Lowes, Robert. "Going Electronic Helped a Busy Pediatrician," Medical Economics, April 29, 1999
http://www.smartfoot.com/articles/medeconapril1999.html

"Touch-Screen Technology Speeds Georgia Pediatric Practice's CPR Conversion:
CPR Installation Increases Pediatricians' Time with Patients," Clinical Data Management, July, 1998, pp. 4-7.

Just ask Dr. Jeffrey D. Cooper, a solo-practice physician based in Norcross, Georgia. In 1995, Dr. Cooper's billings totaled $490,000. Ill equipped to handle an increased managerial load, Dr. Cooper's practice was closed to new patients.

Then Dr. Cooper deployed EncounterPRO, the powerful computer-based patient record (CPR) and workflow system from JMJ Technologies, a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider. Running under Microsoft BackOffice technologies, EncounterPRO has transformed the way Dr. Cooper does business, and enhanced his ability to provide top-flight care. The end results: healthier, happier patients and a projected 100% increase in billings in 1998 over his 1995 total.

Economic Success Story
Dr. Cooper began running EncounterPRO in December of 1995. Based on Microsoft Windows NT® Server and Microsoft SQL Server, EncounterPRO is a core product for ambulatory care that seamlessly integrates with a workflow system, a patient tracking system, and a document scanning system. The system provides a radically intuitive touch-screen interface for prescription writing and other tasks.

Thanks to EncounterPRO, Dr. Cooper reopened his practice to new patients in January 1996 and increased his billings that year by $200,000 without adding staff. In 1997, Dr. Cooper's billings increased another $130,000.

"Gross billings during 1998 were $1.25 million," says Dr. Cooper. "Additionally, we've increased our patient count from 3,500 in 1995 to almost 7,300. That's an economic success story, and a lot of the credit belongs to EncounterPRO."

Reduced Operating Costs
EncounterPRO eliminated the need for several services at Dr. Cooper's practice. For example, it did away with the need for transcription services. Savings in this area can be anywhere from $1,700 to $25,000 per year. Chart pulling and chart maintenance as well as chart storage and charting supply costs were abolished as well.

When EncounterPRO is integrated with a third-party billing/scheduling application (a task that its Microsoft BackOffice foundation makes simpler), practices can eliminate billing code posting as well. A physician can see additional benefits from this feature in the form of decreased malpractice insurance premiums resulting from better documentation.

More Productivity and Efficiency
EncounterPRO's touch-screen interface and task-oriented template design enable Dr. Cooper's staff to rapidly input and retrieve patient data, making lost patient charts, illegible records, and lost or loose pages within a patient's chart things of the past. During the charting process, patient service codes are automatically entered into the billing system, eliminating the time-consuming task of having to manually check and key in billing codes. Patients move efficiently through Dr. Cooper's office, since nurses can receive and prepare to administer the physician's orders while he is still in the examination room with the patient.

Other efficiencies delivered by EncounterPRO include the elimination of pharmacy calls, reduced callbacks on telephone encounters, and reduced time spent reading medical histories.

Improved Patient Care
Not only are patients' records in Dr. Cooper's office now instantly available to all providers, but Dr. Cooper and his staff also have the ability to read an encounter report prepared by another provider-- a distinct advantage over older methods of record keeping.

EncounterPRO further improves the quality of the patient-physician relationship by reducing the time Dr. Cooper must spend on paperwork, thereby increasing the time available for patient interaction.

In addition, patients benefit from decreased waiting times for callbacks from the office as well as decreased waiting times for the transfer of medical records.

Finally, EncounterPRO's Microsoft SQL Server-based database enables Dr. Cooper to query patient data, compare drugs for efficacy, check regulatory compliance (for example, state immunization compliance) and study medical data for outcomes.

Better Communications
Thanks to EncounterPRO, exchanging information is now an instantaneous process at Dr. Cooper's practice. Immediate access to charts and patient information has improved communication not only between providers and patients but among Dr. Cooper and other physicians and medical assistants as well. Dr. Cooper's nurse or lab technician can now instantly send processing orders for tests and procedures.

Also, EncounterPRO gives Dr. Cooper's floor nurse and office manager the ability to track and manage patient flow more efficiently. Patients who have waited the longest can be instantly identified and served--which means that empty exam rooms can be filled.

Up and Running Fast
EncounterPRO's intuitive interface greatly reduces training time and office disruption. Staff training generally takes about four hours. During the adoption period, there is minimal disruption of day-to-day operations -- a full patient schedule is maintained, even on the first day of operation.

During the first day online after a recent EncounterPRO installation, two doctors electronically charted every patient they saw that day--more than 110 direct encounters and 40 telephone encounters. Two hours after they began charting that first day, both physicians stopped dictating. By the third day, the physicians were no longer printing out patient encounters and their office had become completely "paperless."

An Award Winner
Dr. Cooper's achievements with EncounterPRO have been gaining attention. His practice won a First Place award in Health Management Technology's 1997 "What Works" contest, and his picture was featured on the magazine's January, 1998 cover. For Dr. Cooper, software from JMJ Technologies and Microsoft has turned out to be a prescription for success.

For more information
About Microsoft
Call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (800) 563-9048. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft office.
For more information about Microsoft BackOffice-based healthcare solutions, visit the Microsoft healthcare industry home page on the World Wide Web, at http://www.microsoft.com/industry/health.

About JMJ
JMJ Technologies
2155 Post Oak Tritt Road
Suite 540
Marietta, GA 30062
Tel.: 800-677-5653 or 770-509-5653
Fax: 770-973-8194
Web site: http://www.jmjtech.com
JMJ Technologies offers a complete office management system for the point-of-care physician?s office. This integrated system, consisting of a computer-based patient record, a workflow system, a patient tracking system, a document scanning system, billing, and scheduling, operates on a client/server platform utilizing Microsoft Windows® 2000, Windows NT, Windows 95, and Windows 98. A radically intuitive touch-screen application, leading-edge technology, and a Windows-based environment offer an unequaled combination for the healthcare practitioner.
Microsoft Software Used
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows NT Server

Copyright 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Companies, names, and/or data used in screens are fictitious, unless otherwise noted. Microsoft, BackOffice, the BackOffice logo, Windows, and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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