by Felicien | Nov 1, 2018 | Education
We’ve read the hype about algorithms before. Now we’re reading the hype about artificial intelligence. Much of the real-world work falls under the umbrella of trade secrets, so we have very few examples of either making a difference. A health system in Wisconsin gives us a glimpse into a real-world application with some very positive results.
How Prevea Health Used Algorithms
Prevea Health is a large multispecialty practice with a rural patient population. It has 350 primary care physicians and specialists, 46 health centers, and it runs 26 employer-based clinics.
Many of its patients do not have an established relationship with one provider. Prevea Health was looking for a way to allow patients to schedule appointments 24/7/365. What it wanted was one solution that handled patient-driven appointment scheduling and directed the patient to the right provider. It also wanted the solution to produce enough data to allow redesigning patient and provider flows to eliminate inefficiencies and reduce costs.
Prevea worked with DocASAP to develop a system which allows patients to schedule appointments after querying them about their health needs. DocASAP handles a number of different scenarios.
Prevea found that in one of these, patients were coming to their providers through a Google search. If they click on the link (provided by DocASAP) for the individual provider’s booking, they are taken directly to the scheduling module. If not, they are queried about their health needs. This allows DocASAP’s algorithm to pick a set of providers and locations for them. It takes the patient to that provider’s scheduling page once they have selected one. Depending on the patient’s initial responses and provider preferences, the patient may be asked to provide additional information.
The database that is produced as a result of this scheduling process allows Prevea’s analysts to looks at the patient flows that are generated so they can continuously refine the algorithms to get the patient to the right provider. Once the appointment is booked, the patient gets appointment reminders as well.
Is the algorithm working? Prevea’s no-show rate has been driven down to four percent, which is very low and compares to a national average of 18 percent. Thirty-eight percent of appointments are booked after hours. While other metrics are still under development, it certainly looks like the effort is producing results.
What Can We Learn From The Prevea Experience?
“Information engineering” refers to the process of asking what information is flowing into an organization, who is getting it, what is being done with it, what the results are, and how the process can be improved. In this case, information is flowing into the system.
The patient needs an appointment for problem X – and flowing out – here are the providers best suited to treat him/her. The available appointment times are presented. The results of those two information flows generate data that Prevea can use to fine-tune the process and to provide further services, such as reminders. One of the lessons learned is that patients, when provided with the right information, will usually pick providers who are the appropriate ones to treat their problems.
The fact that a patient does not need to interact with the provider’s office staff is another advantage. Office staff may or may not be qualified to assess things like:
Whether the reason the patient wants to see the provider is appropriate
Whether the provider handles that sort of problem
Who to refer the patient to
The algorithm, in contrast, knows all of this, and provides the right information without bother. If there are problems in the algorithm, they can be detected in the data generated, and the algorithm can be refined. Try doing that with a medical office staff and dozens of physicians.
The one possibly problematic link in the whole setup is the integration with Google. That makes a lot of sense if Prevea knows that a majority of its patients will use the system. But it has to rely on DocASAP to create and place the appropriate links to its scheduling system on its Google page. What about Bing or Facebook? Apparently, they are not integrated with the system the way Google is.
Conclusions
Scheduling is a major time-consuming operation in physicians’ offices. When the patient is in the wrong location, the office staff has very little ability to get them to the right one. Prevea and DocASAP have solved that problem by building the referral process into an algorithm. Judging by the no-show rate, it works. The weak point is its reliance on Google.
by Felicien | Oct 31, 2018 | Education
Pregnant women often suffer with blood pressure problems. One of the responses to this is to have the patient return to their primary care physician or OB-GYN after birth for at least one blood pressure check. High blood pressure is common after pregnancy and is a frequent reason for readmission after delivery.
How Can We Change The Way We Handle This?
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and its affiliated Magee Women’s Hospital have found a solution. Send every patient who has had blood pressure problems home with a blood pressure monitor and text them on their smartphones, prompting them to measure their pressure and report it.
The information goes to a team of nurses who triage the problem and let the women know if they should keep monitoring it. They can also let them know if they should see their physician or go to the emergency room. This information is fed to the EHR system so that medical staff always knows what the results of the home monitoring were.
UPMC saw this as an opportunity to expand their existing chronic disease monitoring programs, which use similar concepts for those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The period of monitoring for postpartum patients with blood pressure problems is about six weeks.
It is well integrated with the nurse call center and the electronic health record system. It is noteworthy that UPMC-Magee has achieved success through the use of futuristic wearable or implantable monitors and automatic telemetry with a simple blood pressure cuff and a smartphone. The ingenuity went into the parts of the system that had to work together, not just the technology. The pilot phase of the program, which involved 60 patients, was judged a success.
Both unnecessary visits to providers and visits to the emergency room were reduced from the baseline. The same framework is being considered for patients with gestational diabetes. Slightly more than half of the women were able to avoid their scheduled one-week visit for a blood pressure check, and 80 percent showed up for their scheduled six-week postpartum visit, compared to 30-40 percent nationally. The program not only reduces needless encounters but also appears to have a very positive effect on compliance.
What Are The Lessons Learned?
The UPMC-Magee personnel involved in creating the program stress most of all that such approaches have to be a team effort. Everyone at every level has to be involved in the planning and efforts. It is also important that, as the program is rolled out, everyone involved feels free to report when things are not going well.
Particularly with programs in development, it is important not to let dismissal of concerns “bake in” methods and approaches that are just not functional.
The other prominent lesson is that one can get high-tech results with low-tech means. Rather than waiting for the development of wearable or implantable automatic monitors, the team decided that the current generation of automatic blood pressure cuffs was more than good enough to give them the information they needed.
Text messages on smartphones and their already-existing patient portals were more than good enough to allow for effective communication. So a program that is futuristic in its results got implemented now, rather than twenty years from now.
Information Engineering: A New Way To Think About Processes and Procedures
Generally, this effort is another attempt to apply “information engineering” to the daily operations of a healthcare provider, admittedly in a limited area. The team realized that a large number of visits were being done for no reason other than to obtain information (the blood pressure), and that this was a very inefficient way to do it. It required a high level of patient effort and compliance.
They also saw that existing technology was sufficient to get them the same information at a much lower cost. What was done under the old system once the information was obtained? If the results were normal, nothing. If they were abnormal, it depended on the provider.
UPMC-Magee replaced this with an algorithm, developed specifically for nurses in their call center, to tell patients to do nothing, see their provider, or go to the emergency room, depending on the information gathered. This led to information dictating actions in a clinically relevant, evidence-based way. Finally, the team made sure that the information was not lost; they interfaced it directly with the existing EHR.
Conclusions
To sum up, the lessons from this project can be characterized as these:
Ask what you’re doing with the information. Why are you collecting it? Who is acting on it, and why?
What happens when they act? Is what happens what you want to happen?
If not, how can you change the information flow to produce the outcomes you want?
Applying these questions to the fields within medical care is likely to produce a number of positive changes. We have the technology today to provide better medical care at lower costs, but many organizations seem stuck doing things “the way they’ve always done them.” This results in poor efficiency and inflated healthcare costs.
by Felicien | Oct 31, 2018 | Education
Microsoft Outlook makes it easy. If you are in an email, then click on the Message tab and Reply With Meeting. Then go ahead and update the invitation like you would any other meeting. Don’t forget about adding the attendees, time, location, then Send. It’s as simple as that. But wait! There’s more to meeting requests then reply and send.
What we’ve done is scoured our archives and brought you 13 quick question and answered tips most Outlook users want to know. Our list is not exhaustive. But what we’ve put together for you and your team are the most common meeting requests we hear, and we’d like to share them with you today and test them for yourself.
1) How can I respond to a new meeting request in Outlook?
Open the meeting request and click Accept. Click Send the response now if you wish to respond or select Do not send a response. Then click OK. You may want to choose Edit the answer before sending to include a comment such as: “I will be arriving late.”
2) How can I see who has accepted a meeting in Outlook?
When you need to review, who accepted or declined your meeting invite, in Microsoft Outlook here’s what you do:
Choose the “Calendar” icon in the “Navigation Pane“
Double-click the meeting you want to review
Under the “Meeting Occurrence” tab, select the “Tracking” button
3) How do I accept a declined meeting in Outlook?
This is for Outlook 2016 for Mac or Outlook 2016/2013 for Windows
Open the meeting request from the Deleted Items folder, and then click Accept or Tentative. If the Deleted Items folder got emptied, this option is not available.
Request the meeting organizer resend you a new meeting request update.
4) How do you send a meeting update without response required?
When you initially send the meeting request, if you didn’t turn off the response option, you can change the option at any time.
Open the meeting
On the Meeting Ribbon
In the Attendees group, click Responses
Uncheck Request Responses
5) How do I accept a meeting in Outlook that I declined?
Go ahead and open the Deleted Items folder and find the declined meeting request you refused.
Now go ahead and double-click to open the meeting request. Next, click the Accept button in the Respond group under the Meeting tab.
When the prompt box pops up, choose an option you want, and then click the OK button.
6) How do I accept a meeting in Outlook?
Here you will double-click the meeting request to open. Now click one of the buttons in the “Respond” button group, on the “Meeting” tab on the Ribbon. You can click either the Decline, Tentative or Accept or if allowed by your meeting organizer, “Propose New Time” buttons.
7) How do I see who is not attending a meeting in Outlook?
If you want to review who declined your meeting invite in Outlook, here’s what to do.
Choose the “Calendar” icon in the “Navigation Pane“
Double-click the meeting you want to check
Under the “Meeting Occurrence” tab, select the “Tracking” button
Can you recall meeting invite outlook?
When you want to cancel your meeting, open Outlook, then locate the event in your calendar. Choose the meeting, but do not open the meeting details. Choose the “Meeting” icon in the top navigation ribbon, then click the “Cancel Meeting” option. Type an optional message, then click “Send Cancellation.”
8) Can you un-decline a meeting in Outlook?
Show a declined meeting on my calendar. If a meeting request gets refused, the session does not get saved to your schedule, and the meeting request message gets moved to the Deleted Items folder. You can only show accepted or tentative meetings on your calendar. To request this feature, go to Outlook UserVoice.
9) How do I view Cancelled meetings in Outlook?
To hide or don’t show canceled meetings in your Calendar in Outlook, do this:
Step 1: Move to the Calendar view, and open the Calendar that you want to hide canceled meetings Step 2: Click the View Settings button on the View tab
Step 3: In the popping up dialog box, please click the Filter button
Step 4: Then the Filter dialog box comes out. Please go to the Advanced tab, and:
(a) Click the Field > All Appointment fields > Subject;
(b) Click the Condition box and select the doesn’t contain from the drop-down list
(c) Enter the text of “Canceled:” in the Value box;
(d) Click the Add to List button
Step 5: Click both OK buttons in two dialog boxes.
10) How do I send a meeting update in Outlook?
Update a recurring meeting is easy
Go ahead and double-click the meeting on your calendar. It will open. To update all instances of a recurring meeting, on the Organizer Meeting or Meeting Series tab, click Edit Series.
Change the options that you want.
On the Organizer Meeting or Meeting tab, click Send Update.
11) How do you delete a meeting in Outlook without sending a cancellation?
Option 2
Choose the “Send/Receive” tab
Now the “Work Offline” button
Make your changes or delete your calendar appointment
Now choose to Send cancellation
Head over to the “Outbox” and delete all of the cancellation messages
Now go back to “Send/Receive” and choose “Work Offline” again to turn it off
12. How do you change a meeting response in Outlook?
Change meeting request: Outlook 2010 and 2013
In your calendar double click on the meeting to open the Meeting dialogue window. Note: You have two options of opening: one occurrence or the entire series if you are changing a recurring meeting.
In the main Meeting dialogue window, make your meeting changes. When you get finished, click on the Send Update icon.
13. How do I recover a deleted meeting in Outlook?
Recovering deleted mail items: Outlook 2010 and 2013
Choose the folder where you want to retrieve the missing item.
Click on the Folder tab, and then click Recover Deleted Items.
In the Recover Deleted Items dialog box, select the item(s) you would like to restore.
Click Recover Selected Items.
Did you find this article informative? If you liked this one, check out our other content we think you’ll find interesting.
by Felicien | Oct 31, 2018 | Education
Productivity is key for any business in today’s competitive market. Even the largest companies can fall victim to dips in productivity, and this can happen for many reasons. Whether there are distractions in the workplace, too much work to do with not enough employees, or simply a lack of effort from a few bad eggs, productivity loss is costing businesses…big time.
Businesses are looking to new, innovative ways to encourage and maintain optimal productivity, and much of this begins with communication. While email still reigns supreme for team communication, productivity apps are gaining traction, especially with the new and improved variations available today.
Project managers are faced with many tasks on a daily basis. From calls and meetings to daily project evaluation, there isn’t always enough time in the day to complete everything efficiently. Productivity tools help cut down on some of the grunt work, making team communication and project management easier than ever before. Where some businesses may spend thousands, or even millions of dollars in search of tools to encourage productivity, many of today’s free apps are just as effective. Apps like these can help your team with all types of projects and issues.
Accountability
In addition to streamlining communication across projects, productivity apps are also useful in maintaining accountability among team members. Assigning tasks for the whole team to see makes it easier to determine where the ball has dropped. This is particularly important when identifying opportunities.
Multi-Tasking
Given that the modern worker has become accustomed to multi-tasking, it’s important to keep organized to reduce the chances of important files becoming lost or misplaced.
Easy Communication
With a growing number of remote workers now taking to the workforce, implementing simple methods of communication are important as ever. Today’s productivity apps are helping businesses do more with less.
Productivity apps allow team members to communicate openly, with the ability to share files and other important documents in real time. They’re one of the many tools businesses are using to keep employees focused on the tasks ahead. They can help to keep up with work easier, more balanced, and they can help employees maintain better control of their time.
Here are a few of today’s most popular productivity apps:
Trello
Trello is one of the most popular productivity apps, and for good reason. There are seemingly endless possibilities when utilizing Trello for business. This free app is designed for both solo and group work, so whether you’re a team of one or many, organization is well within reach.
Trello distinguishes itself from other apps in that it’s centered around boards. By unloading your ideas in a uniform space, you can move on to priority tasks and tackle them individually. This makes it easier to visualize tasks and keep team members on the same page. It also offers users the ability to set clear deadlines for tasks, ensuring accountability. From creating to-do lists to tracking projects and managing editorial calendars, Trello is filled with a range of tools that makes it well worth the download.
Asana
Asana is one other productivity app businesses are flocking to for organization, and it’s a quite effective one at that. Emailing between team members and searching for project materials internally can waste time and cause added stress for employees. Productivity apps like Asana let team members know who is doing what, with project deadlines and materials easily visible for optimal efficiency. Less visual than Trello, but still heavy on communication and organization, Asana is a way to break down large projects into small tasks. This has many benefits for big businesses with many departments, each responsible for their own unique work flow.
Basecamp
While many productivity apps are similar in function, their interfaces are what set them apart from others. Basecamp is a popular productivity app helping organizations work better together and is one of the easiest to use. Team members are able to view comments and discussions at a glance, which is extremely useful when there are multiple projects in the works. Streamlined communication can help minimize the need for meetings. Members are able to chime in on Basecamp discussions without missing a beat, and with real-time updates, accountability is easier than ever.
Zoho
Zoho does more than the typical productivity app, and while it may be more useful for larger businesses, small organizations can still find some use here with team collaboration and pipeline management. From performance analytics, to customizations, Zoho is built to help teams get it all done through one platform. Its team collaboration tools include things like a document library, calendar and feeds so employees are all on the same page.
Wrap Up
Productivity apps aren’t just a means for improving your daily workload. They’re a way to minimize the unnecessary stress that comes with managing and working on multiple projects. Businesses both big and small are reaping the benefits of productivity apps, and it’s doing big things for their bottom line. Will your company be next?
by Felicien | Oct 30, 2018 | Education
At the beginning of October 2018, Tabs3 Software announced that it had acquired CosmoLex. This makes it the most complete offering of its kind.
“We are thrilled to welcome CosmoLex to the Tabs3 family as we continue to build the leading platform for practice and financial management software for solo to midsized law firms,” President and CEO of Tabs3, Dan Berlin stated. “CosmoLex plays a significant role in our vision to be the software partner of choice for every solo to midsized law firm in the United States and Canada, whether they desire cloud, desktop, or hosted desktop software.”
Legal professionals unfamiliar with either the award-winning Tabs3 or the innovative CosmoLex may wonder the following: “What are they?” and “How can I use them to improve upon my existing legal business practices?”
Understanding what they are independently will help clarify what they can accomplish combined.
What Is Tabs3 Software?
Tabs3 is Windows-only software designed specifically for law offices. Among other things, it performs timekeeping and billing on desktops. It can be paired with certain add-ons to work with the Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard (LEDES). This specifies the file formats used to facilitate the safe transmission of electronic data in the legal industry. These help keep a firm compliant.
Although Tabs3 is fully-customizable, it is not portable, and it is a bit complicated. Generally, it works well for partnerships or firms that have onsite IT assistance. It is user-friendly, but can be a bit difficult to set up.
Some of its key functions are as follows:
Billing options that include standard hourly, contingency, flat fee, retainer, split fee, and task-based methods
Conversion tool to transfer information from Timeslips and other software to Tabs3
Extensive report capabilities
Security options that are tiered for user preference, and may include encryption for ultimate protection
Additionally, Tabs3 Billing provides seamless integration with other Tabs3 products like the accounting, financial, and report-writing software. It integrates with Quickbooks, Tabs3 Cost Recovery, Tabs3 General Ledger, Tabs3 Trust Accounting, and Practice Master, which is the law practice manager software.
It does not have an Android or iOS application at this time. An easy upgrade to Tabs3 Premium and the mobile interface Tabs3 Connect, however, allows users to access the programs on their smartphones or tablets.
What Is CosmoLex Software?
CosmoLex is one of the fastest-growing cloud-based platforms. It is very popular with solo practitioners and in small offices. As of 2018, it is used by thousands of law firms. Over 20 State Bar Associations endorse it, as well.
CosmoLex provides a comprehensive law practice management system. It offers the convenience and security of legal time and online retainer and invoice payments. The built-in accounting feature (LawPayTM) takes care of the bookkeeping for every credit card transaction. CosmoLex also ensures that law office accounting is fully compliant.
There is no contract required for CosmoLex. For a small pay-as-you-go monthly fee, firms receive access to all of its features. For no additional charge, they also receive all of the newest features as soon as they are added. Plus, customer onboarding, training, and support are provided by CosmoLex’s in-house team free of charge.
Since it is cloud-based, it can be used with an app on iOS and Android. This allows attorneys to handle the business end of their practice anytime, anywhere.
How Will the Acquisition of CosmoLex by Tabs3 Benefit Law Offices?
Now that Tabs3 Software has acquired CosmoLex, what does that mean for the legal field and individual firms? With the existing customer-base of each, together they will be serving over 100,000 lawyers with locations in Canada, as well as the United States.
Combined, this becomes one of the most versatile legal practice management options available. It offers both cloud and desktop software solutions. This makes it ideal for solitary legal professionals, as well as small and mid-sized offices.
It offers the advanced features, control, and security of an established desktop product, and adds to that the lower-priced billing of a cloud-based product. Accounting, billing, practice management, and seamless integration are the key aspects that CosmoLex and Tabs3 together supply. In fact, that is what will make this a total solution for many law firms.
In Conclusion
With so much at stake in the legal sector, attorneys can expect more procurements, such as Tabs3 acquiring CosmoLex, to take place. Not only do these actions benefit both of the companies, but they make things easier for their customers as well.
“The combination of Tabs3 and CosmoLex brings together the market-leading desktop platform with the fastest-growing cloud platform in the legal billing, financial and practice management markets;” founder and CEO of CosmoLex, Rick Kabra stated. “We are now much better positioned to serve existing and new clients as law firms continue to embrace cloud technology.”
by Felicien | Oct 30, 2018 | Education
Trying to track your mileage for reimbursement and tax purposes can be a hassle for people who are naturally organized, and is even for worse for those of us who aren’t. If you have a smartphone, it has built-in GPS technology that can make the tracking process easier and automatic – but only if you have the right kind of app.
There are a host of apps out there that promise to help you with the process. However, if you are an Office 365 premium business subscriber, MileIQ can help you log, classify, and report on unlimited trips through their free app.
What Is MileIQ?
If you haven’t heard of it yet, MileIQ is a popular app for automatically tracking mileage. This app is available on both Android and iPhones – and, as mentioned, is included with Office 365 Business Premium subscriptions. It runs in the background of your mobile device and provides you with accurate, easy to classify mileage records. It automatically logs all your miles into individual trips which it refers to as Drives. You will be notified after a Drive to classify it as business or private. The app then creates an accurate record for reimbursable mileage and tax deductions and can generate customized reports for you.
Setting Up MileIQ
To set up MileIQ, begin by downloading and installing it on your device. Once the app is installed, open it. You will be prompted to log in or create an account.
Assuming you have not created an account, you would need to provide the email address you would like to use and password to secure your account. You do not have to use a business email address; in fact, the app suggests you use a more permanent personal address.
When that is complete, click on Sign Up. The email address you provide in this step will be the one where all reports and updates will be sent. As with most apps, you will need to verify your email address. After you have received and reviewed the verification email, the installation will be finished.
Device Permissions
In order to run properly, MileIQ will need certain device permissions, including access to your location. Without being able to access your location, the app will not work. When prompted for that permission, select Always Allow if you have an iOS device or Always if you have an Android device. Some people may be concerned that if they provide a business email address to the app that their employer will be able to track them. The app will not provide information to your employer unless you share your login information with them or mail them copies of your reports.
You will also be prompted concerning permission for reminders/notifications. The purpose of reminders is to help you classify a trip as business or personal while that information is fresh in your mind. It is recommended that you allow reminders on your device. It will make the process of classifying your trips much easier.
Accessing Premium Features through Office 365
After creating or signing in to your MileIQ account, you will be prompted for a work email to verify your company’s Office 365 subscription. Note that you do not have to use your work email as your MileIQ email. Once you have been approved as an eligible Office 365 subscriber, you will have access to a premium account that allows you to log unlimited Drives.
Classifying Drives
To classify a Drive as business, you swipe right. To classify it as personal, swipe left. You can also add any details that you need, such as toll or parking charges. Note that after classifying trips for a while, the system will be able to automatically classify your most frequent routes (e.g., to and from the main office or a workspace).
Drive and Mileage Reports
You can receive a report on your Drives at your convenience. The default is a weekly report, but reports can be generated at any time. In addition, the reports are highly customizable through the MileIQ dashboard. The dashboard for MileIQ can be accessed from just about any device you own – tablets, smartphones, laptops, and even in the cloud.
Conclusion
There are many people out there who are struggling with trying to track mileage, filling out stacks of reimbursement forms, hoping their mileage information is backed up, and working hard to classify business and personal travel separately. There are so many apps to choose from to help with tracking mileage than trying to select one can be a major challenge in itself. However, the only mileage tracking app that offers a premium subscription to Office 365 business subscribers is MileIQ. Fortunately, MileIQ is easy to set up and use, and it provides a great deal of supporting information on the MileIQ website.
