Medical software, like all computer software, can help its users simplify and streamline their lives and shave hours off of their daily schedules. But unlike many other types of software, programs specifically designed to aid medical professionals have the distinction of saving more than time; in countless instances, they can help save lives as well. Some types of medical software help physicians make faster and more accurate diagnoses, while others help them perform surgeries that are more precise and less traumatic for the patient. Along those lines, one of the most exciting new types of computer software for doctors is a program that allows physicians to monitor the vital signs of critical care patients from remote locations.

The revolutionary program, which is currently being developed and distributed by San Antonio-based AirStrip Technologies, was created originally for obstetricians who were struggling with treating several different patients at multiple locations, has already gained a number of fans in the medical community. According to one Las Vegas physician, the program – which he claims to use on a daily basis – has “significantly” improved communication between doctors and nurses during labor and delivery, and that patient care has likewise become much more effective as a result. AirStrip, which was founded by a software engineer and an obstetrician, continues to grow and adapt with the times: In fact, the software is now iPhone compatible and can even be downloaded via the iTunes store, where it averages more than 40 downloads each day.

Looking beyond its applications in the field of obstetrics, similar software programs may be developed that will allow doctors to “keep an eye” on patients, even when they can’t be in the hospital room themselves. It’s impossible to guess how many lives will be saved by the creation and dissemination of such software, but the possibilities are certainly exciting.

In the past, diagnosing skin disease, a potential health hazard that comes in many different forms, has been an enormous challenge for a number of physicians and dermatologists. Prior to the advent of the computer age, doctors were forced to make their diagnoses based on the pictures in a book. This meant a tedious process that involved viewing the blemish or lesion in question, flipping through the book until a match was made, and then making a diagnosis based on that match. This process took time, and it was severely flawed to boot: Most medical books are organized in such a way that the physician has to know what kind of disease he or she is dealing with before they can even attempt to find a picture of it. Coupled with the fact that each disease is only illustrated by one or two pictures, it’s no surprise that many serious skin disease are misdiagnosed, or go undiagnosed altogether.

Now, however, thanks to advances like the diagnostic program developed by physicians at the University of Rochester Medical Center, there is software available that allows doctors to browse through a vast database of thousands of images, increasing the likelihood that they’ll find a match for the skin disease they’re investigating. Furthermore, the program allows users to narrow the search by entering specific descriptive terms. This solves the old problem of having to know what the disease is before it could be properly diagnosed – a potentially fatal Catch-22. According to findings presented by the American Medical Informatics Association, the program has the ability to greatly increase the rate of accurate diagnosis by health care professionals. Since skin disease is so widespread and often very serious, this is excellent news indeed. From rashes and irritations to cancers, faster and more specific diagnosis is the key to more thorough and effective treatment.

Doctors are notorious for their messy handwriting, as any who has ever received a handwritten prescription from his or her doctor can certainly attest! Unfortunately, that so-called “chicken scratch” can be more than a mere annoyance to your pharmacist; it can lead to prescriptions that are filled incorrectly – and that can have serious health ramifications. Some pharmacists have given patients the wrong medication or incorrect dosage instructions, all because the doctor’s handwriting on the original prescription was impossible to decipher. Fortunately, new prescription writing software programs are helping to change all that. These software programs not only make it safer and easier for patients to fill their prescriptions, they also save doctors the time and headache of having to write prescriptions again and again throughout the day.

Everything from medications to prescriptions for glasses and contact lenses can be prescribed using this type of medical software. Of course, as with any type of medical software, any legitimate prescription writing program will be HIPAA compliant in order to protect patients’ sensitive medical information. This type of program tends to vary in price, with several of them falling on the extremely affordable end of the cost spectrum. Many doctors love saving themselves the bother of writing out the same data year after year or even on a day-to-day basis, and his kind of software is an excellent shortcut. After the necessary information has been entered, office staff members can access and print the prescriptions as needed. Some programs even feature a bonus database feature that allows users to track their patient data with no additional work required!

When it comes to prescription writing software, everyone benefits: The doctor who saves him or herself time and effort that can be of better use elsewhere, the pharmacist who no longer has to struggle to read indecipherable handwriting, and the patient who won’t have to worry about receiving the wrong medications or dosage instructions.

Thanks to the recent advances in computer technology, surgical procedures – even complicated and potentially risky ones – are now safer and more accurate than ever. Physicians and other medical professionals use many different kinds of medical software for a myriad of applications, but surgical software is one of the most exciting and important types available. Some programs even allow surgeons to input each patient’s unique anatomical data and background information, enabling them to, in essence, perform the surgery on the computer before they proceed with “the real thing.”

One such program, called Surgem, has helped to revolutionize the world of cardiac surgery in children. Surgem lets the physician create a detailed three-dimensional model of the patient’s heart using information gleaned from MRI scans. The physician then uses 3D trackers to manually rotate, twist and otherwise manipulate the virtual heart in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges they will face in the operating room, as well as the best possible surgical solutions for the patient. This kind of “image-based surgical planning” has made cardiac surgery in children more effective, less time-consuming, and far less risky. In fact, it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that Surgem has saved many lives!

Despite all their careful planning and intimate knowledge of anatomy, there is always a certain amount of guesswork involved in any surgery. Thankfully, this new type of medical software can help eliminate much of that guessing and save valuable time in the operating room, while at the same time allowing surgeons to proceed confidently toward their goal of saving and enriching the lives of their patients. Software like Surgem can even help doctors predict post-surgical side effects and recovery time – information which can further be used to help the patient recover quickly and completely. More than a mere surgical aid, these programs are true lifesavers and an absolutely essential first step in the process for many prudent physicians.

Computer software specifically designed for the medical industry has many implications for those currently working in the health care sector. However, it would be criminal to overlook the importance of educational medical software for those students still training for their future careers as doctors, nurses, emergency technicians, and so forth. Educational software has been an invaluable learning tool for many students over the years

For example, when it comes to the study of anatomy, it’s hard to beat computer software for sheer usefulness and versatility. In the past, students had to observe cadavers firsthand in order to gain a thorough understanding of the complex inner workings of the human body. Now, however, thanks to increasingly sophisticated anatomical software programs that mimic the human body perfectly, students can study on a computer what they could once only see in a lab. Of course, nothing will ever fully replace the human body itself as the ultimate primer in anatomy, but access to such software offers an excellent way for physicians in training to reinforce what they have learned, as well as to view a variety of different physiques.

Another common application for medical software is the simulator. Like anatomy programs, simulators offer physicians and students alike an opportunity to educate themselves on the body and the effects that disease or injury can have on it without actually operating on a patient. Simulators can also be used to teach students how to perform certain essential surgical procedures in a hands-on fashion without the added stress of actually having a patient’s life on the line. These programs help create better, more confident doctors with the skills and knowledge necessary to save lives. The importance of these and other common types of educational computer programs can hardly be overstated. Without them, the world of medical education would be a very different place.

Modern medicine is a sprawling, multi-faceted industry, wherein patient care and the actual act of providing medical relief are not the only concerns. In fact, there are many different jobs and occupations that fall under the broader heading of the health care industry. Since there are many different types of jobs to be performed, it naturally follows that there exists a wide variety of medical software created to help facilitate those jobs. Its specific uses and functions may vary, but all medical software is intended to make medical care faster, more efficient, more accurate and easier overall for both patient and physician alike.

Billing

Billing software is extremely important for everyone involved in the medical billing process, including doctors and hospitals, patients, insurance providers and coding and billing professionals. Medical billing usually involves entering the specific codes for services provided by physicians into a billing software program and submitting the claims to the insurance company and patient in question. Billing software helps billers get their job done faster, allowing physicians to receive payment for their services in a more timely fashion. It also allows many billers to successfully work from home. Of course, all billing software must be in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in order to safeguard patient privacy.

Transcription/Dictation

Another type of medical software that is widely used is for transcription and/or dictation. There are programs that make it easier for physicians to dictate their thoughts more effectively, and those that help professional transcriptionists listen, type and edit their reports with greater ease. Transcription and dictation are frequently used for reports on processes such as surgeries, autopsies, medical examinations, diagnostic imaging studies, and so forth.

Scheduling

Naturally, medical software comes in handy for scheduling medical appointments as well. Nearly every modern medical office in the United States has a computer at reception that is equipped with scheduling software. This allows appointments to be made, canceled, postponed and shifted with ease, while allow the entry of important data such as the patient’s personal information and the nature of the visit.

Practice Fusion recently announced a free EMR for private practice physicians by permitting pharmaceutical companies to advertise within the EMR and on the web-based patient portal.

Concerns of a conflict of interest and of patient privacy has caused many practices to think twice before jumping in.
Copy of recent press release:

Practice Fusion, Inc. to provide on-demand services to the healthcare industry.

San Francisco, CA, August 29th, 2006 – Practice Fusion, Inc., today announced its official company launch as a leading provider of on-demand solutions and services to the healthcare industry. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion offers the healthcare IT industry integrated, on-demand solutions that streamline costly and inefficient manual processes between physicians, patients and healthcare groups associated with claims adjudication, eligibilities, authorizations and sharing medical records. The company’s mission is to empower providers to deliver the highest quality of care to their patients by creating solutions that enable seamless collaboration across the entire healthcare industry.

“Today, the entire healthcare industry is forced to pay tremendous upfront licensing fees while having drawn out implementations,” said Chief Executive Officer Ryan Howard. “Current vendors continue to deliver software in an antiquated enterprise model. These solutions force healthcare groups to saddle costly and complex implementations of hardware, software, databases, connectivity and integration. Customers are required to pay licensing fees, as well as consulting, training, support and maintenance, resulting in multimillion dollar installations, which can take years to implement. According to Gartner, more than half of all new enterprise systems have failed completely, healthcare groups today are left with no guarantee of return on their investment.” 

Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to create health information organizations to integrate and collaborate with their physician and patient communities.  Practice Fusion’s services are on-demand, requiring no on-site software installation, eliminating the hassles of installing and supporting software, hardware, databases and connectivity. The service is completely integrated with practices and patients, enabling healthcare groups to collaborate with their community without the costs and complexities of drawn out integration projects.
 
Built on a service-oriented-architecture, Practice Fusion can easily integrate into healthcare groups current legacy systems, allowing them to retain their current investments. Practice Fusion natively incorporates security, HIPAA/HL7 compliance, data synchronization, reporting and analysis. The platform also provides a unified patient record, enabling physicians to access critical patient information from any location, as well as access and share records with the entire provider community.  Delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model, as a web-based service, Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to pay for usage, not software, hardware and integration.

 “We are pleased to offer healthcare groups a faster, more efficient way to collaborate with their physician and patient communities. Practice Fusion has distinguished itself from other vendors by providing on-demand services to healthcare groups, physicians and patients, integrating all aspects of the healthcare cycle,” said Chief Operating Officer Alan Wong. “The end result is that physicians will be able to focus more time on their patients and less time on managing their practices.  Healthcare groups will also be empowered to eliminate cumbersome administrative tasks, allowing them to better serve their physicians and patients, while lowering their bottom line.” 

About Practice Fusion.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion addresses the complexities and critical needs of today’s healthcare environments by proving a revolutionary application and delivery model for physicians and patients at no cost. Practice Fusion offers an integrated, on-demand healthcare platform delivered in a software-as-a-service model. Practice Fusion’s services require no on-site software installation, eliminating the complexities of licensing, implementing and supporting traditional enterprise software solutions. Practice Fusion removes the need for integration, hardware and software for physicians, dramatically reducing cost and complexity, while enabling providers to deliver the highest level of care possible to their patients.

Practice Fusion recently announced a free EMR for private practice physicians by permitting pharmaceutical companies to advertise within the EMR and on the web-based patient portal.

Concerns of a conflict of interest and of patient privacy has caused many practices to think twice before jumping in.

Copy of recent press release:

Practice Fusion, Inc. to provide on-demand services to the healthcare industry.

San Francisco, CA, August 29th, 2006 – Practice Fusion, Inc., today announced its official company launch as a leading provider of on-demand solutions and services to the healthcare industry. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion offers the healthcare IT industry integrated, on-demand solutions that streamline costly and inefficient manual processes between physicians, patients and healthcare groups associated with claims adjudication, eligibilities, authorizations and sharing medical records. The company’s mission is to empower providers to deliver the highest quality of care to their patients by creating solutions that enable seamless collaboration across the entire healthcare industry.

“Today, the entire healthcare industry is forced to pay tremendous upfront licensing fees while having drawn out implementations,” said Chief Executive Officer Ryan Howard. “Current vendors continue to deliver software in an antiquated enterprise model. These solutions force healthcare groups to saddle costly and complex implementations of hardware, software, databases, connectivity and integration. Customers are required to pay licensing fees, as well as consulting, training, support and maintenance, resulting in multimillion dollar installations, which can take years to implement. According to Gartner, more than half of all new enterprise systems have failed completely, healthcare groups today are left with no guarantee of return on their investment.” 

Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to create health information organizations to integrate and collaborate with their physician and patient communities.  Practice Fusion’s services are on-demand, requiring no on-site software installation, eliminating the hassles of installing and supporting software, hardware, databases and connectivity. The service is completely integrated with practices and patients, enabling healthcare groups to collaborate with their community without the costs and complexities of drawn out integration projects.
 
Built on a service-oriented-architecture, Practice Fusion can easily integrate into healthcare groups current legacy systems, allowing them to retain their current investments. Practice Fusion natively incorporates security, HIPAA/HL7 compliance, data synchronization, reporting and analysis. The platform also provides a unified patient record, enabling physicians to access critical patient information from any location, as well as access and share records with the entire provider community.  Delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model, as a web-based service, Practice Fusion enables healthcare groups to pay for usage, not software, hardware and integration.

 “We are pleased to offer healthcare groups a faster, more efficient way to collaborate with their physician and patient communities. Practice Fusion has distinguished itself from other vendors by providing on-demand services to healthcare groups, physicians and patients, integrating all aspects of the healthcare cycle,” said Chief Operating Officer Alan Wong. “The end result is that physicians will be able to focus more time on their patients and less time on managing their practices.  Healthcare groups will also be empowered to eliminate cumbersome administrative tasks, allowing them to better serve their physicians and patients, while lowering their bottom line.” 

About Practice Fusion.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Practice Fusion addresses the complexities and critical needs of today’s healthcare environments by proving a revolutionary application and delivery model for physicians and patients at no cost. Practice Fusion offers an integrated, on-demand healthcare platform delivered in a software-as-a-service model. Practice Fusion’s services require no on-site software installation, eliminating the complexities of licensing, implementing and supporting traditional enterprise software solutions. Practice Fusion removes the need for integration, hardware and software for physicians, dramatically reducing cost and complexity, while enabling providers to deliver the highest level of care possible to their patients.