Ophthalmic EHR system streamlines billing and prescribing functions

The office administrator for an eye care practice says that the specialty-specific platform enhances coding speed and efficiency.

An electronic medical record system designed specifically for ophthalmology adds efficiency to various practice management functions, according to an adopter.

Dallas Eye Care Associates has fully implemented Compulink’s Ophthalmology Advantage, a practice management and electronic health record package.

“Overall, I’ve been extremely pleased with this system,” Debbie Weiss, the practice’s office administrator, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News. “It gives us a lot more reports. It gives us the ability to be able to review records between the offices, where we used to have to fax. That definitely saves us money and eliminates our printing costs because we do not have to print the forms anymore.”

Ophthalmology Advantage gained 2011 Ambulatory EHR certification from the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, which was recently designated by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology as an authorized testing and certification body for EHR systems.

Dallas Eye Care Associates implemented Compulink’s practice management system in April 2008 and the clinical EHR function in October of that year.

Training and technical support have eased early adoption of the EHR and practice management solution, but the transition was far from painless, Ms. Weiss said.

“Their training program is outstanding,” she said. “But if anybody tells you there is a painless system out there, they’re wrong, because it is painful, no matter how great the system is.”

Billing and coding

The practice management system maximizes the efficiency of coding functions, Ms. Weiss said.

“The system can actually tell you what to code an exam and determines it by the number of diagnoses, the anterior and posterior scan of the eye that was looked at, how long the physician spent in the room,” she said. “It will pop up a window and recommend a code for it. We actually have our scribes code in the rooms. It eliminated one checkout person because we don’t have to have our front office post for billing anymore. The scribe is right there. They know exactly what went on with that patient.”

The system has also made billing functions faster and more efficient, Ms. Weiss said.

“The billing has definitely been faster because we do a lot of direct billing with the system, and a lot of the payments come through electronically as well,” she said. “Our turnarounds have been that much faster on our billing.”

The system enhances critical record-keeping functions, Ms. Weiss said.

“Compulink does have the ability for you to be able to make notes and it does prompt you to make sure you review the testing, so that if we’re ever audited, we do have that record on there, which is part of coding,” she said. “There are a lot of safeguards that are built into the Compulink system that help with that.”

E-prescribing and other functions

Ophthalmology Advantage includes E-Rx, the company’s fully integrated electronic prescribing system. E-Rx is a Web-based program certified by SureScripts, a national electronic prescribing network, according to company literature.

Dallas Eye Care Associates adopted the e-prescribing function in January. The transition was smooth and uneventful, Ms. Weiss said.

“Once the staff got adapted to it, they realized how easy it was,” she said. “It’s very, very simple to do.”

In addition, the practice uses the Compulink platform with Eyemaginations’ 3D-Eye Office, an animated software program designed to enhance patient education. The EHR and practice management solution is also linked to Brevium, a program designed to help practices recall and retain patients, Ms. Weiss said.

In addition, the system offers online registration on the Dallas Eye Care Associates website, she said.

“Patients can go in and fill in their information, including all of their medications, surgeries, all of their personal information,” Ms. Weiss said. “When they come into the office, it then feeds into the medical record, so it eliminates the time the technician has to stand asking all those questions.” – by Matt Hasson

• Debbie Weiss can be reached at Dallas Eye Care Associates, 5494 Glen Lakes Drive, Dallas, TX 75231; 214-692-8220; fax: 214-692-8764; e-mail: decaeye@aol.com.