Software Solutions/EHR

Stop Using Paperweights!

Dr. Kuhlman working in her paperless practice

Paperwork is not what Dr. Tamara Kuhlmann, OD, had in mind when she went into optometry 27 years ago. It ate up too much time as she and staff members filled out forms by hand or hunted down patient records. Paperwork also allowed too many errors.

“With paper charts, you’re running around endlessly looking for them,” says Dr. Kuhlmann. And, she admits, her handwriting is kind of sloppy: “Even I can barely read it.”
Nearly five years ago, Dr. Kuhlmann and her partner, Jason Miller, OD, of Eye Care Professionals in Powell, Ohio, (www.visionsource-ecp.com) took the leap to a paperless office. It wasn’t an easy change, but they haven’t looked back.

“It’s difficult to implement, and it takes a lot of time and energy and effort from everybody,” she says. But in the long run it was really worth it. “Part of the reason we did it was to try to increase efficiency and decrease errors.”

The practice uses the MaximEyes system. Dr. Kuhlmann says it’s trickier to learn than Officemate, for example, but she and Dr. Miller like how well the system handles VSP insurance calculations. “It integrates everything, including insurance and ordering glasses, the whole nine yards,” she says. “From a medical viewpoint and an accuracy and efficiency viewpoint, it keeps everybody on the same page easily.”

At EyeCare Professionals, each exam room has a computer terminal so the practice staff can access and update all the practice records immediately. And if a patient needs a prescription, the ODs can print one out in seconds or send it in themselves. “Patients just love that I can electronically send their medical prescription to their pharmacy, and by the time they get there it’s ready for them,” she says.

The effect on the practice’s bottom line has been positive. Besides herself and Dr. Miller, the practice has just a few other people on staff. “We’ve always operated somewhat lean” even as the practice has expanded. “But we’ve not had to add a whole lot of people since we started this in 2005. I would say it definitely has kept our payroll down.”

The practice has contracted with Codex Techworks in nearby Columbus to handle the maintenance and upkeep of all its software and hardware. Problems come up, and Codex gets a call from the practice every week or two. “We have so many computerized gadgets in our practice and you want to have them interface as much as possible,” she says. “It’s nice to know we have somebody we can call.”

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The practice of Thomas J. Overberg, OD, in Fremont, Ohio (www.droverberg.com), has been paperless since 1996. Why did he make the switch so early? read more>

Kim Castleberry, OD, Plano, Texas
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When it comes to practice management software and electronic medical records, change really is the only constant, says Kim Castleberry, OD, who runs a $2 million a year practice in Plano, Texas. read more>

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