Home Forums Discussions Feedback and Recommendations Messaging - save message AND reply and send back?

I'm trying to figure out an optimal algorithm for exchanging messages in the office.

When my secretary forwards me a message, it arrives in the message in-box of main screen.

Clicking on it once places the message contents into the message view box.

Clicking reply button (curved arrow box) allows a written reply to the original message to be composed inside the view box.

Hitting "Save to Chart" button allows message AND reply BOTH to be saved to chart

Now the frustrating part: up pops a box labled "Message saved to patient's chart" confirming the transaction was permanently saved to patient's chart, but now asking Yes/No Do I want to delete it from my mailbox. Ideally, I would like to now perform two last functions: delete the message from my inbox- AND, OF COURSE, send the message now sitting in the message view-box with its reply back to the original sender. But clicking on either "Yes" (I want to delete if from my mailbox) or "No" (don't delete it) BOTH Seems to make the Original message plus its reply disappear without actually being sent!!!

IS THIS TRUE??

It appears that you cannot save both the original message AND your reply to the chart AND send your reply back for action:

It appears to me that you can only do one of the following:

a. Save the original message to chart, write a reply and send it back (but only the original message witout your reply being saved to the chart) or . . .

b. Save BOTH the original message AND reply to the chart, but now the reply and original message are both ERASED and NEVER SENT.

HELP!!!! - What are others doing??

PART II

while discussing messaging , the actual messge saved to the chart is buried in excessive verbage , making the content actually more difficult to decipher: Here's an example copied from an imaginary chart:
**************


MESSAGE (Monday January 24, 2011)

TO: BRUCE
FROM: BRIANNA

RE: Re: Telephone Message (Patient: J. Smith)

MESSAGE: Tell him to stop dilantin for one day and restart 300mg daily, the dose I originally prescribed- Bruce

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>> BRIANNA'S MESSAGE (01/24/11 09:01 AM):
>> Pateint says he is dizzy on Dilantin 800 mg day? BW

Saved to chart by: Bruce Morgenstern, MD.


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HOW ABOUT A MUCH SIMPLFIED VERSION:


MESSAGE (Monday January 24, 2011)

BRIANNA'S MESSAGE (01/24/11 09:01 AM): Pateint says he is dizzy on Dilantin 800 mg day? BW

BRUCES REPLY: Tell him to stop dilantin for one day and restart 300mg daily, the dose I originally prescribed- Bruce


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Thoughts, Anyone???

Bruce L. Morgenstern, MD (Neurology)
late at the office - Denver CO

With regard to your first issue, I agree that an option to do both functions at once (send and save) should be present but is not.

When I want to reply to a message, AND save both the message I received and the response I sent...I hit "respond" and cc: to myself. I then type the response, send it, and when the cc shows up in my box, I save it to the chart.

I agree with you completely. I use Jon's workaround.

The unnecessary verbiage along with the >>, etc. make the messages unreadable and horrible. Well, maybe not unreadable. Self-contained sections of AC such as the letter writer and message areas seem to stay in matter of disrepair for awhile. I will say that the message area has been improved quite a bit as far as organizing, etc.

One need only look at a chat program such as Yahoo or MSN to see how the format should be.

I instruct my staff to "save" each message that I respond to, in which I've asked them to do something.
Example, patient calls and says "I think I'm anemic"
Staff asks me which labs to order and I reply.
They print this lab order in preparation for the patient visit (patient draws labs at local hospital).

Then my staff saves this message indicating what was done.
In this way, it prevents the message coming back to me so that I may sign off on it.

Both suggestions - CC-ing oneself upon sending the message (and then saving the CC'd message & reply to "Past Encounters" or asking the staff who receives the reply to save it seem like reaasonable work-arounds, though would still be nice if the provider could save the original messge AND reply- and if it were stored with less excessive embeillishlment.

Bruce Morgenstern,MD (Neurology)
Denver, CO