Shazeen Ali, OD, was about a year into her cold-start practice venture when she knew she needed a change in her electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) system. She selected her first EHR/PM software based on some previous experience using it, but when navigating it on a full-time basis in her own practice, “there were some frustrations and pain points,” she says.
On a search for an alternative platform, she found Uprise by VisionWeb. “What I liked about Uprise was that it was intuitive, user-friendly and highly organized.” She integrated the Uprise EHR and Practice Management software at Ranch Road Vision Source in Austin, Texas. Over the course of the past two years, it has simplified many processes, resulting in a more seamless experience for her, her staff and her patients. “There are so many functions built into one,” she says, such as the ability to recapture valuable minutes by having the insurance claim filing function within the software. In addition, the cohesive solution offered by Uprise has cut down on significant staff time through reduced data entry, automated patient appointment reminders, intuitive training, cloud
access and more.
Eliminate transcription of patient data. Uprise will email paperwork to patients before their appointment to keep visits as efficient as possible. All the data filled out by patients populates into their EHR file without any scanning or manual keying required by staff. “It is imported into the record with just one click and cuts down staff time spent on gathering and updating
patient history,” says Dr. Ali. She also likes that Uprise can pull patients’ medication information when connected with certain
pharmacies and insurances. “Patients appreciate when we have that information readily available because most patients don’t know all the names of their medications or the associated dosages.”
Spend more time talking to patients. Dr. Ali can spend most of her time in the exam room face-to-face with patients thanks to Uprise. “In a cold-start practice, you have to connect with the patient and build a relationship to earn word-of-mouth referrals,” Dr. Ali says. “With Uprise, there is minimal clicking around, which allows me to sit down and get to know patients on a personal level.” She also says that “the ability to forward previous exam findings allows me to update information without taking away face-to-face interaction time.”
Create smooth transitions. After the exam, “the prescription and billing are forwarded to the optical check-out so that the opticians have everything in front of them on one screen, and they can create an order for contact lenses or eyeglasses without leaving that tab,” Dr. Ali says.
Retain patients. The system sends automated appointment reminders via email, text message or phone call, which is particularly helpful for no-shows and rescheduling. “My staff spends less time chasing down patients to confirm attendance for upcoming appointments with conveniently targeted reminders, which patients can confirm at their convenience. If patients miss an appointment, they automatically get a link to reschedule,” Dr. Ali says. This automation has cut down around one or two
hours of staff time each week.
Train new staff with ease. Dr. Ali has utilized the system’s helpful, online training module to train six new staff members since implementing Uprise. Her technicians quickly feel comfortable using the software, typically within a day, and are fully accustomed to all of the necessary functionalities after another couple of days.
Access whenever and wherever it’s needed. The simplicity of the system allows Dr. Ali to cut back on after-hours work, and because Uprise is cloud-based, she benefits from remote access to the system anytime. Dr. Ali and her husband are able to travel for leisure because “I can access Uprise, finalize prescriptions, answer staff questions or try to help troubleshoot even if I’m in another country,” she says. “The convenience and accessibility of Uprise have allowed me to continue seamless patient care even when I am not in the office.”
Click here to learn more about the all-in-one EHR software Dr. Ali uses in her practice.
