Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Point out your favorite features of v5

Well, we have heard about v5, the bugs and the fixes. And, through Jon and others we have seen some of the improvements.

But, I am sure there are really cool and helpful features that may be going unnoticed by some or all of us. So, I thought I would start a thread so we could all list a new feature that is helpful. Some of them have the WOW factor.

Please only give one at a time, so we don't list them all at once and users can comment, ask questions or point out where the feature may not be working for them. I suppose I will start.

Ability to add addendum directly to the note.

We have all asked for this for some time. Now it has come to fruition. When you write an addendum, at the end you can choose to just save to the chart or add it as an addendum to the note. It actually puts in into the note.

Example: Two days ago, I sent a sick baby to the ED to be evaluated and possibly admitted. Apparently the baby got better and was sent home. I then wrote a two paragraph addendum explaining in detail why I sent the baby over, what I had asked for at minimum and the fact that they sent the baby home WITHOUT even notifying me.

Very cool!

Sorry I let you beat me to the punch on that one, yes indeed, we can truly addend a note, or create a separate addendum.

So you have to add another one Wendell.

Well actually it is eprescribing.

I was using mediscipts (previously free) Rx pads and there was no template to use them and I was unable to adequately modify but the NJ format would wokr (cut off some of the date sometimes) The ability to send directly to the pharmacy is a great improvement, even better that it is free.

The other is that the search function now works. This has simplified getting reliable information effortlessly.

Yes, the search function is great. And, the ePrescribe is awesome.

The only issues I have with ePrescribe are:

And, correct me if I am wrong (I hope I am)

1. PRN and As needed are redundant.
2. A lot of pharmacies here want the prn reason. Since, this can be completely mouse driven, it would be really cool if clicking on one of them brought up another section with check boxes for.

___ pain

___ fever

___ anxiety

___ rash

etc.

3. Please fix the dispensing limitations. I hear they are working on being able to put in mLs and cc in the dispense field, but it would also be great to free text. Plus, there is a limit of characters.

4. In the quick writer, the dispense radio buttons defaults to numbers such as 7, 10, 30. Many things like Tussionex doesn't need a set number of days. In fact, it would be detrimental to put a certain number of days for certain medications. An MDI would be one. Sure, you can free text below, which doesn't save, but having a radio button for Clear would be nice.

5. It would be really cool if after the medications are in the Print/Transmit Prescriptions window, you could still remove one. Now, you have to close and start over. So, say you have added 8 prescriptions, and you need to remove one, you have to start over. (Please tell me I'm wrong)

6. I would pay $1,000 for this feature: When you are prescribing to the Print/Transmit Prescriptions window, you could choose what you wanted the selection field to default to. Currently, it defaults to the 04901 area code, and Hannaford #0229. It would be VERY cool if I could choose 04401 or better yet, 044 as that brings up around 40 pharmacies in the area.

Oops! I guess I owe Steve a $1,000.

7. Could we choose if we wanted Print All Scripts/Page or Print One Script/Page to be the default?/

8. Finally, what would people choose between these three options:

A) Once sent or printed the Print/Transmit Prescriptions window closes leaving the main prescription window open.
B) Once sent or printed both windows closed, leaving you back at the chart.
C) Leave it like it is.

Wow. I love the ePrescribing, and yet I came up with eight things I would love to see implemented.

I guess I hijacked my own thread.

If you type and don't use the radio buttons (close the quick scrip writer) you can fill in '1 tab daily for ADHD'. After that whenever you add that medicine it will bring up your instructions which is handy since most of us have 1 set of instructions for each med that we write - eg amoxicillin 500, 1 tab 3 times per day x 10 days. Obviously if a pediatrician is one of those finicky ones that writes 3.2 ml 3 times daily, 3.3 ml 3 times daily then this will be difficult.

I know they are working on units of measure....

If you figure out you need to remove the med after finishing scrip, but before you get all the way to print you can remove individual scrips by highlighting and hitting remove med.

I think that the default zip is the one saved in that particular pt. demographics.....if you just would move to a smaller city you would have less pharmacies - I only have an average of 2 associated with each zip code (and I have beautiful Elk, deer, bears, etc. on the way in).

I will definitely have to think about that feature. It's weird though, I am starting to get used to using just the mouse. And, the amounts change a lot for us. I will say that, unlike our friends in the ED, we almost never write for tid for abx. Plus, every parent thinks tid means having to give it at school.
Plus, we need to be able to free text for the dispense. If we write for 1 large tube, we get bonked for too many characters and an error message for not staying within the restrictions.

True. But, if you do write for six meds, and you happen to get to the print window, you are out of luck if you need to delete one. But, that's not a terrible thing I guess. And, the meds are still in the list to just click on.

Now see, I learned something. So, we can make it 7 instead of 8. That's what I get for using Bill Gates from Seattle as my test patient. Now we just have to put a big sign in the waiting room, which says everyone must use a pharmacy in their zip code.:)

And, we do have deer and Meese.

Thanks Steve.

Oh, and I owe you $1,000.

You will just have to learn that one tube of bactroban is 22 (gram), Neomycin 30 (gram), Silvadene 50..... I had to learn not to put sq for suff. qty.....again once you do it seems to keep it in memory.

I love the order tracking and the orders section in general.
{ Not to say that I don't love the e-prescribe....I, do.)

Deborah,

I like the orders as well. I was thinking that it would be really helpful after I click on Dr. Lehmann for an OB/GYN consult and send it to my referral person, it would automatically pop up the letter writer addressed to you or have that option quickly available.

Sorry, it looks like you don't do OB. By the way, as an aside, whenever I ask the parents who their obstetrician is, they look at me like I'm crazy. Then I quickly change it to OB, and they completely understand.

And I wish the Rx prescribing feature would know which to send electronically, and which had to be sent to send to the printer, so we didn't have to do everything twice.

That's a big wish.

If you are going to wish --- you should wish big.

But (sigh...) the Allscripts freebie script writing program did know how.

I'll attach a screen shot if someone will tell me how...

Wow, this threat jumped off. I was going to comment about not using the Rx writer. It seems slow and it seems not to have the "correct" way I want to write an Rx. It's been a bit since I last used it, so I can not give you a direct example.

I stil think eprescribing is great.

@Wendell Are you referring to the Quick Script Writer or ePrescribing in general?

@David If you send it to my email, I can post it.

Orders!!!
Eprescribing is sooo much better.
Better Tracking Tool

I have not been on the boards and am not that computer saavy, but I haven't had issues.

Thanks Jon for V5.

I was referring to the Quick script writer. ePrescribe is somewhat slow to come open though.

Wendell,

I remember when Joe was first getting it set up for me about six weeks ago on my Virtual Machine, he was telling me, you will love the Quick Script Writer (hereafter known as QSW). I hated it. I am not saying I love it yet, and I know I have already posted this a million times but it does give you the chance to use the mouse more. Actually, the default on it is pretty close.

Bert, I sent the screenshot to what I hoped was your e-mail. Advise if it shows.

http://tinyurl.com/allscripts-file

Or to download the actual file.

Interesting - I know AC is working on improving e prescribing and hopefully some of these features will be included.

It is interesting. Thanks David.

I LOVE that it's CCHIT certified.
Oh, wait. Nevermind.

Too funny.

NEW FEATURE:

I just mean not ePrescribing.

And, remember, 85% of you probably already know these things. I found this when I was developing workaround for David.

We have asked for this for years. On the VS section, you can click More and it brings up many more options along with misc. settings. Anyone else found this helpful?

Question. Sorry. About ePrescribing. When one goes to the New Crop screen. I can only get there by clicking on the top left area of the Prescription Writer in a patient's chart or by going through admin.

Would there be a way to have the New Crop Admin button in admin be somewhere else as well so you could get there with one click?

From the main menu, you can go the the online option and get the screen, which is for refills. See my other post on that.

Also main screen and control + P

Thanks Wendell. That's awesome.

Am I missing something here? When I first open the Prescription Writer, I see all of their meds on the left. Say, there is Amoxicillin listed. I want to know if it is done, so I need to know the date it was written. You can't find it anywhere. Even if you click on it so it goes to the prescription field, it just shows the override date which is the current date.

The only way to know (from what I have noted) is to click on History. That seems like a lot of wasted time. And, then you can't even inactivate it from there.

JUST NOTICED YOU CAN HOVER OVER THE MED AND IT TELLS YOU.

Bert you are spending too much time on the board when you post and then answer yourself......step away from the internet.

No, it's put down the mouse and back away from the keyboard.

I was just trying to be fair to everyone by not getting an extra post.

My guess is that Bert is aiming for 5000 posts. By the time of the ACUC. :-)

I figured at least 4,000. 5,000 would be tough.

Man, As an OB I need a better quick epresribing features! But it is not horrible and impresses pt's

Really? Do you think it is slow? In what ways is it slow? They are improving it soon, so the developers may want to know.

I find the ePrescribing from the New Crop site very cumbersome.

I am talking about the "quick script writer" needs to have more options such as "PV" or "per vagina," "gram," PR "Per rectum" those are some of the options needed but if you want more let me know I will write them down as I work. The other thing is there is no "one time dose" etc...