WELFORD CHART NOTES
NEWSLETTER
Volume 21, No. 6 December, 2002
copyright 2002, Welford Medical Computing, Inc. All rights reserved
USING PATIENT LOCATIONS
Version 4.2 introduces the Patient Locations feature. This feature lets you keep track of where each patient is located at your facility. This lets you analyze the efficiency of your practice and lets physicians and employees know when a patient is waiting to be seen.
A. Add Locations
Let's try out this feature. First, create a list of the locations within your facility where a patient might be assigned (such as Reception, Nurse's Station, Billing, etc.):1. Press View\Patient Locations\Add.
2. Enter the name of a Location in the Location box (like "Nursing Station") and press Ok.
1. Press View\Patient Locations.
2. In the Location list, click on Reception to highlight it.
3. Click on the Patients at that Location list and press Add to add a name to the list of patients who are located at Reception.
4. Enter the name of the patient, e.g. Andrew Jackson.
5. You can optionally type in a Comment about this patient during his visit today. This comment stays attached to him as he moves from location to location so each provider can be aware of it. For example, you might type in "he needs to leave by 3 to pick up his son". Press Ok.
Suppose your job is to take patients back from Reception to an open Exam Room. First, you want to see which Exam Room is open:
1. Press View\Patient Locations.
2. Click on "Exam Room 1". If there are no patients listed in Patients at that Location, you know that room is open. If not, click on "Exam Room 2" and see if Patients in that Location is empty, etc.
Since Exam Room 1 is open, you take Andrew Jackson to Exam Room 1. You need to indicate this in the program:
1. Press View\Patient Locations.
2. Click on Reception to highlight it.
3. Double-click Andrew Jackson's name in the list of Patients at that Location, or highlight it and press Change.
4. In the "Location of Andrew Jackson" window, you can see a history of every place he has been today at your facility and any comments made. You can edit the comment at this point if you want to.
5. Click on "Exam Room 1" in the Location list and press Ok (or simply double-click it). The program now knows he is in Exam Room 1. The "Location of Andrew Jackson" window closes. Notice that the "Patient Locations" window now no longer shows him in Reception. If you select "Exam Room 1" from the list of Locations, you now see Andrew Jackson listed in the Patients at that Location list.
Suppose you are the physician covering Exam Room 1. You are sitting in your office waiting for a patient to be ready to be seen. One way to find out is:
1. Press View\Patient Locations.
2. In the Locations box, highlight Exam Room 1.
3. You will see Andrew Jackson listed in the Patients at that Location list and know he is ready to be seen.
C. Seeing Locations in Your In-Box
However, an even easier way is to have Patient Locations appear automatically in your In-Box, so you don't need to keep pressing View\Patient Locations to find out who is ready to be seen. To do this:1. Press View\Patient Locations\Options, or View\In-Box\Options\Patient Location Options. (Either one brings up exactly the same window).
2. Check the boxes for the Locations you want to monitor in your In-Box, and uncheck the others. For example, as a physician, you might want to monitor Exam Room 1 through 3, whereas the nurse might want to monitor Reception, etc. Press Ok to store your choices.
Now, whenever a patient is moved into Exam Room 1, 2, or 3, that fact will automatically display in your In-Box. If you want to signal to an employee when you are done seeing that patient:
1. Double-click the patient's name from your In-Box (or highlight it and press Edit).
Doing this removes the patient's name from your In-Box. It also would cause the name to appear in the In-Box of a user who is monitoring the Patient Location where you sent the patient. For example, if you sent the patient to the Lab, a user who runs the Lab would see the name appearing in her In-Box, indicating that the patient is on his way to the Lab.
When the patient leaves the facility, someone should set that patient's Location to "Discharged", or it will
appear that the patient spent hours at the last location marked.
If you lose a patient, simply choose "All Locations" in the Location list and find the name in the Patients at that Location list.
NEWS ON UPCOMING VERSIONS
We are hard at work putting the finishing touches on version 4.3. This version has been modified to work with Windows XP. It has a number of speed enhancements in both the SQL and 32-bit versions, for faster performance of the In-Box, Rule Reminders, Lab Book, and other program functions. There are big enhancements to the In-Box and Security System. Check next month's newsletter for a complete run-down on the new features in version 4.3. SEND US YOUR TIPS If you have tips, shortcuts, questions, or suggestions for future newsletter topics, please send them to us at: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