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Welcome to the ChiroPulse365 Homepage where you will find information on our software. Please use the top links as well as Member Center & “pages of interest” on the right.
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ChiroPulse365 refresh 365.1.1028 or higher can output ANSI 837Pro 5010 format EDI files. Simply edit the clearinghouse (or direct insurer) “edi format” as needed and create/recreate the EDI file. For your convenience you can choose HCFA Print Image, Ansi 837Pro (as before) or the Ansi 837Pro (5010) additional choice.
A few tweaks to remember for 1/1/2012 or as determined by regional carriers:
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Data Backup with ChiroServer Tools & Removable Media
Nightly Backup: At the end of day use ChiroServer Tools to backup your ChiroPulse (ChiropulseDBmaster) database. This is located on your Server or stand-alone PC. A multi-step redundant backup will protect your office against every type of possible data loss (i.e. hard-drive failure, sabatoge, flood, fire, theft, etc.) while providing for a hassle-free restoration using open technology standards. A backup is no good if the “backup” is unreadable or unavailable. The best backup solution is a removable USB device (as your “safe place” – more below) with secondary system backup to an internal hard drive, network backup drive or internet backup solution (one you’ve actually tested the ability to quickly restore). This allows redundant backup that is off-site. The goal is to have your ChiroPulse database in one place that can be restored (on a new or fixed PC) in minutes!
What do I Backup To? Nowadays it’s best to backup to USB flash drive, not disc/CD. USB flash drives are faster, more reliable and offer less chance of failure (plus they’re green & not a total waste of plastic/landfill space). Any USB flash drive will work, 4GB more more is sensible and they’re priced under $25. What is nice is that any PC can read a USB card and our “copy to safe place” uses industry standard ZIP format so your backup is instantly readable without installing any software, utilities, etc. USB flash cards should be replaced yearly and it’s probably best to rotate two (2) USB cards using a different one on alternate days. An ounce of prevention is worth what… probably 10 pounds of cure. This is your PATIENT DATA so protect it carefully. Read more…
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Save & secure remote access to your office PC is a valuable tool for your office. It allows you to “operate” your Office computer and ChiroPulse365 from almost any computer using any internet connection.
ChiroPulse365 fully supports Remote Access using many tools including Microsoft Remote Desktop featured in all versions of Microsoft Windows. One problem with Windows Remote Desktop is that it requires setup and on the PC you want to remote in requires XP Pro or XP Media Center, Vista/Windows 7 Business/Ultimate. You cannot remote into a computer running Windows XP/Vista/7 Home using Windows Remote Desktop.
Fortunately Microsoft has released a free, secure Remote Access program that is hassle-free to setup (zero configuration) and runs on any version of Windows Vista or Windows 7 (sorry but Windows XP is not supported). Microsoft Live Mesh 2011 is part of Windows Live Essentials 2011.
Here is how easy it is… 5 basic steps
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Chiropractic offices face an increasing burden of patient documentation, not only for the care of patients but also to obtain 3rd party reimbursement as expected. The first obstacle the doctor and office has is is typically “where do I begin?”
Related articles: Point/Click Soap Wizard Overview (or article search 343)
You actually start recording clinical notes by creating a New Claim for any patient who starts care for a new injury or resumes care after a stoppage of treatment (by choice of the doctor or patient). When you create a New Claim you are defining the Diagnosis (ICD-9) for this patient that will be used for all notes from History to Soap to Outcome, Careplan, etc. In Claim Wizard Page-1 it is important to enter all the ICDs for a claim as soon as possible so that they are available in your Notes.
Claim Wizard Page-3 offers a useful area for clinical data collection for the doctor. The Complaints & Exams are useful for Soap Note collection covered in the Soap Wizard Overview linked in this article. The Chiropractic Notes & Analysis and Medications & Prescriptions text boxes are each quite useful since this info can be viewed (and edited) from TravelCard with just one-click. The Chiropractic Notes – relating to the specific claim – are typically used to document how you treat the patient, including specific procedures & analysis to be performed. This info is “for the doctor” and not meant for printing, referral or submission to insurers. It is used by the doctor to review & remember important treatment related info for the patient while they are actually in the office (waiting room, examining room, treatment room, etc.)
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One of the many obstacles that your staff must overcome is Case Management & tracking important follow-up items during the care of a patient. This management is not only clinical in nature but also clerical since you might need authorization or other submissions to obtain payment & reimbursement.
ChiroPulse365 Ultimate now features seventeen (17) customizable alerts to allow your office to be prompted and notified of important events. Alerts can be set a few ways, first is global alerts. These alerts will appear for all patients in your practice which allows you to setup customized prompts based on how you want to run your office software. In addition, each patient can have their own patient specific alerts that can be linked to one claim, all claims and optionally be linked to an insurance timeframe. This allows you for example, to have a PIP claim for a patient with one set of alerts while still having alerts for their second “major med” claim that was treatment for a prior injury. Customizable patient specific alerts override global alerts for any given patient. A summary of the possible Patient Alerts are shown below:
Presently, you can check all alerts at once using the “Check Alerts text in patient tab & scheduler [alerts] button after selecting a patient. If no alerts apply (or none have been set) the alert prompt will not appear for your convenience.
Now that the foundation to Patient Alerts has been set, in the near future the following enhancements will be made:
Example use:
We will be updating this entry in the near future, including when ChiroPulse365 is refreshed.
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Related Articles:
Requirements for Wireless Use of ChiroPulse365:
Wi-fi wireless roaming between treatment and other rooms
As people can wirelessly use their phones & view the web or fetch email, it is a nice goal to be able to wireless access your ChiroPulse data from anywhere in your office. We have tested and used wi-fi going back to Winter 2005 when we launched ChiroPulse Advanced v4 (replace by ChiroPulse365) using D-link 104mpbs and early Pre-N wifi setups. Read more…
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Reminder- All ChiroPulse365 refreshs after 12/2009 offer significantly bolstered performance with Windows 7 and Vista (32-bit and 64-bit). Please check for updates in our Secure Member Center!
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This highly requested feature is now now ready for your office! (database level 5.11+)
From the patient’s Careplan you can select a careplan entry – for example “3 times weekly starting 11/1/2009 through 11/15/2009” – and quickly schedule multiple appointments for a patient directly to scheduler, while picking the preferred time/dates. This feature is useful for all practice types, from cash-only to personal injury since it allows rapid appointment entry & the quick printing of these appointments for the patient. It nicely integrates the clinical Careplans with the clerical Scheduler & visit posting.
You can block schedule the following Careplan entries: Daily, Daily AM/PM, Weekly. Other intervals can more easily be cloned. Click the careplan entry (ie. 10/01 Weekly entry selected below) then click the “Block Schedule” link to see the block schedule careplan overlay.
block schedule directly using careplan entries!
From the careplan you can see the “block scheduled” appointments and mass-delete them (all except kept appointments) if something has changed! You can also see which careplan entries were block scheduled or are eligible for block-scheduling.
careplan printout for the patient
Shown above is the improved careplan report that now features a list of future appointments for the patient. This can be printed directly from the Careplan editor or Scheduler to reinforce the care your patient will be receiving.
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For each insurer, you can set fee schedules which define the dollar amount the insurer has agreed to pay a specific doctor for a specific CPT. i.e. the contracted rate fee schedule.
The allowed amount is the insurer’s contracted rate (for the doctor who performs the service). The difference between the contracted rate & your standard CPT fee is automated as a non-collectible payment entry in the ledger.
For example if a charge for a CPT is $75 & the fee schedule allowed amount is $50 when adding visits a $25 non-collectible payment will be posted to ledger automatically along with the visit/charges. Read more…
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The Scheduler is your computerized daybook that integrates with ledger and patient data. It is customizable, including the setting hours, breaks and appointments per time slot for each day, for each doctor. The Scheduler was specifically designed to allow the vast majority of daily functions to be performed from this single screen (i.e., scheduling, posting charges, patient payment/co-payment, walkout receipt, access to patient careplan/travel card, etc.).
The Scheduler is also integrated with the Patient Claim Wizard & Ledger. You can set your default appointment information for each patient, for each “claim”, in the Claim Wizard. This includes default charges, times, etc. Typical appointment information that can be collected in the scheduler includes treatment codes (CPT, Multi & User codes) and treating doctors. This can streamline data entry, saving time & reducing errors. The scheduled charges/services (CPT, Multi & User codes) will be posted to the Patient’s Ledger when you set the visit status to kept (from waiting or treating). From the ChiroPulse start page “MyOffice” click the top icon bar “View scheduler” to launch the scheduler window. The scheduler is self-contained in an independent window to allow for quick return to office & patient tasks not scheduler related.
dimmed choices until a patient is selected
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Clone shortcuts added to scheduler to save clicks & speed your your front desk! After pressing “Clone selected appointment” a new Clone pop-up menu appears to allow you to directly clone with less window jumping!
New Clone Button Menu for easier cloning direct from scheduler.
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To better service your office, Pulse Software is a Dell Registered Partner. This means any Dell item we sell, drop ship, resell or procure for you maintains it’s complete original FACTORY DELL warranty! Unless you are a Dell Certified or Registered Partner their factory warranties are not really transferable (unless declared as a gift, using complicated forms & reliance on vendor followup). The bottom line is that unnecessary risk is avoided when buying through Pulse Software.
There is no need for Dell resellers to inventory/stock Dell computers. Here are three main reasons: #1 Dell sells their equipment to Vendors/Resellers at about the same price as they do to customers direct on the dell.com website. Some large box store like Best Buy use Dell to lure customers into their store to look & see… and hopefully purchase a movie, DVD, software or accessory. #2 Dell changes PCs, configurations & prices almost daily. We would never want to be selling out-dated computers we’re stuck with. #3. Dell ships direct to customer, very quickly if not immediately. Direct shipping means lowered costs to you.
We can service your office when looking for new computers & save you money. Read more…
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It’s nice to see the government and other vendors now validate patient documentation that Pulse Software has been allowing and recommending for your office since 1996 with the launch of ChiroPulse . It is no surprise that patient record keeping will one day be certified, standardized & possibly mandated.
Unfortunately many vendors today are using fear, uncertainty & scare tactics on our fellow Chiropractors. As if doctors don’t face enough obstacles to patient care they now need to fend off bully tactics from unscrupulous software vendors. The vendors often leave out facts & specifics, for example that the HITECH stimulus relates only to Medicare/Medicaid and would begin perhaps in 2011 at the earliest, no time soon.
You’re reading the emails, promotion & print ads that sound so great you almost want to believe them. They read like the email from your “long lost relative who left you millions” that you can collect once you “send your bank account info, social security info & all of your personal data”, plus a “small $10,000 payment to cover legal fees to gain your inheritance”. Here is a sample …
“Stimulus Plan rewards over $40,000 to doctors using EMR software!”
“Start reaping the benefits of the Economic Stimulus Plan now!”
“Money Flying”
“Implement now once the $19.2 billion in stimulus dollars is paid out, there will be no more!”
.
Facts about EMR Electronic Medical Records / EHR Electronic Health Records Read more…
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This blog entry is intended to make you think about how much paper you generate in ChiroPulse365.
When talking to chiropractic offices it really amazes us how often the staff prints things from ChiroPulse that is really doesn’t need to be. Print today’s schedule, print the HCFA that you sent electronically, print a patient invoice you sent, print a SOAP, etc. Sure some things need printing (I.e. a patient walkout receipt they ask for) but much of what the average office prints is stuffed into a patient folders to take up space & quite often do nothing but collect dust.
ChiroPulse365 has a full “what you see is what you get” print preview. It can export to many computer electronic file formats and multi-page PDF portable document file. We’d like to urge your office to really start to consider the actual need of a paper printout before sending the preview to the printer.
While each of your offices has unique needs & requirements, we have a vested interest to have your patient data instantly retrievable, organized & reproducible for medical, legal & accounting purposes. Read more…
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ChiroPulse can work with almost any clearinghouse that supports industry standard formats. Listed below are a few vendors that have great customer feedback and have been compatible with ChiroPulse for years. Each clearinghouse has various options, pricing and value added services which should be considered against strictly the advertised “price”. The ability to get you quickly up and running, with correct EDI output for peculiar settings required by local insurers is important too!
MDOn-Line
www.mdon-line.com
6 Campus Drive, Parsippany, NJ 07054
Toll Free: 888-499-5465 ext 165
Fax: 973-734-9910
www.mdon-line.com Read more…
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ChiroPulse365 now has Limited N.Y. Worker’s Comp C-4 Initial Report & C-4.2 Progress Report capability! This is featured in refresh 365.1.676 from April 8, 2009 or higher. We will be improving C-4 support in the near future and allow non-NYWC users to utilize some of the tests & exams that will be tracked!
Prints on plain white paper to eliminates hassle!
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We have spoken to countless Chiropractors from clinics all over North America. One recurring theme is that daily Soap Notes are a hassle. Some offices even store them in paper files. Ugh. Another theme – which is unspoken & not quite as universally accepted – is that Daily Soaps are not absolutely useful (when treating a few times weekly) but instead a necessary evil mandated by 3rd party payers. The theory goes that insurers know the extra hassle of creating accurate, useful daily patient notes will slow reimbursement. Good thing for ChiroPulse365 or we’d have to consider calling in Scully & Mulder from retirement. 
Luckily we can put all of that to rest because accurate daily patient notes are very simple to create in ChiroPulse365. Our clinical Team believes, as you do, that Daily Soap Notes benefit the patient, the doctor and your Chiropractic office.
Lets recap the four components of a Daily Soap Note:
Subjective – The Subjective portion is simply the patient’s grading their chief complaints. This allows you to document the patient’s problem(s) as they explain them to you the doctor.
Subjective: Location / Region
For the selected complaint, click on the location(s) and/or region to best explain the patient’s complaint. You can use any of the three boxes to better explain the chief complain as the patient explains it that day. For example the chief complaint of “neck pain” could be “bilateral” (location1) or “upper” (location1) “right” (location2). The use of locations/regions are strictly optional & are not needed to make sensible notes.
Subjective: Location/Region of the selected complaint
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You might be thinking… did I miss it… what happened to database level 5.08? No worries, we had several refreshes at database level 5.08 for in-house and on-site testing for our Document Management System (now available)! While our Document system was being tested extensively we made even more changes & additions so that we were able to jump to database level 5.09 for public release
Changes in this Refresh:
manage, tag & track files & documents for your patients
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ChiroPulse365 now features a fully indexed document file-management system that links any computer file to your patient database. You simply view/find the computer file (document, audio, video, picture, PDF, etc.) then tag it by patient, description, date, & keywords as well as optionally link it to a treating doctor, referring doctor, claim and/or lawyer. This lets you instantly retrieve, view, edit or print the linked file from any computer in your office or network running ChiroPulse365 – including wireless netbooks!
When working with any patient (for example from Patient Finder Tab) you will see a list of documents – such as MRI results from 2/2009, blood tests, faxes, word processor files – that were linked to this patient. Thus keeping your patient files totally organized & always at your fingertips!
Here is walk-through for this powerful new feature & tool for your office.
You can use the file viewer to quickly view many types of audio, video & data files directly from ChiroPulse365. In this example you are viewing the PATIENT-DATA folder and the (blurred for privacy) & highlighted PDF file is visible.
The file viewer has two modes or ways to be used. One to Browse & Tag images and the second to View Patient Images (that were already tagged). Use the top button bar to switch between Browse mode & Patient Image mode. In both modes the left panel shows a list of files/documents which can quicky be viewed in the large left space. When a patient is selected in Scheduler or Patient Finder, the document viewer opens to View Patient Images mode so you can quickly see all patient documents.
The picture above shows Browse mode where the left panel has buttons to navigate to a network folder or mapped drive as well as the folder tree view below where you can navigate the selected folder/drive/share.
Don’t let computers confuse you! Think of your computer & it’s data storage area(s) as a large file cabinet. This storage cabinet can have several drawers, which in computer terms are drives. Within each drive (drawers) there can be several folders. Within each folder there are documents (ie. files). A computer document is called a data “file” since it is readable by anyone on the computer. Note that some computer files are programs or hidden as part of Windows. Document files can come in various formats, each identified by a 3 or 4 digit extension. For example .DOC is a word document, whereas .PDF is an acrobat portable document file, whereas .JPG is a graphical image file. All of these are files/documents. Documents can be multiple pages if stored in formats such as Word Processor or better yet Acrobat PDF format. Pictures are considered one-page documents.
show all file types & external viewer options
Use the folder tree-view and network drive box to first find the folder where the computer file is stored that you want to tag & import. Then simply click the file in the list directly below (blurred for privacy in this example) to immediately view the document. While viewing the file you want to import press the Import Document button. This brings up the Image tagger window so that you can identify the document & link it to a patient, claim, treating doctor & more!
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Creating clinically valid Soap Notes has never been easier than when using ChiroPulse365. One tool offered is the Point & Click Soap Wizard which allows you to create detailed & specific – yet clinically relevant – Soap Notes. This is touchscreen friendly and can allow the creation of a Soap Note without typing. It is even easier than it appears since once the initial Soap is created, the data collected is quickly viewed & used to start your next note for the patient’s next office visit. This allows continuity & validity of your clinical documentation for all your patients.
The first thing to do for your patients is setup the Chief Complaints & Exams for the specific Claim (i.e. patient’s treatment episode). Remember you can have multiple simultaneous Claims running, each with thier own ICD-9 diagnosis, complaints, etc. When you create a new Soap Note you will be asked to select which claim the note is for.
create a new soap note & select the claim it is for
While in the SOAP Note Editor or Wizard you can quickly jump to Claim Wizard Page-3 to view & change the complaints & exams! Do this effortlessly with the top menu or keyboard hotkey CTRL+F3. Note that the same keyboard shortcut is universally used in ChiroPulse365, in many windows such as Office notebook, Travelcard, Patient Homepage, Scheduler, Soap Notes, History, etc.
Use the menubar in Soap Wizard to quickly open Claim Wizard page-3
The first goal is to establish what you want to clinically monitor while the patient is under your care for this treatment period (ie. claim). Complaint & Exam packages can be created for frequently used diagnostic scenarios. This will allow you to rapidly enter a preset package for “sciatica” or “headaches” with complaints & exams in your specified order. These can be changed on-the-fly while doing Soaps using add/insert, omit & remove; or changed permanently (all soaps going forward) via Claim Wizard. Just remember it is best to setup your starting point in the Claim Wizard first.
In the example below we will change the primary complaint (selected in blue) in Claim Wizard. We then save the changes so that the appropriate complaints will appear when we create a new Soap Note for this Patient & claim.
Claim Wizard page-3 Complaints & Exams
The Point/Click Wizard has started in the picture below, ready to create a new Soap Note. In the Wizard you work from top to bottom, left to right & remember that almost everything is “clickable” or selectable. You can see in this example three (3) Chief Complaints are used for Carmella but the “shoulder-arm…” complaint is Omitted for this note meaning we will skip that complaint for today’s note. Use omit to skip a complaint or exam while keeping it in the Claim Wizard for use later, such as if an exacerbation occurs. You can delete the complaint so it will not appear in the next new Soap note.
Use the SOAP tabs to navigate between components or simply use Next/F3 to go from finding to finding (ie. location… description… better… aggravated) to quickly loop through & visually create your Soap Note. The keyboard shortcuts allow you to navigate a Soap without grabbing for the mouse. If you are using the mouse however, you can click on any blue text link to jump to that data panel.
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Buying a New Computer or replacing an older PC?
Please read below and follow our suggestions to save money, improve performance and make your life easier…
Server or Stand-alone PC
Remember Pentium 4 computers from 3 years ago were 3Ghz – actually faster in some ways for single applications & data throughput. Avoid older 32-bit Celeron processors as they’re they’re older, slower and waste energy. Just about any PC at this level will be OK and give you a few years use as expensed office equipment. Printable View
Netbooks are an exciting new class of ultra-portable laptops that are small, light, well priced, that run Windows & ChiroPulse365! Yes indeed, all ChiroPulse365 varieties support “Netbooks”! We have used the 1st generation Dell Mini-9 (shown above next to a medium coffee) using Wireless-N wifi network connections since it’s initial release with great result.
Wireless Use of ChiroPulse365 with Laptops & Netbooks Read more…
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We’re going to try and Blog each ChiroPulse365 Refresh from here on out, to visualize some changes. For a complete list of changes please see the Member Center and/or from MyOffice open the “Recent Additions” printable file!
We are releasing a second Refresh in March because we anticipate our next Refresh will be a significant one with database level jump to allow for our Image & Document Managment System to be introduced.
Changes in this Refresh:
Travelcard startup configuration - new menu added
Travelcard – “Set Travelcard Startup…” new top menu added with keyboard shortcut Alt-T. This lets you select which note type to view & load when opening Travelcard, for each computer. Previously the “SOAP Note” was automatically viewed, then more recently “ChiroCare”. Now you can decide, per computer what you want to view when Travelcard is opened! Read more…
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We just launched our web blog (i.e blog) to help us stay in better touch with your office! Let us share some exciting things happening with ChiroPulse365.
1. ChiroPulse365 will soon feature a fully indexed document file-management system that links any computer file to your patient database. You simply view/find the computer file (document, audio, video, picture, PDF, etc.) then tag it by patient, description, date, & keywords as well as optionally link it to a treating doctor, referring doctor, claim and/or lawyer. This lets you instantly retrieve, view, edit or print the linked file from any computer in your office or network running ChiroPulse365 – including wireless netbooks!
When working with any patient (for example from Patient Finder Tab) you will see a list of documents – such as MRI results from 2/2009, blood tests, faxes, word processor files – that were linked to this patient. Thus keeping your patient files totally organized & always at your fingertips! – This is in beta testing at select sites since February, 2009. Read more…
