Using PDF Files to Eliminate Most Print Jobs

The most common sheets printed in an optometry office are: insurance authorizations, patient prescriptions, referral letters, and test results.  Most practices that think they are "paperless" print these papers out for opticians and doctors to refer to, then they are scanned in when the patient checks out, and finally these papers are shredded.  This is inefficient and can be easily remedied by using PDFs (Portable Document Format) and a practice management software.

What most people don't understand is that whenever you have the ability to print, you have the ability to convert or "print" to a PDF format.  And when you have this ability to convert to a PDF you have the ability to make this file accessible to any computer in your office, eliminating the need for a paper copy.  Most good practice management software have a file management system to handle different types of files from Microsoft Word documents, to pictures/images and the common .PDF file.  Make use of that feature, and you do not need to print 50-80% of your daily print jobs.

How do I create (or "print") to a PDF?
There are a dozen of popular programs to handle the "printing" of PDFs, both paid and free:  Adobe Acrobat, Nitro PDF, PDF Xchange, PDFCreator and CutePDF to name a few.  These PDF “printers” are not actual printers, but an emulated printer that will take any printable item (i.e. web pages, emails, insurance remittance, pictures, etc...) and convert it into a PDF format file.  Some of you may already have a PDF creator installed and to make the most out of it you will need to figure out the best way to automate process of creating/printing of the PDFs and importing them into your practice management software.

If you don't currently use a PDF creation software, I highly recommend the free, high customizable, open-source PDFCreator program.

Step-by-Step instructions coming soon
Over the next few postings I will discuss customizing PDF Creator, step-by-step, to streamline with a couple of different programs, CrystalPM and Officemate.  And for you Officemate users, this may eliminate the need for the $5,000 ECR Vault module.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4 Steps to Creating your Procedure Manual in Google Docs

Image
Looking to create your own Procedure Manual? In my last article, A "Clickable" Procedure Manual ,  I showed you how a clickable manual could be used in your office.  This guide will show you how you can make a procedure manual from scratch using Google Documents. It is a fairly simple (but lengthy) process and you will need to be familiar with my previous Guide on Making a Guide on Google Docs  before proceeding. Click to Download or Print your FREE Guide: 4 Steps to Creating Your Procedure Manual in Google Docs
Read more

A "Clickable" Procedure Manual

Image
***Update April 18,2016*** Learn how to make your own! A new post on 4 Steps to Creating your Procedure Manual in Google Docs I recently read an article by Neil B. Gailmard, OD on Your Office Procedure Manual (2010) which has a lot of good tips on: Why you should have a procedure manual How to Start a Manual What to Exclude What you might Include However, I did not agree with the line in his last paragraph where he states that, “every office is so different that I strongly recommend that you write your own from scratch.”  It’s true, every office has their own unique workflow- but every office shares the ability to categorize duties by either patient workflow and/or department . Think about all the duties in your practice.  They can either involve interaction with a patient or a specialized duty performed by a department in your practice.  Although these duties may coincide in both patient workflow and department, categorizing them in this manner will force yo
Read more

Metrics - Patient Response Button Fix

Image
A Patient Response Button (aka "The Clicker") for our Zeiss FDT went out again at our office and I decided to see what the problem was.   When I took it apart, I found that it was a very simple fix.  In this post, I will show a quick fix to get your Patient Response Button back up and running.  A quick fix if you’re waiting for the replacement from Zeiss ($35 plus shipping).  Disclaimer:  Although this is a VERY simple electronic fix, please do so at your own risk.  I will not be held responsible for any damage caused by using this fix. The Problem: the most common failure of the button is caused from normal wear and tear and occurs when the rubber end-piece separates and causes the jumper to separate from the jumper cable (displayed below). What you need Heatshrink (works wonders on temporary frame repairs also) - a half inch piece of the second from the biggest size should be perfect Super glue Lighter or other heatsource A Phillips Screwdriver
Read more

A Guide On Making A Guide in Google Docs

Image
I love making guides.  I make guides at work in order to provide step by step instructions on how to perform new tasks on new features.  I have over 50 guides that cover most departments in our office. I like to show exactly where to click, what fields need to be filled out and in which order they need to be done.  Making guides are not only informative for the individuals they are intended for, but are very helpful for those creating them to further evaluate the system into a well-thought-out, streamlined process. A Skitch Screenshot What You Need To create a guide you will need three things: A Word Processor  (i.e. Microsoft Word , Google Docs , LibreOffice ) A Method to take a Screenshot  (i.e.   Skitch , Greenshot , PrintScreen Button, or Windows Snipping Tool) A Method to Annotate Your Screenshot (i.e. Skitch , Greenshot , or Microsoft Paint) For this article, I will use Google Docs, Skitch, and the PrintScreen Button.  The reason I love this trio is bec
Read more