The Path to Paperless

Convenience “Apps” Create Efficiencies

Accessed via iPhone or another smart phone, they simplify many tasks.

By Peter J. Polack, MD, FACS

Computerized practice management systems and EMR systems help to reduce human error and improve efficiency. But trying to eliminate humans entirely from the practice of medicine is a fool's errand.

People will always be an integral part of the practice of medicine and there are new ways that technology can leverage their effort for the better.

Known as “convenience applications,” these software programs range from free to under a couple of thousand dollars — compared to tens of thousands of dollars for your typical EMR or practice management system. And in contrast to the latter, convenience apps are specifically designed to assist humans to be more productive and profitable doing those tasks that can't be completely automated. They help your staff do the right things (effectiveness) and do the things right (efficiency).

These apps can be used in many areas — from time and task management to collaboration and communication. If you own an iPhone or other smart phone, you're probably using several of these already. Two areas of particular interest to medical practices are process documentation and project management.

■ Process documentation. Your medical practice is nothing but a bunch of processes. By documenting all of yours, you can standardize them, squeeze the variability out of their execution and “clone” your A-teams by ensuring the transfer of that knowledge.

A solo practitioner with a handful of employees may think this is overkill. A slightly bigger practice is likely to document things (once) in an employee training manual, but this is of little use in the middle of a busy clinic day. This is “just-in-case” learning. It relies on filling workers' minds with tons of information that they may or may not ever need to use. It also requires constant retraining and reinforcement so that, should that knowledge ever be needed, the employee will hopefully remember it.

On the other hand, documenting your processes, preferably in a digital format, employs “just-in-time” learning. All that a new or temporary worker would need to know is how to access your process flow maps and follow the specific steps as illustrated. Any worker could fill in for an absent one without having to formally cross-train for that position – she can merely consult the documented processes and get the job done. Another great feature of digital process documentation is the ability to use employee feedback to constantly tweak processes for improvement. In contrast, an employee manual merely tells workers what to do but not necessarily how to do it better, and is only updated infrequently.

Examples of Process Apps: SmartDraw, Google Draw, Visio, Gliffy.

■ Project management. Anything that takes two or more steps and has a beginning and an end is called a project. This can be anything from a simple remodeling of an exam room to something as complex as migrating a database to a new server. Keeping true to the concept of knowledge sharing, project management should not take place in someone's head but in a tool specifically designed to promote collaboration.

Project management apps can display timelines with dependencies, task staff members with automated reminders, and allow managers to display the progress of the project at a glance. They keep everyone on the same page at all times. And they are more flexible than calendars. Just try scheduling a multi-step project in a calendar and see what happens if one of those steps has to be postponed: chaos. OM

Examples of Project Management apps: Basecamp HQ, Microsoft Project, ProjectPlace.

Peter J. Polack, MD, FACS, is co-managing partner for Ocala Eye, a multisubspecialty ophthalmology practice located in Ocala, Fla. He is also founder of Emedikon, an online practice management resource for physicians and administrators.