No one could have predicted how difficult this year has been. The imaging industry faces a pandemic and is still adjusting to its implications. Many businesses did not survive it, and we face an unprecedented decline.
All this makes us work even harder, and our developers are doing their best to improve the functionality of our platform so that your diagnostic business could overcome any new challenges. This week we have improved our PACS, DICOM, billing functionality, as well as compatibility with other medical software to help you focus on your patients and streamline your daily tasks. In this release, you’ll find just some of this week’s updates.
If you don’t feel like going through a techy long read, we welcome you to see our system in action and learn more about how you can save on reading and image storage expenses.
[#20153] Improved “Add Eligibility” option
We have improved the Add electronic eligibility option by adding the Authorization field. To check it out, select a service in Processing or Billing, and click Eligibility > Add.
Here you can select the authorization status: pending, not required, or complete. If the service contains more than one study, you can indicate which of them require authorization in the Note field. Please note that since we added a new field, we have renamed the Status field to Eligibility.
We have also added Eligibility and Authorization filters to the Billing module so that you could search services by these parameters. This feature can help you track services with inactive insurance and exams that require authorization and thus control denials from insurance companies.
[#20152] Default impression text for the “Sign and send” option
Previously, reading doctors had to enter an impression manually when signing PDF files, such as neuro and allergy tests. Now you can set the default impression text and add only case-specific information to each report.
This new option helps you improve the standards of your services and decrease reading turnaround time since the doctor doesn’t need to type the whole impression from scratch every time. Instead, they make some minor changes, sign the report, and send it. To learn more about this option, please contact us at support@emsow.com.
[#20151] Pre-cache the latest prior study
We have made updates to EMSOW’s DICOM Viewer so that you could more conveniently compare current images with prior ones (if they are available in the system).
In the new version of EMSOW, the previous study images will be automatically preloaded to speed up their opening. This update can substantially reduce the time of creating a report, especially if you deal with two studies consisting of multiple images.
Also, in the new version of EMSOW, the images of the latest prior study are shown by default, if you use the window mode. If you need to disable this option, go to the Physician Portal, open the Preferences menu to the right, and uncheck the “Show images of previous study” box.
[#20149] Show prior studies in Physician Portal’s grid view
In the new version of EMSOW, prior studies can be displayed in the grid view. This view is essential if you read a lot of exams daily. Hover your mouse over the History icon to display the count of related studies:
Click on it to open the patient history window:
By clicking the Images link, you can open any of the available prior studies.
[#20148] “Date of service” column in the grid view of the Physician Portal
Another improvement to the grid view of the Physician Portal is the Date of Service column. Now you can sort studies by this parameter.
[#20138] Jump to Dispatch from HL7 Requests
Now you can open ordered services received via the HL7 Requests module right in EMSOW’s Dispatch without surfing through the navigation panel. Just select a processed request and click Open in Dispatch.
You will be taken to the Dispatch module where you can dispatch a technologist momentarily.
[#20088] Option to sort invoices by patient name
We have improved the facility invoicing functionality of EMSOW. Previous versions of the system would always sort invoices by service ID. Now you can sort them by patient name. To enable this option, follow the path: Setup > Billing > Referring > Referring facilities. Open a facility record and click on the Billing tab. In the Invoices section, select Patient name as the preferred sorting mode, and then click OK.
To learn more about the facility invoicing functionality and other useful features for your imaging business, please contact us at connect@emsow.com.
[#20089] “Remove” button in the Dispatch module
Now you can remove services from the Dispatch module. Select the services you need to remove, click Remove on the toolbar in the Results section, and then click Yes to confirm the action. Please note that once you click the Yes button, the service will be permanently deleted from EMSOW.
[#20085] Change study descriptions for dispatched cases in the Technologist Portal
The new version of EMSOW allows you to change study descriptions right in the Technologist Portal. Open the Studies section, select a date of service in the Date field, and click the Change study description button as shown below.
In the window that opens, start typing the new study name or its CPT code, or select the needed study type from the drop-down menu, and then click OK.
[#20074] “Uncancel” button in the Dispatch module
We have added a special option to reorder a canceled study in the Dispatch module. To reorder, click the Uncancel button on the upper toolbar of the Results section.
[#20064] Technician hours billing
The new version of EMSOW allows you to invoice a facility by the hours your technicians worked. Follow the path: Setup > Billing > Referring contracts. Start editing an existing contract or add a new one. In the Generic section of the Edit or Add new window, fill out the Technician hours rate field.
When adding an invoice, enter the hours worked. Then click Save.
The Quantity, Rate and Total technician charge will be stated in the invoice.
[#20045] Order the Resident Visit List by type of visit, patient name or room number
In previous versions of EMSOW, studies in the Resident Visit List (RVL) were always ordered by type of visit. Now you can order the studies by patient name or room.
Go to the Schedule module, select the Patient schedule tab, click on the Print button, and select Resident Visit List in the drop-down menu. In the Order by section of the window that opens, select Patient name, Room # or Type of Visit.
[#20033] New HL7 requests notifications
From now on, the HL7 Requests item on the menu bar will turn red if there are new study requests received through the HL7 protocol. Your dispatch will never miss a new order!
[#19902] Scroll through X-ray images with a mouse wheel
We have simplified your work with X-ray images in the EMSOW DICOM viewer. Previously, scrolling through X-ray images was done by pressing Shift and rotating a mouse wheel. Now you can do that with your mouse wheel only, no need to press and hold the Shift key!
[#20065] Service ID search filters in the Invoices and Payer Assignment modules
We have improved the search options of EMSOW’s billing portion. Now you can search exams by service ID in the Invoices and Payer Assignment modules. You will find the corresponding search fields in the Options section on the left.
[#20027] Auto-rotate uploaded JPEG images
Previous versions of EMSOW did not recognize the orientation of uploaded JPEG files. Therefore, some files were displayed incorrectly, e.g. a tech sheet that was intended to be viewed vertically might have been displayed horizontally or vice versa. We have fixed this issue, and now all the JPEGs are displayed correctly.
[#18753; #20022] Sending guarantor information through HL7
We have improved EMSOW’s interoperability with other healthcare systems. If you send images for reading to external radiology platforms that receive order information via HL7, now you can send insurance guarantor information in the GT1 segment of ORM messages. To add the guarantor information, open the Edit service window in the Processing or Billing module. By default, EMSOW defines the patient themself as a guarantor.
Clicking the Self button under the “Guarantor” label on the right of the Insurance section will allow you to change the guarantor relation to spouse, parent, other, employee, guardian, or life partner, and enter the guarantor information.
In the future, we are going to make it possible to send the guarantor information in electronic insurance claims as well.
[#19997] Search by invoice number in the Invoices module
We have added a new filter that allows you to search for invoices by invoice number. To use this feature, follow the path: Billing > Invoices. In the Options panel on the right, you will find the Invoice number field. Enter the invoice number you are looking for, then click Search. The system will display the referring facility or account for which the invoice was created.
[#19918, #19974] Flip and rotate tools in the DICOM viewer
Sometimes tech sheets come into the PACS system in a wrong orientation. We have added a simple tool that helps you fix such issues. Now you can rotate the tech sheets and images right in the DICOM viewer by clicking the Rotate right and Rotate left buttons on the toolbar.
In addition, the Flip image buttons allow you to mirror images horizontally or vertically.
