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Automatic Data Processing, a business outsourcer that offers payroll, tax and benefits processing applications, has announced an upgrade to its AdvancedMD practice-management health care app for the iPad to allow doctors to capture billing charges on the Apple tablet.
The company’s AdvancedMD business offers cloud electronic health record (HER) software as well as applications for practice management, medical scheduling and billing.
To capture charges, doctors can use the iPad or the iPad Mini, which fits in doctors’ lab coat pockets.
ADP announced the charge-capture feature Nov. 19 and first introduced its iPad app July 17. The mobile tool pulls data from the AdvancedMD cloud to allow doctors to access EHRs and billing on their tablets.
“Since our iPad app launch in July, we’ve seen a phenomenal response from physicians,” Raul Villar, president of ADP AdvancedMD, said in a statement.
The company has committed ongoing R&D to work on the Apple tablet following the positive response of the July launch, said Villard.
Using the iPad app instead of creating charge slips on paper saves time and reduces missed charges, according to ADP.
“The traditional paper-based multistep process for mobile physicians to keep track of procedures is riddled with potential risk—from pocketed notes to typos,” Steven ZoBell, vice president of product development for ADP AdvancedMD, said in a statement. “The app can take this stress and time sink out of the system.”
Charge capture takes about 10 seconds on the iPad or iPad Mini, said ZoBell. Within the application, users navigate to a patient’s name and the charge-capture tab. They then tap on the completed procedures area on the screen, he said.
Charge capture is useful for doctors working at additional medical facilities such as clinics and hospitals, according to the company. With doctors having an iPad on hand, they’ll be able to keep track of extra sites they may need to bill to avoid charges entering a system late or being missed altogether, ADP reported.
“Capturing charges on the iPad completely revolutionizes physician mobility and workflow,” Liana Christian, product manager for research and intelligence at ADP AdvancedMD, said in a company video. “Manual, paper-intensive processes become faster, easier and more accurate.”
The software features daily work lists to allow doctors more visibility into outstanding charges, said Christian.
In addition, the charge slip automatically populates patient demographics, she said. Charge capture allows providers to reorder charge slips and change units faster by using the Apple tablet’s touch-screen, said Christian.
The iPad app is free for health care professionals that subscribe to the ADP AdvancedMD service.
The charge-capture tool includes codes for procedure names and an optional review bin checklist to track outstanding charges, ADP reported.
ADP acquired AdvancedMD, a developer of cloud health care IT software, in 2011.
In addition to billing, practices can use the iPad app to schedule appointments using color codes on the touch-screen. The iPad app also features a new page to display appointment history and whether charge slips have been completed for patient visits.
Doctors can also use the app for charting and secure patient and inner-office messaging.