Articles by category
- Contests
- Exercise Instruction
- Training Theory
- Health/Wellness
- Supplements
- Nutrition
- Features
- Fashion
Archives
Chance Miles
Photo: SERG STUDIOS
MEDICAL CHARTS GO ONLINE
PAPERLESS CHARTS SIMPLIFY LIVES OF PHYSICIANS & PATIENTS
By Susan Asher
When the going got tough for Matt Ethington, he decided to create a new medical chart system that benefits everyone. Thanks to Matt, if you need to know what medication you’re supposed to take for one of your medical conditions, which vaccines your children have had and still need to get, or what the latest results are from a recent lab test, you can find out anytime with simplifyMD.
After he was diagnosed with diabetes, Matt placed many calls to his doctor’s office. He needed to know which medication he was supposed to take for his different medical conditions and what the results were of his latest lab tests. He got fed up with continually being placed on hold while the staff searched for his chart, which often was being processed on someone else’s desk. So he assembled a medical technology team that developed an electronic chart system that is easy for physicians to use, and allows online viewing by medical professionals and patients.
Based in Alpharetta, Ga., simplifyMD allows medical offices to quickly scan in existing patient records and allows doctors to create new records with an electronic chart. “Before simplifyMD, when I got a call about a patient, I couldn’t do much until the staff found the chart for me, which might take time searching several locations: Billing, scheduling and assembly,” says Richard Olson, M.D. “Now, all the staff has access to the chart, and I spend my time working on medical problems and patients’ concerns.”
While there are other electronic charts on the market, simplifyMD costs about 85 percent less than that of other electronic medical records (EMRs) systems, and is more user-friendly. Doctors can choose to either continue writing on their paper charts and uploading them to the system, or they can write on an electronic chart that looks like their paper charts with similar text and color-coded tabs, so they don’t have to spend hours learning new technology.
One of the reasons Matt had been put on hold so often was that staff members were running around to different departments in the office searching for his chart. A busy practice that sees 30-40 patients daily may pull 150 charts a day to handle office visitors and patient and insurance company requests. Now, each staff member can view the chart simultaneously. And when a patient calls in asking a question, any office member can quickly view the chart and respond. In addition, patients have secured online access to limited portions of the chart, such as lab results and prescriptions.
This new program combines Dell hardware, Fujitsu scanners and simplifyMD software to help save lives of patients who make emergency hospital visits. The hospital can view patients’ medical histories online and know which medications they might need and which they might need to avoid.
“Not only does simplifyMD make life more manageable for patients,” Matt says, “But the system also serves as a start to meeting President Bush’s proclamation that by 2014, all Americans will have an online public health record.”
Editor’s Note: Matt Ethington’s experience in the healthcare industry lies in both field and executive roles at electronic medical record and document management companies. He is an active member of the Medical Group Management Association in Georgia and the Atlanta CEO Council. His program, simplifyMD (simplifyMD.com), is a turn-key, instant digital chart room system that creates secure, environmentally friendly, paperless medical offices. It provides instant access to patients’ charts for the entire doctor’s office, selected health care providers and patients via a physician-controlled personal health record (PHR). Founded in 2006 to automate medical practices, simplifyMD charges no licensing fees. With support services that include continuing education for users, free upgrades and proactive maintenance, simplifyMD recreates physicians’ charts in a paperless electronic format.
