Version 4.1 introduces the Batch Importer\More function, which allows you to import not just notes, but all of a patient's chart. This can be very helpful if you are referring a patient to a consultant who also uses Welford Chart Notes. You can send the consultant a single file which contains the entire chart (or any portions of it that you choose to send). The consultant can then import this file and have immediate access to this same information.

2. In the Name box, enter KELLY ERICKSON.

3. Leave Provider grayed. (This only becomes enabled if you enter a Name of ANY and provide the Master Password. Then, you can export an entire Provider's practice to a file, which is useful if a Provider leaves your practice and wants to take records along).

4. For Start Date, enter the earliest date that you saw Kelly. (If you're not sure, just pick an arbitrarily earlier date; the program will skip ahead to whenever she actually has data recorded).

5. For End Date, leave it set to the default which is today's date. (If Kelly stopped seeing you at an earlier date, you could enter that date instead, which might speed up the program just a touch).

6. For Type of Document, you will generally want to keep all choices highlighted. However, if there are certain types of documents that you only use internally and don't want sent to the other physician, you can deselect them by holding down the <Ctrl> key and then clicking on them with your mouse. (For this example, we will skip any Internal Message but include Charted Messages. You may want to exclude Charted Messages as well).

7. For Send To, select File, and then check Batch Importer Format.

10. Press All. However, we don't want to send the Datebook, Orders, Prescription Log, and Referrals, so we uncheck these.

11. Note that each program function has a tab for additional details. Click on the Medications tab.

12. Since we want to send along the entire medication history, check Include History. Otherwise, the program would only send along the current dosage.

13. When done adjusting these More settings, press Ok.

14. Now, press Ok to store the information to a file.

15. You are now asked to give the file a name. The default name is BATCHPR.FIL, although you can name it anything else you wish (such as ERICKSON.FIL). Press Open to store it.

Now, suppose you are the consultant who has received BATCHPR.FIL and want to import it into your system:

3. If you want to parse the notes in the file, check Parse. This will update your own lists of allergies, medications, diagnoses, etc. off the text of the notes. If you want to be asked about it before each item is added, check Verify. However, it should not be necessary to check either one of these if the physician who sent you BATCHPR.FIL has included the allergies, medications, diagnoses, etc. already. In that case, it is faster to simply import these items directly and store the notes directly without having to parse them.

4. If you would rather view each note before it is stored permanently in the Visiter, check Store Provisionally. Otherwise, you can simply store them as is by unchecking this.

5. Leave Automatic Import unchecked as it doesn't apply to this situation. (Check it if you use Instant Medical History).

6. Decide how you want to handle When imported item differs from yours. If you have not seen the patient before, your choice is irrelevant, because you won't have a previously stored item of your own. But if you have seen the patient before and have some data stored about the patient, you will probably want to either use Ask each time, which causes the program to ask you what to do in each instance, or else Don't overwrite any, which leaves your own entries intact and skips the ones in the import file. For example, if you have recorded that the patient is allergic to sulfa, which causes hives, and the import file from the other physician says the patient is allergic to sulfa, which causes a rash, if you select Ask each time, you will be asked whether you want to leave the entry as "hives" or change to "rash", whereas if you select Don't overwrite any, your entry of "hives" will not be altered to "rash".

6. Press the More button if you want to exclude certain portions of the chart from being imported, even if they happen to be in BATCHPR.FIL. For example, you may not care about this patient's Prescription Log, and thus not wish to import that information (it doesn't happen to be in BATCHPR.FIL in this example because the sending physician didn't choose to include it, but if he had, you can choose to skip it).

7. Press Options and choose how you wish to match the patient to your practice. If you and the other physician use the same method of assigning code numbers to patients (such as social security numbers), you may wish to check Code Number, but if your two practices use different methods of assigning these, you should NOT check this, because they won't match for identical patients. In that case, check both Birthdate and Name. Remember that if the birthdate was entered erroneously at either your practice or the sending physician's practice, or if the name is entered slightly differently (e.g. by including or not including a middle initial) then the importer will not match them as identical people and consider them to be different patients.

Welford Medical Computing, Inc.

3779 Hermitage Trail

Rockford, IL 61114

or

MEDCOM Information Systems, Inc.

2117 Stonington Avenue

Hoffman Estates, IL 60195

http://medcom@emirj.com