Information is filled in and stored before forms are sent to the payer. That means that a wealth of material has been recorded and can be organized for your use in clinical decision making. Think about the information you need and how to organize it Organization of patient information for clinical use is easy and inexpensive. When you have decided what information you want to track, you can begin gathering it from charts, data entry forms, or other sources for entry into the computer database. For example, my clinic gathers demographic, office visit, diagnosis, and procedure data.
Trend analysis is another important use of clinical information.
Although some of these data may already be manually trackable by reviewing logbooks and charts, the ability to ask new questions and have answers immediately available can make computerization worthwhile. Consider small steps rather than revamping the office A small investment can yield some valuable results in patient care as well as in public relations for the clinic. For example, if patient education is an important goal, a very useful system can be put together by using a simple word processor and commercially available educational materials. Start with what's reasonably achievable The examples I've mentioned can be instituted with a small investment in equipment. Larger systems, such as comprehensive electronic medical record systems that include progress notes, problem lists, medication information, and other material online, require a much greater outlay of funds and are a much larger task to implement.