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A&L Softwords Newsletter
August 1996 Teach
& Train '96: Bonus
Dollar Savings
Hurry, before it's too late. The world around us is plugging
in. Each day, everywhere the world becomes more connected, more in touch.
Tomorrow's waters are charted today. Be a part of it. Together we hold the
means to master even the heaviest storms of the sea. Join us and be a part
of the possibilities for tomorrow's medical community.
Our 8th annual Teach&Train seminar is taking place on September 28th.
To financially help our users we are offering $50 gift certificates to
each person attending the seminar, worth significant savings toward Software
Maintenance Contracts. The more attendees from your office, the more
significant your savings.
Our Teach &Train seminar grows each year and this year promises to be
the best yet. We are providing a beautiful setting, tea, coffee, an excellent
lunch and as well gift certificates. Don't miss out. We hope to help you
understand and use Computer Technology to its fullest, while keeping an
eye on the trends for tomorrow. How we handle information is a major factor
in issues of health and medicine. Technology creates a shadow for those
outside of its light, but a bright future for those who bathe in its light.
Join us and be a part of a bright future.
For Pennies a Day
At every point in the history of computers some people have argued
that there is no need for the kind of power we see in today's computers.
And every step of the way, anyone who has used a computer has proved these
people wrong. We are only starting on the long road of understanding what
technology and computer technology in particular can do for us.
In fact computer technology is the fastest growing and one of the largest
segments of the economy. All of it is geared toward providing solutions
to problems, offering people ways of making their life better by handling
information, enabling people to communicate and do all the things that the
human imagination can think of.
There is no short-cut on this road of development. But one thing is sure.
We cannot remain with our feet only in the present and have future doors
still open for us. Each day we must wake up, have a coffee and then embrace
the technological world around us. With rare exception, no one today lives
without the use of computers.
In the medical community of Ontario, we are at a stage or phase where some
of the underpinnings of our administrative procedures are changing and shifting.
Being but a part of the economy, market forces are knocking at the door
of change. At the core of these changes are technology. They make change
possible, affordable and allow endless system dynamics to be taken into
consideration. The computer world simply defies standard analogies. Technology
changes and evolves so quickly that it makes certain un-thought of things
possible. Like being able to purchase for pennies a day, software that costs
over $100 million to make. That is the wonder of it all.
And that is what is behind Windows NT and Windows 95. And that is what is
behind the A&L HERO* program. For programmers, programming is a drug.
All successful programs use the fantastic capability of computers to customized
many, seemingly endless purposes and tasks. A&L HERO* is the magic of
programming applied to the medical community of Ontario with millions spent
to make an inter-active network that is right for everyone because it is
customized for each and everyone. It's the magic of having the world's most
versatile, flexible machines working for you so that each and everyone can
change its characteristics to suit their needs. This is what is available
to you for your office. A fully functioning Windows based transactional
network program with all the latest features that you would expect. And
it's less than the cost of most yearly Software Maintenance Contracts. It's
not just the latest, its the only and first transaction network for the
medical community of Ontario. It's not just another option in the computer
landscape, it is defining and setting the parameters of procedures for what
is and how our work will be done... today and tomorrow.
Why not visit our Web Site at anl.com and see what A&L
HERO* is all about. Or, call us, demonstrations are free.
Becoming skilled at getting Quality Medical Care
In our last two issues of Softwords (April and June '96) we have
provided our Users with articles to be used to help shed light on the problems
troubling the medical community of Ontario. We believe that significant
strides can be made toward efficiency in the Ontario medical community through
the use of technology and through OHIP-User education. Recently, in Softwords,
we have tried to focus on user education and the roll of making Medical
Care an active partnership between patient and medical professionals.
In our April issue we included the A&L Caring Approach sheet as well
as steps to be taken by patients to work in partnership with their doctor.
In our June issue of Softwords, we covered aspects of how patients may take
a more active roll in medical decisions. We invited our users to photocopy
these materials as they saw fit in hopes of educating users.
In this issue of Softwords, we will be taking a look at how to help users
become skilled at obtaining quality medical attention while at the same
time reducing over all costs. We have again
broken this general topic into a few suggestions that may help in reducing
costs and increasing the quality of medical care that all patients receive.
Dear Patients...
If you think that the cost of medical care doesn't matter because
OHIP is paying for it, think again. You do pay. In fact, you pay in many
ways, as we all do. Employers pay for health care coverage by restricting
wage increases and off-setting costs, including costs that may make an employees
work place a better place to be. And that's only the beginning. As well,
governments increase what employers have to pay per employee per month.
And then there is tax. Taxes are endless. And lately, so are claw-backs
and hold-backs. But the fact is that governments pay for health care by
increasing taxes and/or by reducing benefits or covered procedures. As medical
costs go up, there is less money. These costs affect all of us. If we can
help reduce health care costs, we help ourselves and everyone else.
Right now, in Ontario, the government pays just under $3,8000 per year per
user. Employers only pay a part of this. For the 11 million plus OHIP users
of Ontario, spending has reached proportions that will only change with
everyone's immediate effort. Each user must take charge of the partnership
with their doctor and available medical facilities. Each and everyone of
us must take measures that result in a wiser use of medical services. It's
just common sense. Unless there are drastic changes to privatize how medicine
is practiced in Ontario, medical costs will increase and available funds
will decrease. It's basic economics. Thus, if all of us approach attaining
medical care with a parsimonious attitude, better medical care will be the
result, at least until such a time as we are prepared to drastically change
our medical system and privatize it.
There are many things we can do to work toward better utilization. Education
and common sense are two lanes of the same highway. Medicine is not magic.
If someone takes the time to explain a problem or a treatment to us, we
can make an informed decision that is best for us. To become a working partner
with your doctor, to take an active roll and become skilled at attaining
the best possible medical care are all a matter of using common sense. Seeking
the right medical services and avoiding un-needed services and costs are
also issues of common sense that result in better service for all of us.
There are nine ways that you can become skilled in attaining the best possible
medical care, while reducing costs.
Stay healthy. We've included this point in each section of our general guidelines,
but obviously, we cannot repeat this enough. Healthy lifestyles and preventative
services are the best way to keep costs down and improve the care you receive.
Take a look at all aspects of your lifestyle to improve your health. Do
you eat well? Do you smoke? Are you getting exercise? Life is motion- are
you active enough? Do you work too much? Do you have time for yourself?
Are you proud of the life you are living? Do you work daily toward being
a happy person?
Look after minor problems yourself when reasonable to do so. If you manage
a health concern at home you help reduce the cost of health care across
the province. As we have said before, the complexity of health issues involved
in living a full life and staying healthy will ensure that most of us will
have minor problems at various points in our lives. Many minor problems
can be easily managed at home with thoughtfulness and care.
Make sure you have a Primary Care Provider. It is important to your medical
history to have a doctor who knows you medically speaking. A case history
of minor aliments may be nothing... but then again, maybe it will help in
sorting out a larger picture down the road when something happens. And preventative
medicine is the best weapon for living a healthy life. The most qualified
professional to help you before problems develop is a Primary Care Provider.
Do not get tests done without understanding at least how they will help
you. Un-needed tests are often done because a doctor is left with little
recourse legally against malpractice suits. Tests should be done when the
benefits to you outweigh the risks and costs involved. If you do not know
the costs involved, ask. If you do not see or understand the benefits, ask.
And ask if there are any risks so that you may make an informed decision.
Do not expect to have medication prescribed for every illness. Choose remedies
that are best for you. Your expectations and hunches will often assist your
doctor in better understanding the nature of your problem and how you prefer
to deal with it. If you have no intention of taking medicine, be straight
with your partner. Have you monitored your health concern on your own? Are
there other things (like eating well and getting enough rest) that may help
you with this problem?
When your primary care provider refers you to a specialist, a little preparation
and skill in communication will go a long way. Try to know the diagnosis
or suspected diagnosis. Learn about treatment options and ask that your
Primary Care Provider remain involved in your case. Ask your specialist
to send new test results or recommendations to both you and your regular
doctor. Remember, the more you know the better off you are. The more active
you are in dealing with your own health concerns the more you know and understand
your body and its nature.
Use emergency services wisely. Emergency services should be for emergencies.
It definitely is the most expensive way to attain treatment. And keep in
mind as well that Walk-in services often do not put you in touch with your
own Primary Care Provider even if you use the same clinic regularly. Usually
you see who is available. Again, use these clinics wisely.
Prepare for any hospital visit. Ask questions about anything being done
to you, or ask someone to watch out for your best interests. Try as best
you can to check tests, medications, injections and other treatments. Your
diligence will often improve the quality of the care you receive. And remember
the human touch. Be friendly and courteous with doctors, medical nurses
and aids. Friendly relations increase the attention paid to your needs and
speeds recovery.
Educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about your health, health related
issues and lifestyle. Are there articles or books your doctor could recommend
to you? Does a certain area of your health interest you enough to read more
about it? Do friends have books they can recommend? Do you read the medical
columns in your local, regional or national newspapers and magazines? Could
these columns serve as a starting place for you?
Living well should be a concern to everyone. So often, good health is taken
for granted until something happens. With a little more thought and diligence,
most could live a better, healthier and happier life. L'achiem.
Searching for Spock and Friends
In our last issue of Softwords, we went through how to use the
Query Utility to create a simple Query. This time we will illustrate how
to create and link compound queries.
In the main menu, select #12 Query Utility. Start each search
by highlighting the target of the search. There are two possibilities,
Patients or Claims. We will continue with the patient
target and set some conditions for a compound query.
A Compound Query is any Query made up of two or more queries. In constructing
such a query the program needs to setup a logical relation between the components.
The Query Utility will request that we link the components of the query
with the logical condition of AND or the logical condition
of OR.
So, for example, say we know two things; that Spock and his friends are
getting on in years and have not been in for a visit in over a year. This
creates two search conditions.
The first step is to highlight Birthdate by using the UP
or DOWN arrow keys and press the ENTER key.
Fill in the condition of this component. So, for our purposes here, let
us say we know that they are born before 1936. In the third box we would
enter JAN 01 1936 and press the ENTER key. This
will select all patients whose birthdate comes before that date.
To construct the second part of the query, use the [PgUp]
or [PgDn] keys to find a second data item. In this case of
the Search for Spock and friends we need the data item LAST SEEN.
When this data item is on the screen, highlight it and press the ENTER
key. Select the logical relation for our search. In this case we know that
they have not been into our office for over a year, so we want LESS
(Less Than). Once high-lighted, we must fill in the condition for this part
of the search. Put in a date of, say, AUG 01 1995 and press
the ENTER key. This part of the query will select all patients
whose LAST SEEN date comes prior to August 1st, 1995. Taken
together, the query will select only those patients who have a birthday
before 1936 and who have not been seen over the past year.
After we direct where the Query Results go (to the Screen or Printer)
we must connect these two components with logical AND or logical
OR. Setting the logical connection to AND means
that the program will select by birthdate AND by last seen
date. Setting the logical connection to OR means the program
will select by birthdate OR by last seen date. AND
will result in only those records meeting ALL conditions.
OR will result in records which meet ANY SINGLE
or either condition.
Once the relation is set, the system will prompt us to select a report type,
CUSTOM or DEFAULT. Default Report has a fixed format
and limited number of data items. If we wish to change this, we select CUSTOM
and choose other data items. The system will then ask us if we want to Preview
or Start the query. The Preview shows us how the query we
have just made looks in the actual Query Language Syntax. That wasn't so
bad now was it?
The Growing Internet
What can you do on the Internet? Play games? Well, yes and murder
mysteries too. You can be the detective, butler, visiting guest or any number
or other characters. Or, you can listen to music tracks you are thinking
of buying. Listen to samples from various selections of CDs, read critical
reviews and related material on the band or recording. Or what about movie
reviews? It seems that most recently released movies have their own Web
Sites these days. Or, perhaps more on topic, how about sending our Prime
Minister or Ontario Premier a message or two? (Keep in mind that it is a
criminal office to issue threats.) Or, find out all you can about mutual
funds and RSP investments. Or, how about a million and one other things
that most of us think of doing sometimes but never quite get around to it,
given a hectic life?
But what about absolutely useful stuff related to your office? Like down-loading
the latest version of A&L Medical System. Or, checking out the electronic,
on-line version of Softwords, or seeing what is new with A&L, including
our latest promotional offer on A&L HERO*. Or, just check-out the latest
developments on the A&L HERO* Healthcare Network. Then there are Practice
Management Tips and much, much more. Or, through ANL.COM, visit the OMA
Web Site to get in touch with what is new in contract talks and negotiations.
There is a world filled with information and it is pulsing around your home
and office phone lines waiting for you to tap into it. All it takes is a
modem, phone jack and a browser, then you are on your way. The Internet
World is yours for the taking. It is simply the fastest, easiest and most
useful way of getting information of any sort. And while you are at it,
visit us at anl.com. (Actually, you have to enter the entire
address, but then bookmark it for easy reference. The full address is, http:\\www.anl.com
E-mail Vs Snail-mail
Frankly, after trying the Internet and E-mail a few times, you
will see why everyone who uses e-mail is hooked. It's just so easy and efficient.
It's a method of communication that is intimate like a letter without the
being as formal, yet is as immediate as a phone without the lack of structure.
If you enjoy keeping in touch with anyone, especially someone living 
out-of-town, then it is the cheapest thing in the world. You pay your $15
(or less) a month and email to anywhere around the world free. It's that
simple. Daily contact is affordable because you incur no long distance charges.
You send your message or email to a local computer that passes it along
till it reaches the person it is addressed to. Remember, you probably don't
want confidential stuff floating around, e-mail can be intercepted. So,
use common sense and try it out. You'll see why everyone is hooked. While
you are at it, send us a message. We will be happy to hear from you and
promise a response as soon as possible. Come on, let's E-chat.
Black Holes and New Caps
...a black hole is a set of events from which it was not possible
to escape to a large distance... Such objects are what we now call black
holes, because that is what they are: black voids in space.
Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time
Trends in social and economic life point in one direction. Eventually, no
matter which political party forms the government of Ontario, provincial
finances will have to be put into balance. In the mean time, the medical
community faces the conundrum of having cuts forced on them, while being
in the position of not being able to enjoy any of the benefits of the supposed
deregulation that spawned them. As well, there seems to be no end to the
cut-backs and restrictions governing what a doctor can make, how much he
or she can make and how he or she can make it.
And recent trends in the market place of products and services have been
the same for the medical community as it is for all areas of the economy;
a noticeable demand and focus on quality. The dilemma of course is that
with decreased funding, what is anyone to do? New Cap restrictions have
just been announced, yet costs of delivering quality care keep steadily
increasing, as do the legal requirements and responsibilities. Where does
that leave a doctor who is simply trying to be a doctor in Ontario, run
a practice, pay a staff, and make enough money to make the years of school,
the endless hours and the million and one hassles worth it?
The bad news is that for the foreseeable future these trends will probably
continue. The last decades of the 20th century have been a time of economic
restructuring, dislocation and mass migration. Canada, as well as many other
nations, has moved from being an industrial economy to a knowledge-based
economy. This has been the thrust behind computerization, the move to make
use of more and more technology.
And this is where we think we can help. Costs must come down. We are here
to help you implement the latest technology into your practice to help you
bring down those costs. For most offices, one of the largest expenses is
filing. Filing is a set of events from which it is not possible to escape.
They are black holes in the office. Time, effort and money goes into it
and never comes back out.
We believe that modern Document Imaging solutions will put an end to the
black holes in the office. It was because of archaic filing procedures and
regulations that the A&L Document Console was created. It's your filing
system in a computer. It uses the latest in Windows technology and makes
black holes a thing of the past. And how long can you afford to keep all
of your files? With the Document Console, forever... all in less space than
a three-ring binder. Why have boxes and boxes stored in your basement creating
black hole at home? This is just what technology is for. After all, life
is technology, isn't it?
Softwords is a bimonthly
newsletter published by A&L Computer Software Ltd., 175 West Beaver
Road, Suite #6, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 3M1 (905) 886-8066. Reproduction
of Softwords without written permission is strictly prohibited. For information,
questions or suggestions concerning the publication, please contact or write
the Editor, Daniel St. Amant at the address above or at dstamant@anl.com.
* HERO is a registered trademark of HTN Inc.
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