Home Forums Signing off on charts

We have just starting using a networked Brother MFC-7840W all-in-one pritner/ scanner/copier/fax machine with Amazing Charts. With this machine we receive faxes to a PC then the faxed information is entered into a patient's chart, then a chart entry is made, then the chart is forwarded to me. Can't the chart just be marked to sign off on by me to eliminate having to make the chart entry, then forward it to me to sign? What we are doing seems like too many steps.
Thanks, Ron

Ron,

I handle my faxes in this fashion. First thing in the mornings and then 4-5 times a day I open the Paperport window and review all the faxes while they are still on the "Desktop". I take care of the refills with my signature stamp and fax them right back. The consults, labs and other stuff I review, stamp the document with my signature stamp, make comments on the document such as "Please schedule additional views of the left breast" and then drag the fax into a folder I have called "READY TO IMPORT". The staff then checks that folder often and imports the info into the patient's chart. If action is needed on a particular document, I email the staff person to handle this. Then one can sign off, en mass, all that imported material (by going to the Administrator section and turning on the Sign-Off Batch imports features). This has worked well for me. The staff does not delete anything from the fax desktop. That way I am assured I at least see everything that comes in.
I also have my Received Faxes folder on my exam room computers which has really been great. Now if I need labs or records or something while I am in with the patient, the staff can call for them and "VOILA" there they are in a few minutes right in the room for me to review.
My one wish now would be that I would be able to attach a document from the Paperport desktop to the AC email (and also from the Imported Items section of AC) so that, when the staff or I am sent a message about, say an abnormal mammogram, one could attach that document and easily pull it up to be referred to while calling the patient.

Leslie

Leslie, thanks for the reply. I think I have found my problem. I have my assistant logged in as me with her name as the logged in person, so she can call in prescriptions for me. That gives her my level of authority in AC, so the document does not to be "signed off". Something I will have to work on. So you have the faxes delivered to your pc, or does someone forward the faxes to you? My receptionist gets them on her pc and imports them to AC and then I sign off on the chart entry. Ron

Ron,

From reading her post, it sounds very much like the faxes go directly to her. I would have to admit, if one is going to use the import items feature, I think Leslie's way is by far the best I have heard of. There is also UpDox you can look at.

Ron, please see my next post.

Ron,

This is a good question. I think Leslie answered it well. But, this forum is for Tips and Tricks. Its intention is for users to post ideas that they have come up with that helps them with the use of AC and may be useful to others. Or, it may just be useful for use of computers or your practice. It isn't really intended to be a thread. I think your question would have been better suited in the thread, "Problems."

Thanks.

Bert, you are probably right, sorry. But I think I just replied to a previous reply though and did not start a new topic, I can't remember. But, while I am at it, from what has been mentioned above, it looks like I have to turn on something to sign off on charts? I am still confused on this issue.

Ron

Leslie, thanks for your reply. I like your method since it seems like fewer steps. How do you "apply a signature stamp and make comments on the documents". I have been unable to do either one of those useful things. Do you have to convert the PDF file toanother type of file?
Thanks, Ron

Ron,
Actually, the incoming faxes can be viewed on any computer across the network. I can see them at my personal PC or I can get them in any of the exam rooms or any other office computer because the "Received Fax" folder is shared on the network. Then, while the MA is loading up another room (assuming I have actually caught up with her) I can just sit in one exam room, do a few faxes and then move on. The Paperport software has several different editing "tools" such as eraser, text, yellow highlighter and signature stamp. I scanned in my signature, adjusted it to the right size, saved it as a Bitmap and now the Paperport software automatically finds that file when I click on the Signature stamp tool.....really easy. The faxes come in as Tif files and I do convert them all to PDF files but this is also very easy...2 clicks.

Leslie

Ok, that explains it. I will try sharing the received fax folder orver our network. Thanks, Ron

So a year and a half later, this still looks to be "state of the art" for using Paperport to handle faxes. Is that true, or have people discovered something better?
A couple of specific questions:
1. Does it matter which version of Paperport you use? (V11 vs 12; is professional needed?).
2. We will still have documents come in through other means (e.g. mail which is scanned). If we do a "Sign-off Batch Import" as described by Leslie, does it sign-off EVERYTHING in my message box, or can you just sign-off the batch of faxes and leave the rest alone?
3. And Leslie, it sounds like the method you describe would require your staff to review all faxes in the "Ready to Import File", looking for your instructions. I would worry that they would miss an "order" and you would inadvertently sign-off without the staff having performed the action you requested.

Jon,

I still use the old, free version of Paperport which came with my Brother MFC. It works fine for me. After I review and mark up a fax, I move it a specific employee's folder. It doe not then go into the "Ready to Import" folder until it has been acted upon and returned to me for further review if needed.

Here is the original post on how I use Paperport

http://www.amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthreads.php/topics/13415/1

Leslie..spent the day trying to mimic your set-up with some success. Would really like to be able to have all files received as pdf's so we don't have to convert them individually. Initially you said this could not be done, then Aethelwulffe said it could. Have you made it work? I am using a couple of MFC 7340's. I can see how one can scan to pdf's but now how to fax-to-PC them. Any help would be much appreciated.

Jon,

I have no pretense about being either a Brother or Paperport expert but I have looked several times and not found a way to receive faxes in PDF. I know you can set preferences to scan as PDF. You can convert multiple .tif files at one time by going to
"Edit" on the tool bar, "Select All" which then highlights all the files and then right click and choose "Duplicate as PDF".

I,too, have adapted Leslie's system in my office. The Brother MFC printers only receive faxes in two formats: .tiff and .max so they need to be converted to PDFs, unfortunately. It is only an extra step or two but that IS one more thing to do.

My system differs slightly from Leslie's in that my staff goes into received faxes, converts the files to .PDF and names them something like "M.Mouse Hip xray". Then they drag it into the file "physician to sign off" I then open that file several times a day, look at the report and initial it with the Paperport text writer. This allows me to also make comments on it for myself and medical-legal reasons like I used to do with a pen e.g. "Discussed xray c pt 2/14/10, f/u if hip pain continues, WL". Once this is imported it cannot be changed. I suppose it could be forged by a staff member but I can't realistically see that happening. I then drag it to the file "Ready to Import" and the staff imports it. I do then need to sign off on it again in AC but that is very quick and gives me one more chance to look at it and be sure it is the correct patient and going into a logical file. Something I could not do with a paper file.
The advantage of this for me is that, unlike Leslie, my staff does the converting and naming. The disadvantage is that they could delete something without my seeing it. To each his own.

Leslie, I have not been able to figure out how to effectively stamp my signature onto incoming documents (homehealth forms, etc.) because it is not transparent so it covers up a significant portion of the area where one is supposed to sign and it doesn't seem to want to sign exactly where I put my cursor, often ending up below it. Did you ever grapple with this? Thanks.

One thing I am discovering is that there are two fundamentally differing ways to handle sign-offs, leading to different ways to handle work flow. AC wants you to put everything into the program, then the doc reviews it and signs off on each one. Leslie's system has the doc sign off by stamping each document with a signature stamp. This effectively makes the sign off in AC is less important, and a batch sign off is fine. Of course you need to be sure nothing gets into AC without that stamp. Your system, Bill, uses features of each. On the plus side, you save time by having the staff do the sorting, converting, and naming. You do then have to review everything again when it gets into AC (bad in terms of time; good for the reasons you stated).
The choice has big implications for handling the flow of paper in the office, as well as time management for the doc and staff. Clearly there are advantages and disadvantages of each. Like you say "to each his own". I am trying to figure out what works best for me. I am also looking into Updox which may change the whole equation... No one talks too much about these issues, even when buying an EMR; yet they have a major impact on day-to-day life in the office.

Bill,

Once you stamp in your signature, you can resize it (drag the corners in) and move it anywhere you want. You have to right click back on it.

Great. I'll try that. Thanks, Leslie.

I too have semi-adopted the "Leslie-way". The major problems I've had are that my computer attached to the fax machine will occasionally lose the "PC Fax Receive" program and then I get zero faxes. This happened twice in one week and my front office couldn't handle my insanity. I'm not sure why this happened. One of them was a Windows Update I believe but the program is in the start-up menu so it should have started.

So now, as much as I've tried, paper has come back into my office, albeit just for a temporary hello and goodbye to the shredder. The girls want everything to come through like a normal fax and then they scan it in. That way they're SURE we haven't missed anything. I don't love it and I wish I had a lot more confidence in the e-fax, but it's working for now.

I think if I had a networked/server fax system instead of a classic phone line, this issue would disappear and so would most paper in my office. UpDox may be an option that I'll look into but, money-wise, I don't spend a whole lot more than the $240/year that UpDox costs on paper for the fax machine.

I have found having them scan it directly into Amazing Charts and letting me sign off on it only one time is much simpler and quicker for me. In fact, this method is far quicker than when I used to do it by hand. I type little comments in the comments section and if the patient needs something done, I shoot a message to my office staff all in one fell swoop. Really works outstanding.

So my paper bill/toner bill is a little higher than I would like but I still don't have a single paper chart which is great.

Travis,

We have had the problem of the Brother not always receiving. I get suspicious when there are very few faxes coming in as does my staff and then we simply close Paperport on the attached computer and reboot the MFC and things start receiving again. Actually, they were receiving all the time but not downloading into the software. The machine stored them.

At the risk of continuing on a diverging thread,

I want to thank Leslie for testifying that networked faxing can work.

I have been having trouble getting my IT to get the office towards paperless for the past 2 months.

It sounds like I'll have to download Paperport to each computer, but wee might just get the paperless office running.

Yes, you will have to download to each computer. Then on each computer's paperport, go to Tools...Paperport Folders...Add..then browse for your Received Faxes folder which will reside on your server and be shared from there.