Today, the push for the medical industry to make the switch from paper to electronic health records, combined with the rapid evolution of technology, has made practice management software an extremely popular product among doctors of all stripes, especially chiropractic. Such systems not only provide for the digitization and secure storage of patient records, but many of the best systems will manage nearly every facet of your practice, including scheduling, billing, documentation, patient flow, treatment plans, and much more.

 

Depending on which company you go with for your software needs, you now have the option of buying a basic system just to make the switch to EHR, or you can invest in a suite of software applications that will enhance numerous aspects of your practice using top-of-the-line technology. For those DCs who are interested in purchasing the most extensive practice management software available today, there are a few systems offering features and applications that rise above and beyond what you'd consider typical practice management resources to make your practice truly state of the art.

These premium software systems not only provide you with the full suite of traditional practice management tools, but they offer some amazing new functions that will maximize your practice's efficiency, wow your patients, and make your competitors green with envy. One of the most popular of these high-tech applications are digital office announcement systems, and this article will briefly detail how such a tool can take your software system—and your practice—to the next level. Check back to read about other advanced software applications in future articles, or.

Digital office announcement systems monitor patients' locations in the office and direct patients from the waiting room to their assigned treatment room using voice broadcasts. Such a system automates and expedites your patient flow, avoids

confusion about where each patient is located, and saves you and your staff the time and effort it takes to personally find and direct patients to their assigned rooms.

After a patient enters your office and signs in with the front desk or an automated sign-in system, they will be seated in a designated waiting area until directed to their assigned room. After sign-in, the patient's name, appointment time, doctor, and purpose of visit will be logged into the announcement system, which monitors and displays their information on a computer screen. 

Once the patient is assigned a room, the system will broadcast an announcement that directs the patient to their proper room. From there, the patient's status will be changed to "checked-in" within the system, and their name, room number, and other information will then be displayed on screen with the other patients who have already been assigned rooms. 

The announcement system works in concert with a digital voice recorder. The recorder allows you to either use pre-recorded messages for the announcement or use an automatically generated voice broadcast. In an office where there are multiple doctors, each doctor can create their own pre-recorded messages to give the announcements a personalized flair. 

The office announcement system does more than just save your staff's time and energy from being wasted on constantly monitoring the waiting list and directing patients to their rooms. Such advanced technology also stands to modernize your business, thoroughly impress patients, and set your business on a level well above the competition.

 

Chris Towery is the former associate editor of MASSAGE Magazine and is currently a full-time freelance journalist. He has written hundreds of articles for more than 20 different magazines, newspapers, and custom publishers. Much of his recent writing has been for the complementary and alternative healthcare industry. To contact Chris, email cmreuben@yahoo.com.