PublishMyself.netPublish YourSelf Here – Articles Directory

     I am not speaking of just any type of medical electronic documentation, but specifically chiropractic electronic documentation.

     What are the current chiropractic electronic documentation systems (CEDS)? What is the interest in CEDS for the practicing Chiropractor? How can chiropractic treatment be documented by a CEDS for duplication by another chiropractor?  This article will address these three specific questions.

 What are the current chiropractic electronic documentation systems?

     The biggest chiropractic electronic documentation systems currently on the market started in the medical field with a base system approach. This base system can be adapted to any medical profession by incorporating specialized modules geared toward the individual specialty (i.e. chiropractic, dentistry and optometry).

      The advantage of this approach is obvious: A decrease in production cost and an increase in proprietary function. The whole trick being that the module developed for each medical specialty would be pertinent and specific to that specialty.

      Most systems sold as “Chiropractic Electronic Documentation Systems” have been modeled from such programs.  However, the opposite is also true, albeit unusual, where a system has been designed specifically for chiropractic and has migrated to other medical fields.

      Chances are that within the next few years the core system for any EMR/EHR (electronic medical recording/electronic health recording) will be consistent between manufacturers.  It will be a generic platform with no noticeable difference between medical fields in the system. The difference for each specialty will come from a specific plug-in which will be specialty specific. This plug-in or module will be the program identifier for your profession. This phenomenon may already be in play for most of the medical profession.

What is the interest for the practicing Chiropractor?

     For a chiropractor, selecting a system will start with selecting the chiropractic component, because the rest of the system is or will be standard regardless of the manufacturer. The difference will lay in the included treatment protocols themselves.  We know from experience that in order to get paid, billing needs to be extremely precise utilizing a very sophisticated coding system.  Use of these appropriate codes and modifiers increase the chances of getting paid quickly and without hassle.

      This same precision should be allocated to the treatment component of the chiropractic electronic documentation system in order to maximize future payments.  What makes a system stand out from any other system is the ease and precision with which the chiropractor can handle the treatment portion of the system.  The defining element of a good medical documentation system is the ability to duplicate someone else’s treatment protocol from the notes. Unfortunately then, we have a problem in the chiropractic profession!  Chiropractors have historically been notorious in documenting the treatment they perform. The old “listing” is not treatment documentation.  At best, it is an examination finding.  Chiropractors are usually unable to duplicate a colleague’s treatment protocol, even from well written notes.  The subsequent obvious question then should be, “Can chiropractic electronic documentation be used to enable an exact duplication of chiropractic treatment protocols?”  The answer is a resounding yes because duplication is the essence of science and then, it follows, of what a chiropractor practices.  In addition, this duplication will aid in bulletproofing the “proof of medical necessity” and thus maximize income.

 How can a chiropractic treatment protocol be documented for duplication?

     Chiropractic treatment protocols can be documented by including a precise standardized description of the protocol to permit a peer to duplicate it.  The key to this documentation is a standardization of terminology and the inclusion of all the scientifically and professionally recognized techniques and protocols.

 “Chiropractic Electronic Documentation Systems”, are they really chiropractic?

You should ask the vendor the following two questions.

1.     How are you different from a Medical EMR System?

2.     Can my associate duplicate my technique from this system?

The response to these two questions holds the key to finding the best “Chiropractic Electronic Documentation System” for you.

 Dr. Etienne Dubbary graduated from National College of Chiropractics in 1982. He is President and CEO of DocuRehab Software Inc. (www.docurehab.com) and has been practicing Chiropractic Medicine for over 25 years.

HTML Version:

Text Version:

Article Url: