Softwords Newsletter

June 1996

Our Eighth Annual Seminar...Teach and Train '96

Join the tradition. Over the past eight years, we have worked hard to make Teach & Train a day to remember. In the good old days, we used to say that time flies when you are having fun. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much in the way of fun for the medical community, yet time has not really seemed to slow down much. That is why we will be doing our best to offer you and your staff a fun and relaxing day of learning at A&L's Eighth Annual Teach & Train.

There will be a host of topics covered, ample coffee breaks, an excellent lunch, and prizes. As well, we will be Pre-releasing the A&L Medical System Version 8 to those offices covered under a Software Maintenance Contract.

Teach & Train '96 will be hosted at the Sheraton East Hotel, located off Kennedy Road, just North of the 401, at 2035 Kennedy Road, Scarborough. Everyone was so pleased with the Sheraton last year that we just had to go back. The food and service were top-rate. Some mentioned that they enjoyed the ambiance of the indoor gardens and cafe, while a few took the opportunity to escape the heat and use the large pool, and others still took advantage of the Victorian style piano bar.

Teach & Train '96 is taking place on September 28th. Registration is at 8:30 (a little earlier than last year), with the seminar getting under way by 9:00 a.m. and running till 3:00 p.m. We are starting earlier this year because we are offering attendees (if there is enough interest) the opportunity of joining A&L at the SkyDome to watch the Toronto Blue Jays play the Baltimore Orioles at 4:05 p.m. We are still making plans at this stage so please be sure to let us know on your registration form whether or not you are interested in attending the baseball game. With a 3:00p.m. finishing time we will have ample time to get to the SkyDome.

As usual we ask that you register as soon as possible. Enclosed is a registration form. We will keep you informed about Teach & Train '96 through Softwords or by telephone. The seminar is still one of the best bargains around. It is only $48.50 per person (including tax) for offices with a Software Maintenance Contract. Please send in your remittance with your registration form. Although we will do all that we can to accommodate everyone, space is limited. Register early to avoid disappointment.

This promises to be the best Teach & Train yet. It is our sincere hope that you will join us in this special annual event. We look forward to seeing you there, and joining us at the Sky Dome.

Getting the Right Doctor...Building a Partnership

If there is one thing that is important to patient care, it is the necessity of having a Primary Care Physician. If someone doesn't have one, our advice is; get one. Everyone needs a regular doctor. Specialists work on specific problems while a Primary Care Physician gets to know you in order that they may see the big picture. The Primary Care Physician develops a case history and a special relationship with their patients, creating a context of knowledge that is much broader in scope than would otherwise be possible. A Primary Care Physician will take into consideration personal values and choices of which others may have no knowledge. This is just the kind of information that is usually unavailable to specialists or any doctor who doesn't have a history with the patient. This fact is the strongest argument in making a case for the importance of a Primary Care Physician.

Sometimes though, the relationship between doctor and patient is not ideal. When this happens, it is not always best for the doctor or the patient to continue in the relationship, especially if the doctor and patient are out-of-touch with each other. In some cases, it is time for both to move on. From the patient's perspective, it is important to know how he or she feels toward the doctor. Finding a doctor you want to develop a partner relationship with often is just a matter of knowing certain things. Does the doctor listen well? Does she or he seem to understand you when you tell them about your problems? Do you think you could build a good working partnership with this doctor? If you have serious doubts about any of these things, find another doctor.

And of course, not everyone wants a doctor who is a partner. Well, at least a doctor should know this. A doctor needs to know what a patient expects. Knowing a patient's expectations is an important part of offering the best possible health-care.

To patients we would like to say; if you feel you have the wrong doctor, do yourself a favour. Tell your current doctor how you would like to be treated. Most doctors would be pleased to work with you as a partner if only you would tell them. Otherwise, they may think you are like others who just want to be told what they should do.

A Primary Care Provider is closely enough involved with a patient that they hopefully are in a postion to offer the best advice and make the best decisions when it comes to the health-care her or his patient seeks. A patient history and access to that history- all of it- in the fastest, most efficient way, is as vital to the Primary Care Physician as the Primary Care Physician is to a patient. This is our strongest argument for technology.

Who is going to have the best access to medical records, history notes, files, charts, x-rays, and anything else that may make up the history of a particular patient? With A&L Medical Systems, the information is readily available, but it does not include everything.

With the A&L Document Console, everything is included. Everything... from A to Z and back again. Chart notes, X-ray, Photographs, post-it notes, graphs, computer files...

The Document Console is not just a computer file brimming with information. It is a Primary Care Physician's best means of serving patients. A doctor not taking advantage of such technology is like a business without phones or computers. Building a meaningful, helpful and information-based relationship with 2,000 to 3,000 active patients is not something easily done without the help of a computer, a database and more and more, imaging software. A doctor's data is the life-line of her or his practice. What a Primary Care Physician provides is so much more than advice. Often what she or he provides is the context which allows personalized knowledge about the patient to be used to the fullest. Providing the patient with the opportunity of having better health. And even though good health is often the first thing taken for granted, good-health is what most of us would take as the most important foundation of living a full and happy life. That it depends on many things is not something that should be quickly over-looked. But A&L has the means of helping Primary Care Physicians provide their patients with important parts of the Healthy Life puzzle. It is something to be investigated and understood.

HERO on the Run: Last Seen Wandering...

How do you spend most of your day? Anchored to your desk? Unable to turn around or move because everything you need is at your desk and desktop computer? They have wireless phones, why not wireless computers that will go with you on the fly, without being cumbersome? If you were you able to leave your desk, and able to take your phone and computer information with you, who knows what you could do on the run. Yet, often we seem tied to our desk more and more simply because the information we need is there.

According to almost any survey done on the subject, nobody seems to sit at their desk anymore... why should you? And if no one is at the desk anymore, why have a computer there, tying you down? Why not Wander Wirelessly from anywhere you are to anywhere you have to be, be it different offices, desks, or areas anywhere in the building. Not only should you be able to roam to where you have to be, you should be able to connect to the programs you use now, Windows or DOS based, and make them work for you while you are on the move. Well, modern technology is here to enable you to do all that.

But wait, there is more! Why not take full advantage of modern programming and plug into the best deal in the marketplace today. For about the cost of most software maintenance contracts, you can plug into Ontario's first Transactional Network. A&L HERO isn't just a Windows based billing package; it is everything you will need, want and use in Medical Software. For today and tomorrow.

A&L HERO not only provides you with everything you need, but is the difference between being on an island or being plugged into the world. A house without a phone or electricity is a cottage or cabin we use to get away. A business without a telephone or technology is an isolated island which is getting smaller and more isolated. Today this is not so much a business as it is the end of one.

A&L HERO isn't just a medical software package. It is your gateway to the future. It is a Network plugged into the medical community, from the Ministry of Health and the OMA, to doctors offices across the province and around the world. It is a comprehensive program that covers all aspects of medical office procedures. And it is as easy to use as pointing and clicking a computer mouse.

At A&L, we assure you that you will be up and running quickly and that it will do everything you need a network to do. You will see the difference in all aspects of your practice. It is the healthcare-specific highway that you've been reading about in Newspapers, magazines and seeing on television. It's dynamic and as easy to use as picking up the telephone. And it can be used to go wherever you want to take it so that you can wander with it wirelessly. Want to see what it takes to plug your office into all of what you will ever need for about the cost of Software Maintenance? Give us a call...

The Query Utility

Searching for Captain Kirk The Query Language is one of the most diverse and powerful features of the A&L Medical System. Many of our users are a little intimidated in trying to use the syntax and language details to generate a query. That was why we created the Query Utility. The Query Utility is designed to help users construct queries. It is a pre-set, structured search engine that allows you to make choices so that you end up with a desired query without necessarily knowing language syntax or dictionary items.

In the main menu, select #12 Query Utility and press the ENTER key. Start each search by highlighting the target of the search: Patients or Claims. If you were to choose the Patient target, you simply have to set some condition within it. For example, Captain Kirk.

Within the Patient target files, the Query Utility will now structure your next choices. You can select which data items should be included in your search. These could include; Chart Number, Name, Health Number, Birthdate, and others.

Once a particular condition is chosen, you will then be asked to set the logical relation for your search. In other words, under what guidelines should the system search for details of your entry? By using the Up or Down Arrow keys you can scroll through the possibilities. Equal, Not Equal, Contain, Ending and Begin. So, if you want an exact match, choose Equal. An approximate match? Choose Contain. A starting letter? Choose Begin. A final letter? Choose Ending.

So let's consolidate what we have discussed so far. We've entered the Query Utility to search the patient file for Captain Kirk. Now, assume we don't know his Chart or Health Number nor his Birthdate. As well, our office happens to be in an odd end of town where there are numerous patients with the name Kirk. We don't know his first name or middle initial, but would like to search the patient file for the Captain of the Enterprise. So, we set the logical relation to Equal, and then type in Kirk. If we did remember the Captain's first name, we could set the logical relation to Contain and type in James. (Or, what about all patients whose name begins with the letter K? Then we would set the logical relation to Begin and type in the letter K.)

We have now constructed a simple Query. (If at any time you want to start over, press the ESC key.) Press the ENTER key and the system will ask whether you wish to send it to the Screen or Printer. It is often a good idea to direct the output to the screen first. Once the results are checked on the screen, Re-start the search to send it to the Printer. The system will then ask you if you want a Custom layout or the system Default layout. for your query. Default Report has a fixed format and limited number of data items. If you wish to control this, you should select Custom Report. Once you have chosen Custom or Default, the system will ask whether you want to Preview or Start your query. The Preview shows you how the query looks in the Query Language Syntax. Next time... Linking Compound Queries

Come on, Get Wired

At this moment, from around the world, millions of machines are being turned on and connected to the Internet and the World Wide Web. It's all about Information. And if it exists in the world, it has a sister, brother, father or mother on the Internet. But remember one thing; it is not machines that dominate the Internet, it's people. It's people checking-out information, visiting, leaving messages, down-loading files, gathering what they need, getting a better understanding of many related issues, including the fields of medicine, technology and computer technology. People create it, use it and make it all work. At A&L, we wanted you to know that we have made all kinds of information available at our Web Site, "". We have made it easier to connect to "Hot Sites" you may be interested. Simply click your computer mouse on links we have set up to the OMA, the OMSA as well as other Web Sites. We've made www.anl.com exciting with loads of information and graphics that make your visit informative and visually stimulating. There is just so much to "anl.com". The latest on product development, Enhancements, Press Releases, What's New, What's Hot, Newsletters, Company Profiles, Product Profiles, Virus and Anti-virus News and much, much more. Come visit us without leaving home. Have you gotten wired with us lately?

Fee Increases?

In these times of restraint, cutbacks, clawbacks and budget reductions, any increase in Fees is like a light rain in midsts of a six month drought. Well, I guess we still try to be happy about whatever increase (manna) from the sky that falls our ways at least for some of us. Effective April 1st, 1996, the following obstetrical fees have been increased by 30% for services rendered after March 30th, 1996.

• P006 Vaginal Delivery was $244.70, now is $318.11 P009 Attendance at Labour was $244.70, now is $318.11 (Physician in attendance at delivery.)
• P018 Caesarian Section was $ 293.60, now is $381.68
• P020 Operative Delivery was $266.95, now $347.04
• P041 Caesarian Section was #311.40, now $404.82 (Including tubal interruption)

These fees should be changed manually in your computer. From the Main Menu, choose File Maintenance, then choose #3. OHIP Service Code File. From the service code file, go to field number 3, Amount. Manually enter the changes and press [ENTER] to update and save. Enjoy the fee increases, may we recommend a good red wine that goes great with a barbeque? Rosemont Black Opal...

Taking Part in Every Medical Decision: Playing Your Part

In our last issue of Softwords, we provided our Users with something we thought would act as a light at the end of the long and dark tunnel of the Medical Community of Ontario. User education. We stated that attaining medical care is a two-way street, a partnership between care-givers and care-receivers. We included with our last issue an insert that could help OHIP members attain better health-care. We called it the A&L Caring Approach and invited you to photocopy it and hand it out.

In this issue of Softwords, we again invite you to photocopy this page and hand it out to your patients as you see fit. We have continued with our general guidelines to help users attain and receive better health-care.

Dear Patient... The first important guideline in being a Concerned Medical Consumer, is to work in partnership with your doctor. Like all partnerships, there has to be a common ground based on common goals, shared effort and mutual understanding. If you and your doctor work together, better health and better care will be the result. You will both gain from the partnership. The quality and cost of medical care will often depend more on you than on your doctor. Follow these are three basic guidelines...

• Work in partnership with your doctor. Take an active part in medical decisions.
• Become skilled at obtaining quality medical attention.
  

• Talk to your doctor about how you wish to receive medical attention. Tell her/him that you prefer to be involved and understand the medical issues that apply to your health. Tell your doctor you want to share in the decision making process.
  
• Do a little research. There is no question that the medical field is often complicated. But so are many fields of study, and there are many specialists in those fields who are interested in making the science understandable to lay-people. This is especially true in medicine. Become interested and try to read pamplets or articles that may help you better understand the concern. Do you have a health book at home? A CD-ROM?
  
• Ask and understand why a medical test, medication or treatment is necessary. By asking and understanding why in these situations you will often discover another possible option, sometimes ones that better meet your needs.
  
• Consider alternatives. Is there a feasible alternative to what is being proposed?
  
• What if you were to watchfully wait? Ask your doctor (partner) what the risks would be to waiting for a while. A day? A week? A month? Before going ahead with this decision.
  
• Be a straight partner. Let your doctor know your preferences if you prefer one option over another based on your personal values.
  
• State or ask your doctor about expectations. What do you expect to happen given this treatment? Or what should you expect? Ask about side-effects, pain, recovery time, limitations and long-term effects.
  
• Decide as best you can in light of what you understand and then accept responsibility. Good partners (both) accept responsibility for out-comes. Next Issue... Becoming Skilled at Attaining Quality Medical Attention.