart, and then have actions taken on that order stay with the chart. I keep a separate referral/procedure log in excel. It would be nice to have the orders in the patients' charts

I would like another tab for the chart that is all internal messaging regarding the patient. If something was appropriate to be saved to be a permanent part of the chart it could be saved. The yellow sticky is nice, but not enough. If there could be multiple stickies on the chart, not just in a little box, that would be good too. I went to a review course where we took notes on the computer and could add as many sticky notes as we like. The little box for the yellow sticky in our office often gets overlooked.

How about this workaround.

Make another doctor and give her a schedule. When you have something you need done and you want EVERYONE to see it, put it there. Then send a "blast" message to everyone to look there.

Whoever does it could put a message that they have taken care of it or are working on it. It would be simple to press the tab and see the messages in that schedule.

Just an idea.

I use a word file in the imported items to document this type of work. I think it was discussed elsewhere in the forums. I personally hate using chart encounters to document every little interaction. I set up a word document that I import by dragging and dropping and use that to document calls I attempted to make to the patient, phone conversations, email conversations, consultant conversations etc. It would be iffy in court because it is so easily altered. But as another poster pointed out, our paper charts were also easily altered.. rip out a page, rewrite a page etc... the advantage is that you and your staff can look there for the work done by someone else in this situation.
Carla

Great idea Carla. Do you use the native date and time stamp?

Carla,

That is a neat idea. I think I will play around with it. Our current PM program has a large window called "Notes" that we can automatically stamp the date and time and user and write any free text. Since I have been moving away from the PM program as much as possible, I must admit I have missed that feature. This idea may well solve that and eliminate a whole lot of clutter under the "Encounters" section. Now saved messages would be only those relevant to an encounter or a phone message.
I can then send "Everyone" a templated message such as "SEE NOTES" and then have the Word Document imported with what I want done, such as calling the patient to remind them they missed their annual exam. Then whoever is working on it can make their work visible to everyone else, as well as to me. Staffers can then see that the message has already been "picked up" by someone else and delete their message from their inbox. The last person to accomplish the task can then send me a message saying it has been done. I like it.

Leslie

Carla,

I tried this and think I am going to like it with a few exceptions. Like my Excel Flow sheets, the Word Document is slow to open...not something I can't live with but not ideal. Also, it would be even better if the AC program itself had a button somewhere, say on the initial page, perhaps beside the "Pull Chart", Refill Meds", or "Orders" buttons that said "Notes". Clicking this would then open a Word Document into which anyone could add a note. It would be very easy then for everyone to track activities being addressed. For instance, I send a message to Everyone or to one staffer to call so and so and remind them they are due for a complete exam with labs. Whoever gets the message calls the patient and leaves a message for them to call. That info is put into the Word document and saved (preferably not in the encounters...perhaps in Imported items). The patient calls the next day, speaks with a different staffer who can pull up their Word Document and see why they were called and make the appointment for them and complete the lab request. From a legal standpoint, the fact that we called (perhaps on numerous occasions) and urged the patient to follow up is very important. But, I do not think it really warrants cluttering up the Past Encounters. Having the info available to me when I "purge" charts or run searches then makes it easy for me to see when a patient needs to be sent a certified letter or needs to be discharged from the practice (for example for refusing to follow up as requested). This Word document then can serve as a running testament to anything having to do with issues not directly related to patient care. It can also be used for billing issues, such as, "Spoke with insurance company today and they say patient's coverage did not begin until date blah, blah." Or, "Patient's Seconday pays Medicare Deductible". We currently use this Notes feature of my PM program a lot. I will miss it if I ever convert completely to AC.

Leslie

Leslie,

I don't know if this will help. It takes some getting used to. It is more useful the slower Word opens. It works really well with AC. If you open a blank Word document and minimize it to your task bar, when you open a Word document in Imported Items, it should open in about 0.02 seconds.

It does take a bit of getting used to. But, I have noticed it works especially well with AC.

Leslie: Glad this may work for you. I'm not clear if you are testing out separate Word docs for each issue per patient or one running doc with many different topics.. I just have one document- lot of topics. I've trained myself to check the document for any pt updates by phone or email when I'm refreshing myself on what is going on w/ that pt.

Leslie- I also have to thank you for shortkeys and templating ideas. I have improved my templates based on your ideas and another poster's.. wish I'd taken the time when I first started with AC. What a difference. That and training myself to type the subjective using "un-sentences"... just getting the message across- not worrying about the eloquence of a full sentence.

Bert: great plan on having word up and running. I don't find Word slow to open very often- rarely it might, at worst, take 5-10 seconds but seconds do count.

I hate to admit I'm not sure what you mean by the native date and time in Word. I use alt-shift-d for dating the entry. I don't always enter a time. Is there another system?

Carla,

I am using (or will be using, just getting started) a single Word document which will be added to along the way. You are welcome for Shortkeys. It is a great program.

Leslie

Shortkeys is a great program, no doubt.

Carla, 5 to 10 seconds is an eternity. Compare that to PDF.