Welcome to Development, Andrea

A new face has joined the Development team for a few short months. Andrea Reade is a co-op student from Conestoga College. She is currently enrolled in the Health Informatics Management program, and will be here for four months to learn software development as it pertains to our business. Andrea will help us with our .Net software development, and other key areas in software management and development.

Welcome aboard, Andrea! We're glad to have you.

Welcome!

Over the past few months, we have been very fortunate here at P & P to experience continued growth. 

Just before Christmas, we welcomed George Kyriakakos to the head of our sales team. He stepped flawlessly into the role of sales manager, and is quickly gaining a feel for our industry, our sales team, our clients, and our future in our market space. He is working closely with our sales team to improve our processes and drive the growth of our company so that we can continue to provide a world-class EMR system and the customer service to go with it.

The growth of our sales team doesn't stop there, however. At the beginning of the new year, we also welcomed Luann Medeiros to the role of Assistant Sales Manager. Working closely with George, she will be focused on ensuring that your experience with our sales executives and the sales process is always a positive one. 

With the start of the new year, we also welcome a current employee to a new role. Our technical and market writer, Jeanette deBoer, is taking on new challenges within the company. She is stepping into the role of internal training and human resource development. In this role, it is her goal to equip all of our staff to better serve our clients.

We are very pleased to welcome George, Luann, and Jeanette to their roles and excited to see the changes and improvements they will bring!

World Class Customer Service

Last week, 8 of us from P & P drove 6 hours to attend the World Class Customer Service Summit in Cleveland, Ohio. We spent two days filling our heads and our notebooks with information and ideas about customer service. Speakers from a variety of companies and causes, with a variety of stories, came to inspire, to teach, and to motivate us to serve our clients in a way that can only be described as world class.

Moshe, Corey, Liz, Matt, Jeanette, and Chris with some new friends we met at the conference: Leanne, Dr. David, and, of course, the Chick-fil-a cow.

Over the next few months, we'll be doing our best to implement some of the ideas we've heard. World Class Customer Service takes time to develop, but we're absolutely committed to bringing the principles behind it to P & P and the EMR industry. As we work towards an improved customer service experience, we want to hear what you have to say. Have you experience good customer service from one of our employees? Have you experienced customer service that could have been much better from someone here at P & P? We want to hear your stories! Send us an email here at marketing@p-pdata.com.

Do Not Fear: EMR Is Here

Contributed by Liz Pennefather, Account Executive

As you’re reading this, you might be thinking, “How would a massage therapist get involved in the EMR industry?” When I accepted the job offer here with P & P Data Systems, I thought the exact same thing. But I was so excited to become involved in something that really has the power to help revolutionize the healthcare profession for the future, at all levels.

I was working at a clinical practice, and started to see a bit of a pattern. In a multidisciplinary practice, a few practitioners would often see the same patients in the same day. We were constantly tracking each other down to find the patient chart and enter our notes. We would need to review history and progress of the patient, any new information we received (i.e. diagnostic imaging results, or letters from physicians and surgeons) and any insurance information, as our billing was not connected with OHIP. Many times charts would go missing, were not filed, or quickly became damaged and worn because of storage issues. I’ll never forget the day my boss ordered another filing cabinet because we had so many patient charts…our storage room became a file room.

I had heard about EMR from a couple of friends working in the business, and didn’t even realize that my own family doctor was using a system. What a fantastic idea! No more lost charts, instant access with the ability to enter notes from a terminal in the office or treatment room, and consistently updated information with everyone’s notes and pertinent information. Genius!

I know what you might be thinking. Some of these systems are so complicated and full of information that initially you feel intimidated about how to navigate or do a simple standard SOAP or progress note while you are with the patient. I felt exactly the same way when I first started my training with P & P. However, as I became more familiar with the system, I saw how organized it can make things. Through your choice of our templates, acronym narrative entry or even Dragon dictation, patient information is permanently added to the note in such a way that changes, deletions, and additions can be tracked.

The best parts? No difficulty interpreting anyone’s hand writing, no lost post-it notes and no fumbling through paper charts of previous encounters. All the necessary information is neatly displayed and accessible with tabs. Just a couple of clicks away, you can find all the patient’s visits in chronological order. The user/practitioner decides what information in the cumulative patient profile should be quickly accessible. It’s the same for reviewing lab results, and writing prescriptions, and providing pamphlets or information for patients: just a few clicks of the mouse. CIS is well-rounded and complete too: registering a patient, booking appointments, and billing are completed with ease. Nothing is ever lost: everything can be easily communicated through the integrated interoffice email-like system.

It does seem unnerving, and it is a huge undertaking to move from paper to EMR, but it is achievable. The training is done in stages, and very interactive so learning is maximized. It’s not disruptive to the clinical practice; the best advice I can give is to start off slow and integrate each aspect in good time. Going paperless does not happen immediately; there will still be some coming in and out, but as time passes, it will definitely be reduced, and as a result, you will save lots of time for the administrative staff. Eventually, you will see the results: better attention to running the practice, and most importantly, better patient care.

Goodbye Dave!

The help desk is missing one of its many voices this week. After 5 years of dedicated customer service, Dave, Help Desk expert extraordinaire and Team Lead, has moved on to new pastures. Dave has been an integral part of the P & P support team and many of our clients have become familiar with his voice and patient, helpful ways. He will definitely be missed, but we wish him all the best in his new adventures.

Don't be a stranger, Dave!

What's New?

Congratulations!

With the recent departures as mentioned in our last post, we have turned to our own ranks to find the people to fill the holes left behind by the loss of a member of our management team. Within the numbers of our current employees, there is a lot of talent, and a few specific people who are well-suited to some new roles.

Brad Dick: Brad has been working with P & P for many years now as the Project Team Manager. In his new role as P & P's Chief Experience Officer (CXO), Brad is keeping some of his old responsibilities and duties. However, his main role is now with the help desk as the manager of the support staff.

John Boyce: John is officially returning to the support department, where he began his P & P career on help desk 10 years ago. While he will still be helping out with all the additional projects we've got on the go, John's main role as our Senior Solutions Specialist will involve helping our support staff with all the more complicated situations. With years of experience with databases and troubleshooting, we're sure you'll be pleased with the addition of John to the team.

Chuck Chau: Chuck's role too, has not so much changed, as expanded. He still takes on all the responsibilities of his previous role as the director of the Account Management department. However, in addition to those responsibilities, he has also added our on-site technicians to his team. He now manages all of the P & P employees that you may encounter in your offices and clinics.

Thank you for your patience with us as we go through this transition.

A Few Goodbyes

Over the past month or so, we have undergone a number of changes here at the P & P office. One of our long-time employees and manager of support, Aaron Judd, resigned from his position in order to pursue a new direction for his career. Aaron dedicated 14 years to P & P and we are grateful for his expertise and dedication to this company. Aaron was the person you went to for answers and to get this done. As he begins a new chapter of his career, we wish him nothing but the best, but he will certainly be missed.

Additionally, if you have called into help desk recently, you may have missed a familiar voice. Jessica Nakamura has also chosen to move on from P & P. Jessica was with us for almost a year and, during that time, worked tirelessly to help our clients to the best of her ability. She too will be missed.

With these major changes in the company, we are doing our best to re-organize and fill the holes left behind. Please be a little patient with us as we find the best way to make sure you receive the best customer service possible.