The paperless office remains a myth in many medical practices and while the healthcare industry overall may push electronic invoice submission and remittance of medical aid claims, most of the parties involved still maintain a practical approach.
Terry Kier, managing director of medical practice management software house Mastermed, says a considerable number of medical practitioners are still very comfortable with paper-based systems and he believes this must be recognised by electronic services companies.
To this end, Mastermed has re-designed the doctor-patient folders and forms systems used by medical practices. Mastermed, which holds the copyright, will market and sell the forms but they will also be distributed nationally by Tidyfile, one of SA`s leading producers of office filing systems.
"The re-designed forms reflect the same record-keeping fields for patient details that occur in the Mastermed practice management software, including clinical history, medical scheme details -- funds, schemes, options and sub-options -- and medicines dispensed or prescribed," says Kier.
The form design makes it simple for subscribers to obtain all relevant detail from a single source and the folders will also operate seamlessly with the new Mastermed clinical notes module that is due to be released later this year. Kier is also negotiating with a national stationery retailer to stock the forms.
"In a nutshell, we are now able to service all of the record-keeping needs, electronic and paper-based, of medical practitioners, schemes and related service providers."
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