Dr. Lance Templeton
Alexandria, LA
Urology
Meek, Templeton, Richey & Perego Urology, a four-physician practice specializing in general urology, was unhappy with both its paper charting system and its in-house billing service’s inability to create the right reports. Seeking a software package that combined EMR and practice management applications, the practice identified a solution that provides physicians and staff with improved medical records, easier access to data and better communication with patients.
Dr. Lance Templeton and his partners wanted, among other things, an electronic medical records application that would provide easier access to medical records when other physicians called. Many EMR products on the market did not offer practice management services, rapidly narrowing the field of possible vendors for the practice to consider.
In January 2004, Meek, Templeton, Richey & Perego Urology went live with an integrated EMR/practice management solution from eClinicalWorks, a Westborough, Mass.-based vendor. The practice chose this service based on price, support, response time and preparedness – from the demo to go-live the physicians felt comfortable with the process and easily resolved any minor issues. Dr. Templeton notes, “It’s hard to have to put all patients’ data in the computer when you have everything on paper. It doesn’t happen magically so it’s hard to get through the first year. That said, we’re thrilled we started the process and are happy to have overcome the growing pains.”
Every physician is using the integrated software solution and all staff have found the system easy to use. For his part, Dr. Templeton likes that he can look up patient information almost instantaneously and answer other physicians’ questions. “I don’t have any specific numbers in terms of ROI,” said Dr. Templeton. “I do suspect that we are coding better and we are absolutely spending less money on charts and paper supplies. We are also probably back up to seeing the same number of patients we were seeing before installation.”
While Dr. Templeton believes it would be hard for any EMR software to be faster than paper charts in the neurology field, he does say that notes are now much more complete, detailed and legible than they were in the days of hand-written scribbles. For this and other tasks, doctors and nurses use motion tablets on the go and at the workstations on their desks.
In terms of the billing side of things, Dr. Templeton has found the practice management software to be very user-friendly and an aspect of the practice where there have been significant improvements. The practice now participates in electronic billing for almost everyone. When there are questions, Dr. Templeton can turn to eClinicalWorks’ customer support or to the independently run users group, where he can ask his colleagues about their own tips and experiences.
Dr. Templeton offers a personal testimonial by way of demonstrating the strength of the integrated EMR/practice management solution he has chosen:
“Twice a month, I travel to a town 30 miles from here to do a clinic. When I do, I use the office of a family practitioner who has watched me use eClinicalWorks over the last year. When his DOS-based system made it impossible for him to continue with his old practice management system, he immediately switched to eClinicalWorks and in it found a cost-effective solution that offered EMR as a bonus.”
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