When internist Dr. David A. Wait was part of a group practice, he was continually frustrated by the mess of papers, charts, test results, medication lists and dictation that overflowed his desk. “The most important item, such as a positive stress test, was always on the bottom,” he remembers. It took 2–4 weeks to get dictated notes typed up and put into charts. Dr. Wait himself spent hours each day completing records and worried that the system was a “patient safety hazard.”
Feature-Rich And Fast
Dr. Wait decided it was time to do things right. He started his own practice, Francis Henry Health Center, and decided to switch to electronic health records (EHR). He and Faith Wait, his wife and office manager, spent about a year looking for an EHR and practice management (PM) system that was fast, full of features, approved by Medicare and affordable.
After seeing demos and comparing the technical support offered by different companies, Dr. Wait chose Aprima.
The single-application EHR/PM solution combines a fast, intuitive EHR and powerful PM in one database. Dr. Wait explains, “Aprima was middle of-the-road in the wide range of prices and had most of the features of the more expensive systems. ‘Medical Economics’ magazine has rated it as having the fastest time to complete a visit.”
Dr. Wait purchased the Aprima EHR/PM solution at the end of 2005 and went live with it in January 2006.
Unmatched Training And Customer Support
Mrs. Wait says that the practice could never have done it so quickly without Aprima’s training and technical support team. “Aprima has provided amazing training and support,” she says. “Someone came out to do initial training and then came back for the go-live, when we implemented everything at once. After that, the trainer came back once a month to help us with the end-of-month close. We’ve been using Aprima since then and we always get good support. Aprima’s technical support has even fixed problems with our prescription printer when it wasn’t their problem.”
With regard to Aprima, Dr. Wait says, “I love it. It is designed to flow with the natural order of a patient visit. I do very little writing and very little dictation [although the system is compatible with dictation if a physician prefers], and at the end of the day, I don’t have any charts to complete. “The system can be tuned differently for each provider according to the provider’s preferences. I fine-tuned the pre-loaded screens so that most notes are completed by a series of taps on the screen. When the patient leaves the exam room, the note is done, the lab knows what tests to run, the front desk knows what referrals to make, and scripts are either sent electronically to the pharmacy or printed out at the front desk.”
On the business side of the practice, billing, collections and financial reporting are much easier using Aprima. Mrs. Wait says, “Closing the day is so convenient. The superbills are already done, so I just balance and close, check the transactions and make sure that payments are posted. It’s so convenient and quick! I can’t image doing this on paper.”
Dr. Wait is also quick to point out that the practice wouldn’t be able to get so many clinical and financial benfits out of the Aprima EHR/PM solution without the company’s exemplary technical support. Mrs. Wait adds, “The only way people will believe how good Aprima’s support is would be to call or e-mail before they even purchase the system.”
Dr. Wait agrees, “Support is fantastic. We communicate with them in several ways, depending on the issue. They always get back to us within 24 hours, and often within a few hours. Also, the local sales rep is very knowledgeable about the clinical aspects, and he stops in occasionally just to show us tips, tricks and easier ways of doing things.”
Aprima, with its excellent product and technical support, enables Dr. Wait to provide better patient care, spend less time doing paperwork and build a financially healthy practice.