Hi, we hope you had a wonderful Presidents’ Day. Meanwhile, we put out a new feature to improve your scheduling management.

[#19588] Counters for performed, scheduled and canceled services

Previously, you had to scroll the mouse down the order window to see the number of scheduled, performed and canceled services. Now you can view these details in the Order Information section of the Processing module. The number of services is displayed near the icons, which refer to the service status.

This week we have been working on automating EMSOW’s insurance management. And here’s a new improvement, check it out!

[#19595] Insurance overrides based on service address

In addition to our previous update (#19561), now you can override multiple insurances at once, on the basis of the service location zip code. It can be either a facility’s or patient’s zip, depending on the PoS code.

Also, we have changed the directory of this setting. To access it, go to the Setup menu, click Rules, and select Insurance Overrides.

Last week, our developers focused on improving insurance settings and the Clearing module. With the latest version of EMSOW, you’ll get more flexibility for automatic replacement of insurances and ERA management.

[#19553] Hide notice pages in paper statements for patients

By default, past due and final patient statements generated by EMSOW include a notice page, reminding that the payment is past due. If such reminders are undesirable, you can create statements without the notice pages by selecting the “Do not include notice pages in pastdue and final account statements” option in the billing company settings (Setup / Billing / Billing companies).

 [#19561] Override multiple insurances based on ZIP code

The Insurance Overrides module replaces patient insurances based on the ZIP code of the referring facility. Now you can override multiple insurances at once, without creating many insurance rules. Go to the Setup menu and select Insurance Overrides. Add a new or edit an existing insurance rule. In the Insurances field, you will be able to enter several insurances.

[#19564] Additional search options in the Clearing module

Now you can manage your ERAs more efficiently, thanks to two additional search options in the Clearing module. First, we have added the Taken search option, where you can select files marked as taken, not taken, or any. For example, you can select Not taken, and the system will display unposted checks, if you use the “Taken” flag to mark completely posted ERAs.

Another update is the Files without tags checkbox right below the Tags field, which allows you to retrieve files without any tags. Reminder: you can create tags for ERAs by going to Setup / Billing / Clearing Tags.

[#19562] Prefix filter in the Clearing module

If you use the “Prefix for Claim Submitter’s Identifier” setting in the “Billing companies” module, you can now use those prefix values as filter criteria for incoming ERAs in the Clearing module. This will allow you to find ERAs that reference claims submitted on behalf of specific billing companies.

If your imaging business covers multiple states, this EMSOW update is right for you. Another useful feature inspired by our customers!

[#19528] Search referring facilities by state

We have added the State filter to the Processing and Billing modules. In both modules, they are located in the Options panel to the right of the window – in the Filter menu of the Processing module and in the Referring doctor dropdown menu of the Billing module. This feature helps you easily find services referred by facilities, operating in various states.

Electronic Health Records (EHR) make it much easier to manage patient records by systematizing and making them more accessible, searchable, and secure. Apparently, EHRs are not free from shortcomings. Some clinicians reveal user-unfriendliness or lack of interoperability. However, all these downsides are specific to particular systems, while the number of EHR vendors in the USA is over 1,100 as of today. The adoption rate also looks impressive. According to the National Electronic Health Records Survey (2015), 87% of physicians were using EHR. This suggests that at least the system has its advantages.

Originally, the electronic health record technology was designed for billing, but gradually practitioners revealed more and more of its features.

Now, EHRs are successfully used for administrative and clinical purposes. They are well-structured and still give you the necessary degree of professional freedom, which is essential for successful medical practice. Thus, EHRs include healthcare data variables (demographics, health behavior, allergies, chronic diseases etc.), as well as fields for free text (e.g. progress notes or comments for diagnostic images). We are not going to focus on these things. If you are a medical business owner, a doctor or a technologist, you surely know what EHR is about.

Let us think about not-so-obvious benefits, which can be achieved with the use of Electronic Health Records.

EHRs have become helpful to medical science. They are a rich and affordable (sometimes even free!) source of longitudinal health data associated with key socioeconomic and cultural indicators. Besides, being GIS-based, EHRs reveal the state-specific situation. And since the system suits scholars, you might as well think of using it in, say, creating your business strategy, whether you are a prospective individualist or a nationwide hospital network. A good idea would be to plan your actions according to the local demographic and health situation.

Another way to benefit from EHR is to combine it with an advanced healthcare application. Imagine a common situation: diagnostics findings look controversial and need to be disambiguated. At the same time, the referring doctor is overloaded with work and can overlook some vitally important tests, which may be a matter of the patient’s health. Luckily, nowadays such situations are avoidable. There are healthcare applications that use smart algorithms designed in cooperation with practicing physicians. Those algorithms automatically analyze the patient’s EHR and search for diagnoses that suggest specific medical tests. Normally, such software by no means pretends to be a substitute for a professional medical opinion. However, it is widely used as an efficient tool for preventive diagnostics, and that’s why interoperability is a substantial point. Besides, this combination can help medical businesses increase their revenue by recommending their patients more necessary medical tests.

Experience has shown that an electronic health record system can hardly be called a one-trick pony. It gives medical businesses multiple advantages in various fields, from market research to preventive diagnostics. Moreover, in the right hands, it becomes a powerful revenue booster.

To learn what your information system can do together with EHRs, contact your software provider. If you are going to purchase a healthcare application, make sure it is successfully integrated with the leading EHR systems.

Here is an important update to improve your imaging workflow with EMSOW:

EMSOW RELEASE

[#17866] Add new facility and doctor records while creating or editing orders and services

Now you can add a new referring doctor, facility or rendering provider while scheduling an exam, even without going to setup modules. For example, in the Edit service window, click on the “plus” button to the left of the Referring doctor field. In the window that opens, enter the details of the new referring physician, then click Save. The same can be done for referring facilities and rendering providers.

INDUSTRY NEWS

TechCrunch: “Every day, millions of new medical images containing the personal health information of patients are spilling out onto the internet.” About half of these images belong to patients from the USA. It seems like cyber-security risks are becoming more acute. One of the ways to minimize them is to use a secure cloud platform for image transfer.

In response to these challenges, our developers are constantly working on enhancing EMSOW’s security. However, this week we have focused on improving our billing and posting systems.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19412] Do not create patient statements for claims forwarded to a secondary payer

We have updated our payment posting feature to prevent errors and improve your billing accuracy. From now on, the system will not create a patient statement when you are posting a payment from an ERA that indicates that the original claim was forwarded to a secondary insurance carrier. If the secondary insurance is not entered into the service record, an error message will be displayed, asking the user to add the secondary insurance to the service.

[#19372] Updates in the Clearing module

To further improve your billing accuracy, we have also updated the Clearing module. Now, before you mark a file as taken by ticking the flag icon in the Taken column, you will see a confirmation window. To mark the file as taken, click Yes. Besides, we have added the Date taken column so that you could easily track the date and time of when the files were taken.

[#19482] Improved claims search

Now you can gain better control over your revenue streams. Previously, the Unsent claims filter disregarded the claims that users marked as submitted manually, so the filter would display those claims as if they were unsent. We have fixed this issue. Also, we have added a new filter, Unsent claims (via clearing house), which allows you to search specifically for claims that are supposed to be sent electronically.

[#19490] Billing status icons in the Processing module

You asked us to visualize the billing status of exams in the Processing module, and we did it. We have added visual icons to the billing status line. Now, along with the textual description, you will see status icons: ‎✅ for paid exams, ⌛ for pending payments, and ✍️ for written-off amounts. This update will help your staff see the billing status of the exams at a glance!

EMSOW TEAM WISHES YOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Modern diagnostic imaging companies meet many challenges. One of them is image management, especially if you deal with X-ray films. On the one hand, federal and state laws require that images are kept long enough. On the other hand, films are usually fragile and can be easily damaged.

You probably know that image-keeping requirements are very state-specific. The legislation concerning retention periods and storing images of different modalities varies from state to state. Utilization of medical images is a separate issue. In some states (e.g., in Colorado) you should try to contact a patient before destroying his or her records – personally or even through mass media (if you fail to locate the patient). Besides, recycling of X-ray films should be HIPAA compliant (which means that normally you’ll have to call upon recycling agencies and receive a destruction certificate).

So, storing images as films is a somewhat conservative and troublesome way of image management. Therefore, more and more business owners choose to go digital. You would probably ask: “Is it worth going digital if I have been using films for quite a while?” It’s up to you to decide, but today there are plenty of opportunities for that. Some companies even provide services for creating a transformation strategy. But, no matter how individual such strategies might be, they always consist of two basic steps.

Step 1. Digitizing. If you have started your business before the “digital revolution”, you’ll have to convert your images. The most common format is DICOM. However, JPG and TIFF are also available. Here, there are two main ways of action. First, you can purchase or rent an X-ray digitizer and scan your images yourself. Second, you can outsource the task to a digitizing company.

We should note that the most crucial point here is image quality. So if you are going to purchase a digitizer, make sure it is designed especially for clinical needs, reliable, easy to use, and productive. As for productivity, it can be measured as films (usually of a particular format) per hour, or cycle time (in seconds). We would recommend using equipment from trusted manufacturers, such as Kodak, Carestream or GE. If you are going to outsource, it’s better to contact companies specializing in working with medical materials.

Step 2. Choosing storage. Now you’ve got to keep these massive archives somewhere. You will need not just to store the images, but to retrieve and communicate them easily and securely.  At this point, you have an alternative:

• Burning CDs. The simplest way—which, however, gradually becomes less popular—is keeping your medical info on CDs. One, and probably the only advantage of this method is that the CDs are way more compact than large-format films. However, you’ll need to purchase loads of CDs, because medical images are rather memory-consuming.
• Internal server. A more advanced solution is storing your medical info on an internal server in your office or hospital. Still, your expenditures will be significant, because, above all, you’ll need to hire an IT specialist to attend the server. Besides, if you choose storing sensitive patient information in your office, you will need to make sure it is secure enough, otherwise your business will face HIPAA compliance issues.
• And the third way is keeping your images in a digital cloud. Perhaps, such storage is even more secure than your server. Besides, you are not serviceman-dependent anymore, and your information is available 24/7 from anywhere. You do not need to download images to view them, as cloud solutions usually have a viewer tool built-in. Moreover, you do not need to install any software, except for a web browser.

We have already discussed the benefits of electronic image-keeping. To put it in a nutshell, such images are much easier to store and retrieve, than films. Digitalizing your business may hide some pitfalls, but there are plenty of ways to overcome them. One of such ways is to use a digital health platform with an integrated DICOM viewer and cloud storage. Such software can help you digitize, store and communicate your images, providing maximum convenience and security.

[#19104] EmsowMobilePro for iPhone and iPad: Administrator Mode and More

If you are about to go mobile (or already running a mobile diagnostic business), there’s good news. We have significantly improved our mobile application so that your traveling technologists and clinicians could get the most out of it. Moreover, this new version of the app enables practice administrators to access all procedure records, even on the go.
Here’s the complete list of updates:
* iOS 13/iPadOS support added
* Application icons and images redesigned
* New report template engine implemented – more productive, fast and user-friendly
* Administrator mode implemented – now you can view visits and exams for all users
* Study management system updated:
* patient editing available to all users
* patient insurance editing available to all users
* study lookup improved
* patient state lookup improved
* exam editing available to all users
* exam diagnosis codes viewing/editing implemented
* exam follow-up date viewing/editing implemented
* scheduled exam viewing/editing implemented
* app stability and performance improved

INDUSTRY NEWS

If you are a mobile imaging provider, then you must secure your patient information and eliminate any leakage risk. Jennings Aske, an information security expert from NewYork-Presbyterian, describes cyber-security challenges.

Thinking about a secure way to store, transfer and manage your images and documents? Check out EMSOW website!

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19257] Updated ICD-10 code database
We have updated the ICD-10 code database according to the changes released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in October 2019. The latest ICD-10 codes are now available in EMSOW.

[#19346] Critical findings checkbox in the report interface
We have replaced the critical findings window in the report interface. Now reading physicians do not need to select if the report findings are critical when finalizing each report. Instead, they can either click the new checkbox at the bottom of the screen or ignore it (if there are no critical findings).

Happy Thanksgiving!

EMSOW Team wishes you and your loved ones a day full of splendor and gratitude! We are looking forward to helping you in the future. Happy Thanksgiving!

Meanwhile, before the Thanksgiving dinner is ready, our developers have added a couple of useful updates.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19315] Post payments even if some CPT codes are closed
A few of our customers had reported being unable to post co-pay payments to multi-CPT study records. Our tech team investigated the issue and released an update to resolve it. Now you can post payments to study records consisting of several CPTs even if the billing history for some of the CPTs has been closed due to zero balance (e.g. if you have posted an insurance payment with a co-pay value that only applies to one of the CPTs).

[#19323] Rejection management in the Clearing module
With the latest Clearing module update, you can manage rejected claims more efficiently. Find claim responses for a certain date range by using the filter and click on the claim number link in the Claims column. In the details window, you can view rejection reasons and claim information. The Actions column contains buttons to edit service and billing information that allow you to quickly correct any data and resubmit the claims. Also, there is a Service ID link to jump from this window to the Processing module.

The integration of new technology solutions continues to reshape businesses, and healthcare is no exception. On our blog, we have already presented some features, which optimize a lot of processes for medical diagnostic businesses, such as cloud PACS. However, from time to time, they become subject to criticism.

The general objection is: “Productivity increase leads to quality loss.” This is usually explained by several points.

Firstly, modern software reduces discussion, which is vitally important for medical practice. For instance, in medical imaging, radiologists and referring physicians do not communicate directly anymore. Instead, they use a built-in list of medical findings, which lacks an individual approach and sometimes even misleads the doctors.

Another disputable point is the presentation of medical data. A clinician takes a rapid glance at a report, displayed on a computer screen right at a patient’s bed, and proceeds to the next patient. Thus, clinical findings become not only under-discussed but also under-studied.

These claims usually come from physicians with extensive practice, whose skills and experience are beyond any doubt. In their opinion, cloud PACS, EHR, and other software is a sort of Procrustean bed, i.e. it is unfit for medical examinations, limits professional freedom, lacks flexibility, and an individual approach. Furthermore, those conservative doctors remark that such a state of affairs leads to deterioration of professional skills, which gives causes to more pressing concerns.

Well, all these arguments are based on practice and should be taken seriously. However, are they really caused by the functionality of the software in question?

It’s true that some medical software provides just a short drop-down menu to select clinical findings from. Does it mean that modern applications limit a physician’s thought or impose restrictions on patient treatment options? Definitely not! For example, if you are performing a diagnostic test and cannot find the needed assessment or plan on the built-in list, you can usually leave a free-text note in the corresponding section, so that the referring doctor could assign a treatment plan in compliance with your recommendations. But, best of all, contact your software providers, and they will add the missing element or make any other adjustment. These guys usually keep in touch with practicing physicians, because your comments help them improve their solutions and win the market.

Another myth is that diagnostic images cannot be appropriately studied via cloud PACS software. The truth is that advanced solutions have a built-in viewer with an impressive set of tools, which would leave films far behind. Besides, web-based PACS services that use cloud storage help you securely store and quickly retrieve images from anywhere in the world.

And last but not at all least, there is a myth that cloud PACS and EHR applications prevent physicians from staying in touch with each other. Healthcare applications offer many ways of communication: from simple chats (which are, however, HIPAA compliant) and message boards, where you can share your thoughts freely, to such special-purpose tools, as Direct Messaging. Moreover, some advanced applications offer a “second opinion” option, which means that you can consult physicians all around the world on disputable questions.

So, do PACS and EHR really reduce quality? We believe they do not. The main troubles caused by modern software tools seem to be rather a matter of habit than harmfulness or incompleteness of the product itself.

As for diagnostic imaging, the current push is for radiologists to sit at the table, taking part in overall patient care. So more and more systems are actually getting the radiologists more involved.

We are likely dealing with a psychological phenomenon of conservatism and mistrust in innovation. Not to mention that many software tools are sometimes just misused. The software ecosystem is yet far from perfect, and there is definitely much work to do, but it is constantly being improved by many software developers and medical specialists. More and more healthcare businesses become interested in getting efficient, flexible, and easy-to-use IT-based tools. Today there are a lot of available PACS, EHR, and other solutions, marketed as standalone applications or multi-purpose integrated software. So, if you have not yet tried a PACS to manage your diagnostic images or an EHR to organize your patient records (or if you have been disappointed with some solutions), it’s worth looking around. Maybe you’ll find a tool designed uniquely for your business.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19186] Critical findings reminder

We have added to EMSOW a reminder of critical findings. From now on, when a reading doctor finalizes a report, they are prompted to select if the report findings are critical:

If “Positive” is selected, some of your staff can receive a notification of critical findings:

EMSOW can send these reminders to certain employees or to all employees from a specific department. To use this feature and configure who will receive such notifications, please contact our support team.

INDUSTRY NEWS

George Curtis, HIPAA security officer at Houston Healthcare, talks about the EHR/EMR revolution and the pitfalls of EHR integration.

By the way, we have added some new EHR functionality to the latest version of EMSOW.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19216] Displaying studies older than one year in patient history tooltips

From now on, patient history tooltips in the Processing and Billing modules can display full patient history, including studies that are older than one year:

To enable this feature or learn more about EHR functionality in EMSOW, please contact our support at support@emsow.com.

EXPERT TIPS FROM RADIOLOGY BUSINESS

“Listen and remain present.” These tips seem to be obvious. Still, radiologists should pay more attention to them, considers Radiology Business. With EMSOW, you can provide quality service and keep your patients happy! Here is a couple of our latest upgrades.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19108] Ordering facilities filter in the “Dispatch turnaround time analysis” module

One of our customers asked us for functionality to analyze dispatch turnaround time for particular ordering facilities. And here we are with a new search filter in the “Dispatch turnaround time analysis” module. Select the needed ordering facilities in the corresponding filter, and all the studies ordered by those facilities will be displayed in a single click! For each of the studies, the module will calculate the time your doctors took to provide their reports.

INDUSTRY NEWS

The American College of Radiology (ACR) is going to promote diversity by offering internships for women. The program is aimed to help first-year medical students connect with practicing radiologists. Here at EMSOW, we cherish diversity, besides, we are promoting quality and efficiency in medical imaging!

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19162] New search filter in the Billing module: Unassigned payer
We have added a new search parameter to the Query filter of the Billing module, Unassigned payer. This new query allows you to search services, for which payer assignment is required (as per referring facility settings), but has not been completed via the Payer Assignment module. To use this search parameter, start typing “Unassigned payer” or select it in the dropdown menu of the Query field.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Healthcaretech Outlook reports increasing risk of HIPAA-protected patient information leakages. That is one more reason for imaging providers to consider switching to cloud PACS storage with encrypted connection.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19057] Transfer CARC and RARC codes to secondary claims

From now on, CARC and RARC codes from ERA files will appear in secondary claims generated by the system. This helps you avoid denials and improve your bottom line.

MEDICAL IMAGING NEWS

Radiology Business reports an increasing ePHI leakage threat. Sometimes access to patient information reminds not even of hacking, but of walking into an open door. This serious HIPAA violation can be easily escaped by using secure cloud storage EMSOW provides.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19041] Ability to upload EEG files

We have extended the functionality of document management in EMSOW. Now our users can attach EEG files with the “.eas” extension to study records. All in all, the “Documents” section currently supports 16 file formats! To attach a file to a study, click the “Documents” button in the Processing module or in the Technologist Portal.

[#19089] Check eligibility for the date of service

Previously, you could check insurance eligibility only for the current date. We have made the eligibility check feature more versatile, so now you can check eligibility for the date of service. For example, you can check if a patient is eligible to receive a service scheduled in advance.

DICOM offers a lot of capabilities for storing, transmitting and processing medical images and patient data. However, you must be aware that there are several other protocols, which causes interoperability problems. This time we’ll talk about interoperability and compare two common medical data standards – HL7 and DICOM, which are the most common protocols.

Interoperability issues may be illustrated in different ways. For example, a patient has to change hospitals (say, he is moving to another town). He expects that his EHR and all medical information would be transmitted successfully. But these two hospitals use different standards, and their information systems are unable to understand each other. So, the patient needs to retrieve his medical records on paper and perhaps even do some tests again. Imagine that the patient is seriously ill and needs treatment as soon as possible – then any delay means health deterioration.

Or suppose you run a medical business and transmit patient data to an imaging operator or a hospital. If you and your partner use the same standards, you’ll faсe no obstacles. Otherwise, your systems will encounter many errors or barely be unable to communicate. This can result in losing the partner because none of you want to abandon the system you are using as the switch is costly.

Now let’s focus on the protocols. What are the similarities and differences between HL7 and DICOM? HL7 can be used as an alternative to DICOM MWL, which is more imaging-oriented.

Herman Oosterwijk, the President of O Tech Inc., a company specializing in healthcare technology consulting and training, has been exploring the subject for years. In his judgment, the main points are as follows.

• HL7 is a transaction-based protocol. It is driven by events (e.g. the admission or discharge of a patient). According to these occurrences, an information system creates so-called “unsolicited events” and sends them to the other side of the connection, no matter who might be there. DICOM is a much more client-oriented protocol. For example, when using MWL, imaging equipment sends requests to an MWL server to receive a worklist.
• HL7 is a flexible standard, therefore it has become more of a guide than a standard for many healthcare facilities. HL7 is often customized on-site, while DICOM is much more rigid.
• HL7 files are somewhat larger in size because of character-based encoding, which implies conversion of pixel data to characters.
• Thanks to MPPS, the DICOM protocol can provide more timely and precise information about performed diagnostic studies.

We should also mention some institutional peculiarities. For example, HL7 offers several types of membership and regularly holds conferences and workgroups. As for DICOM, its use depends on the equipment or software you buy; sometimes you have to purchase this or that option separately. They also educate their customers, but to a lesser extent.

“While HL7 and DICOM have their own domains, they do definitely connect, however. The interface consists from a workflow perspective of two areas, i.e. where the ordering information for the imaging procedure is exchanged, and where the results, in the form of a diagnostic report and/or measurements are sent back to the information system.”

To the benefit of the end customer, both of the protocols do try to solve the compatibility issue. Besides, software developers have come up with customized medical applications that can link the two protocols. Even if you and your partner have taken different sides on the subject, you still can be fully compatible if you use one of those applications. Patient data can be rapidly transmitted, recognized, easily processed and managed.

For more information, please refer to Herman Oosterwijk’s articles:

Technology Update: DICOM vs. HL7

DICOM Versus HL7 for Modality Interfacing

MEDICAL IMAGING NEWS

The New England Journal of Medicine reports that vaping can cause lung diseases, i.e., marketing claims about the safety of electronic cigarettes may mislead the customers.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#19044] Patient address in templates

We have enhanced our templated reporting engine. Now EMSOW can automatically fill a patient’s street address, city, state, and ZIP Code in report templates.

By the way, did you know that you could use the templates to create not just ultrasound worksheets and image interpretation reports, but also consent forms, requisition forms and other types of documentation? Ask us how!

MEDICAL BILLING NEWS

AAPC discusses the new ICD-10 coding updates for 2020. If you’re dealing with venous tests, this article might be of interest to you. Here at EMSOW, we are following the latest updates to satisfy the needs of your business.

This time we have made a brief presentation about EMSOW billing. Your billers will love it, that’s for sure!

EMSOW BILLING FUNCTIONALITY

We have made a brief presentation about EMSOW billing. Your billers will love it, that’s for sure!
EMSOW automates your revenue management cycle – from generating electronic claims and posting ERAs to tracking your invoices and detailed financial reporting.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Healthcare Tech Outlook analyzes cloud mobility and its development. Our solution is cloud-based and absolutely mobile, which is ideal for businesses who work with traveling sonographers and mobile x-ray. This time we have added a new option, which can become useful for neurologists, and not only them.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#18999] Upload last saved drafts for certain templates

Now you can retrieve the recent clinical findings within seconds. Our latest update allows you to populate a report with data from the previous visit. This functionality is essential for some types of visits, e.g. neurology consultations. To enable this functionality, go to Setup > Reading > Report templates, select the needed template, click “Edit,” then check the box “Load last saved draft.”
This feature is also available in our mobile app.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Today, one of the hot topics is radiologists’ burnout. Radiology Business discusses the way EHRs contribute to it. Meanwhile, we are trying to decrease the professional burnout of the physicians by adding new automated features to healthcare software.

EMSOW RELEASE

[#18854] Ability to duplicate entity records

We have added functionality to duplicate entity records in setup modules. Select the needed entity (e.g., insurance), then click “Duplicate selected”. Make the required changes in the entity record, then click “Save”. Populating settings in EMSOW is much easier now!

EMSOW is one of the few platforms for automating imaging businesses, which takes pride in both its desktop and mobile versions. One of our latest upgrades is created to streamline the work of referring physicians.

With EmsowMobile Pro, you can access your patients’ diagnostic images and reports anytime and anywhere.

Along with Modality Worklist, which enables your information system to send study inquiries to diagnostic equipment, you can use one more DICOM tool, Modality Performed Procedure Step (also known as MPPS). Conversely to Modality Worklist, it enables your machines to send feedback to your RIS, HIS, PACS or another system (for example, you may use an integrated IT solution which combines all these tools). Like many other DICOM tools, it is an optional feature, so you might need to pay extra for it. Today, we will talk about the features of Modality Performed Procedure Step, the basic principles of its function and the benefits it offers.

What is it for? When you order imaging studies, you might be concerned about the timeliness and quality of the scheduled examinations. Everything must go smoothly, without equipment failures or technologist mistakes.

If something has gone wrong, you will be probably notified that the study hasn’t been performed instead of receiving the images. Moreover, you will discover that at the last moment, when you expect the study to be completed. As a result, you become unable to make any adjustments to the schedule and lose revenues.

MPPS eliminates these issues; so, if you haven’t implemented it yet, your business may run into a bottleneck even at the initial workflow stages.

How it works. Having received an order from Modality Worklist, the diagnostic unit starts sending messages to the DICOM server connected to your information system. The system generates messages automatically (except for patient demographics, which is in most cases copied from the worklist). Particularly, these messages can tell you about:

• The incoming order. Besides data retrieved from Modality Worklist, you will know the study accession number.
• The actual performed study, which sometimes differs from what was scheduled initially. For instance, the technologist may have chosen a different protocol for the examination or decided to take an additional set of images.
• Procedure status information. The diagnostic machine sends a status message to the server when the study is started, completed, paused or canceled (along with the cancellation reason). As for the cancellation reasons, DICOM has standardized many of them, so the fault management becomes much more efficient.
• The technologist’s name, radiation dose, modality hardware condition, and even billing and insurance information.

Performance of this intelligent feature is based on the connection between your equipment and DICOM server; therefore, it requires proper configuration.

What benefits does it offer? You get several considerable advantages at the study performance stage. Among them are:

• Minimized turnaround time. Reporting starts as soon as the machine acquires the order information. The system creates all messages automatically and therefore saves your technologists’ time and increases their productivity.

It helps you to track the exact time needed for the studies and thus to schedule more efficiently. The diagnostic unit immediately informs you about any issues with the studies, which allows you to troubleshoot as quickly as possible.

• Information accuracy. MPPS eliminates human error. A technologist doesn’t need to report on the examination status since it is done by the equipment. Besides, the machine tells you about the studies which have been actually performed (as we have already mentioned, they may differ from the scheduled examinations).

Together with Modality Worklist, Modality Performed Procedure Step ensures a reliable intercommunication between your information system and diagnostic equipment.

The survey findings published in Radiology Business say that the vast majority of radiologists see significant value in teleradiology, although there are some disturbing factors, which prevent them from using teleradiology solutions.
EMSOW is a cloud-based end-to-end teleradiology platform to improve your practice and eliminate technical issues. Today, we are proud to present our dispatching service in action (really, less than two minutes).

Automate your technologist management with EMSOW. In the Dispatch module, you can assign exams to imaging technologists in two clicks and track the exams status 24/7.

Industry news

On August 1, FDA published a list of recommendations to ensure the safety of patients and staff in MRI environments and improve safety testing and MRI information in medical device labeling.

EMSOW Release

[#18922] Dispatch Turnaround Time Analysis module

Now you can easily view, compare, and analyze the turnaround time of your facilities. We have created a new module, where you can filter the list of exams by referring facility and see turnaround time for each exam as well as average time for the selected date range. To access it, go to the Analysis module and select Dispatch Turnaround Time Analysis in the dropdown menu.

[#18758] Set the modalities to be displayed in AMI viewer

There are two image viewers available in EMSOW. Some of our customers prefer to view images of particular modalities on EMSOW viewer, instead of AMI viewer. Now you can customize AMI viewer on your EMSOW domain by choosing the modalities to be displayed in it. To apply this option, please contact our support at support@emsow.com.

Industry News

Radiologists tend to show the highest interest in telemedicine compared to other physicians, reports Doximity.
This trend can lead to a growing demand for teleradiology platforms. Since 2009 EMSOW has been offering a cutting-edge radiology platform, tailored especially for radiology business at a very reasonable price.

[#16984] Create documents based on templates

Besides file uploading and paperwork scanning, you can now use templates to create documents in EMSOW! Click the “Documents” button and then click “Add using templates” to create a new document:

This functionality is available in the Processing and Dispatch modules, as well as the Rendering Provider and Technologist portals. To set up document templates, administrators should go to Setup → Reading → Report Templates.

[#18431] Billing charges for multiple billing companies

Now you can specify more than one billing company in one billing charge record, instead of creating a separate record for each of your billing companies. Go to Setup → Billing → Billing Charges, create or edit a record for a CPT code, and use the “Billing companies” drop-down list:

We asked our customers to choose the top 5 features for the last month. Here they come…

#1 Rendering Provider portal

Here, you can create studies in order to save the results of your work with patients. You can also add notes to the studies based on customizable templates. User-friendly search filters allow you to filter the studies by any criteria, from the date of service to the patient’s or doctor’s name.

#2 New “Enterprise administrator” user group

We have added a new user group called Enterprise administrator. This group provides extended user rights and can be assigned to advanced EMSOW users who wish to set up and fine-tune EMSOW to meet their own needs and bring the highest level of efficiency to their system.

#3 Technologists can clock in and out via web browser

To enable this functionality, an enterprise administrator should click “Admin” → “Terminals” and create a new terminal record with the “Kiosk technologist time tracking module” option. Then your technologists will be able to go to your domain and check in. After they are done working, the technologists should go to the same address and check out.

#4 Copy diagnoses in Service Edit window

Save the time you spend on entering the same diagnoses for several studies. Make a single click, and the system will automatically copy all the diagnoses to the rest of the studies, if their Diagnosis fields are empty.

#5 Copy address from “Nursing home” type referring facilities

We have increased the automation of data entry. Now you can copy the address of a referring facility to service records if the referring facility is a nursing home.

If you want to learn more about our updates or services, please feel free to contact us at connect@unvsoft.com.