Home Forums Discussions Feedback and Recommendations imported items

I would love to see a temporary "folder" for imported items, overall I do not want to truly permanently import things other than lab, but would like them available for review at the next patient encounter. The current system is quite burdensome in order to delete an item that has been attached to the chart (actually safe behavior overall). I would prefer a version of a "paperclip" to make it easier to discard things at the next visit, even better would be to only be able to discard at the next encounter rather than further on.

My analogy to a paper chart as far as paperclip is that items outside the chart that are paperclipped on are temporary until I place them into the actual chart.

I agree.

I think you do not have to have a temporary folder, but sometimes my staff accidently saves something like a prescription refill. It would be nice to delete the item rather than signing off on it. I usually forward it to the dummy provider.

Yes, you can go the the chart import items and remove the item, it would be easier at the signoff stage.

The only way I see to remove an imported item is by the administrator. Please let me know if there is a work-around. Please explain your concept of "dummy provider".

You can right click the document in import items folder area and delete. You DO need the admin password to complete.

We have a dummy provider that we use to send reminders and I use his inbox as a dead letter box, so I forward the messages to him (or her? who knows)

I do what Wendell does with the dummy, "allaway" but I don't agree that you want to throw stuff away. If you discuss something with a patient, show me. It shouldn't cost you significant extra time or too many terabytes, but it makes your chart all the more bullet proof. Where we have paper printed out, "Orders: Send this patient to Dr. Smith" the MA copies Dr. Smiths contact information on the sheet, documents if she helped get the appointment sent up, AND THEN SCANS THE WHOLE THING IN before she gives the paper to the patient. If the patient loses it, anyone in the office can print another, no duplication of effort and no loss of documentation. (Of course where I have been a good scout, the orders template already has all of Dr. Smiths info)

What I don't do well is forward the unsigned chart to the MA, let her make the notes on my note, then sign off after she has sent it back to me. How many of you let the chart out of your control before signing it?

Let me clarify my situation. Many of my patients will occasionally go to local urgent care centers or the hospital. (If they are compliant it is usually less often). The documentation sent to me is overwhelming in volume, usually in duplicate, sometimes TRIPLICATE or more in different formats. I want to bundle it all with the chart and review it at the next patient visit to my office(it helps keep track on time for E&M coding also). The stuff exists elsewhere, why should I waste my storage space on it once I have data mined? I realize I could summarize it as it comes in, but on paper (pun intended) the paperclip concept works best. I have even saved some crrespondence temporarily on paperport, but this is only a partial fix. I will not give out the admin password, but would love a lower level of worker to be able to have early delete privileges.

I save it. Space is cheap. You are documenting TWO things, what data you got, (and went over) and what data you DIDN'T get. Imagine they went to urgent care for a cough, you got the notes, discussed it, trashed it and never knew the patient had a CXR that day. And the paper wasn't generated because the films go out to radiologist who generates a written report, but that is a week later and no one from the urgent care follows up. But you have documented you discussed "all the results" from the urgent care.. you get the picture. just scan it and save it. What is storage now, $200.00 for a terabyte?

I don't forward an unsigned chart to anybody, unsigned charts are in MY box, what if they save to the chart something that is a problem or an incomplete note?
But, I do send a separate message to staff requesting some things such as referrals, appointments, follow up labs, phone calls etc. I don't know if you have migrated to any of the V5, but this is very nicely done in the Orders section which has sequential tabs that keep me very organized. Working within an open chart you can send this type of thing to who ever needs to work on it. They then have the option to send it back to you to see that it has been done. Organization is not everything, but it is worth a ton.
As for saving or deleting information, digital space is very cheap. I don't think it makes sense to delete any informaation that has actually been used ( reviewed ) by us, this information is of value because it has been used to make a decision. If, however, the information has been forwarded to you and has not been reviewed I think it should be discarded. The potential for damage because you possesed information but did not take appropriate action is too high, if the information was given to you AND was reviewed, it needs to be saved, if it was not actually reviewed it needs to be deleted. I wouldn't save anything that you have not actually reviewed, I think it could come back to bite you. We still have the same rule that we had with paper charts. Nothing is in the chart that the doc hasn't seen.