100		Podiatric Services Report
100		Universal Encounter Superbill
50		Patient Physical Exam
50		Patient History
50		General S.O.A.P. Note
50		Skin & Nail Care Follow-up
50		Lower Leg Wound Care Report
50		Skeletal Worksheet
50		Heel Pain Report
50		Two Visit Heel Pain Follow-up
50		Radiography Report
50		Dermal Worksheet
OPTION : If you also see patients in nursing homes, you can add 100 Nursing Home Reports to your starter kit.

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Using The Starter Kit to Try Out and Learn
The DocuForms Method

INTRODUCTION

Our podiatric documentation system really will speed your medical documentation work . You'll also find that your charts are more accurate than when you use other methods, which in turn helps you to give the best care and to bill more accurately.

The instructions below explain how to use the Starter Kit to test us out in a way that won’t disrupt your current documentation procedures.

This package represents a week or two supply of forms for the typical practice. By the time you’ve worked through the kit you’ll not only see the big advantage of using DocuForms, you’ll be completely comfortable with the DocuForms Charting Method.

STEP ONE

First, we recommend that you start out by using the Patient History Form POD-2010 for all new patients and all returning patients whose medical history you have not recently updated.

STEP TWO

Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with our general-purpose exam, the Podiatric Services Report POD-3030. If you normally use electronic medical records, or transcription or handwritten notes we do not recommend that you just jump right in using the 3030. Instead, since you’re probably used to taking crib notes as a basis for the more thorough notes you develop later on, we actually encourage you to continue this process at the beginning – just use the 3030 as the crib note – for the moment. In the process of doing so you’ll become familiar with how the form is structured, where the various sections are located, and how the various tools, shortcuts and guides designed into the form speed your work.

For the first couple of days you may find this to be a somewhat demanding task. However, by the third day, typically, it’ll become clear to you that the crib note (on the 3030) contains everything you’re transcribing into your note. That’s when you’ll see that you no longer need to transcribe anything, that the 3030 is in many cases a complete note in itself.

Just as important, the 3030 has been reminding you and prompting you with elements you may have overlooked in your notes as they were previously done.

It’s at this point that you will begin to feel comfortable relying on the DocuForms as your primary note and you can wean yourself from dictation for the most part over the next few days and then give it up altogether for most patient encounters.

EASY LEARNING CURVE REVEALED

At this point you’ll be familiar with the structure of the 3030.

Take a look the other forms in the Starter Kit: it’ll now be obvious that the order in which topics appear from form to form will almost always be the same. There may be additional detail on different forms, but the basic outline will always be the same. Once you learn one form you’re well on your way to learning all the forms.

Start with the general exam, the 3030, and broaden out. Don’t try to overwhelm yourself with all the forms at once.

STEP THREE

A good form to try next is the three-visit At-Risk Patient Skin and Nail Care Follow-up form POD-3040. This is the logical continuation of the 3030 for the at-risk patient. You’ll quickly realize that you already know how to fill out the form – it’s comprised of the pertinent portion of the dermatological section of the 3030, repeated three times for three follow-up visits. It also includes all the information you will need to properly bill for these visits.

LEARNING TO USE THE UNIVERSAL ENCOUNTER SUPERBILL

As the one form you'll use most often, you should take some time to familiarize yourself with the Universal Encounter Superbill. If you click here a second window will open, showing a picture of the front of this form. Move your mouse pointer over the form and you'll see explanations of the various sections on the form.

There's also a clickable link at the top of the new window that lets you view the back of the form. Along the top of the back of the form you'll see the Symbol Legend that explains the symbols used on the form. (You can also see the Symbol Legend over on the right in this window.) All the symbols and color codes have significance. If you follow these keys and symbols they will guide you to code correctly, so that you get the reimbursements you're entitled to the first time you submit the claim.

BROADENING OUT

While learning to use treatment-specific forms like the 3040, you can also broaden out to the more extended general exam forms like the Patient Physical Exam POD-2020 together with the General S.O.A.P. Note POD-3010 for completing your Assessment and Plan. In the process you will discover that the 3010 form delivers an excellent standalone note for self limited problems and follow-up visits.

FOCUSING IN

The general exam forms will be useful for every patient visit. The more specialized forms in the Starter Kit are designed for the most common situations you encounter in your practice. Start working with each one as the need arises. In each case you'll find that the general forms have prepared you to use these forms with little or no trouble. The advantages of using DocuForms will quickly become obvious.

For example, one form you will probably become familiar with early on is the Radiology Report POD-2040. The form starts by prompting you to give the reasons you're taking the X-ray. You then indicate the views you’re taking and whether or not the views are weight-bearing or not weight bearing. In the third section you only complete those areas that are pertinent to the x-ray you’re taking, for example the section dealing with infection or post-op or trauma. Situations where you have to fill out more than one or two sections of the form are going to be quite rare.

Big advantage: With this form you can check off the views in which you see the abnormality. This detail is all too often overlooked in a typical note.

The other specialized forms include the Heel Pain POD-3070, two visit Heel Pain Follow-up POD-3080, the Lower Leg Wound Care Exam POD-3060, the Dermal Worksheet POD-2050 and the Skeletal Worksheet POD-2060. Each of these forms contains many smart features that you'll find valuable, not the least of which will be the fact that these forms guide you into creating documentation that meets the stringent requirements of Medicare and precisely follow the Medicare/AMA 1997 E & M Documentation Guidelines. (Click here to download a copy of the guidlines in Adobe Acrobat format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the guidelines.)

Click here to order the Starter Kit here on the website or call us at 1-800-995-2001. We look forward to building a relationship with you.