Therapist Helper and QuicDoc: Practice Tools Worth Having
In March of 1998, I made the decision to go solo after 19 years of group practice. I was immediately faced with many important decisions, but the most important seemed to center on which billing program to buy (billing programs manage all the information about services rendered, payments received, etc., and generate insurance forms, billing statements, etc. so clinicians do not have to spend hours typing information onto insurance forms or generating statements), and could I find record keeping software that would help me with intake notes, progress notes, treatment plans, etc. Software that manages clinical information on clients can help clinicians reduce the time spent on intake notes, progress notes, treatment plans, etc., while improving the quality of this important documentation.
The group practice with which I was affiliated used a "high end" program that probably cost more than the national budget of a small country, or at least more than I wanted to pay. I knew I wanted a program for billing that was easy to use, could easily generate statements and HCFA 1500s, and could provide me with data and information such as referral sources, demographics, and so on. I also knew I wanted a program that would help me achieve a higher standard when it came to documentation. That is, my progress notes in the past had been handwritten and not always as comprehensive as I would prefer.
So, I started the search for the holy grail, or at least a computer program (or programs) that would meet my needs as a solo practitioner in independent practice. I went surfing on the web, read reviews, studied advertisements, and played with many demonstration programs. I found programs that were overpriced and "underwhelming," as well as programs that were inexpensive and unable to meet my rather simple needs and wants. Fortunately, I found two programs that did exactly what I wanted them to, and much, much more.
Therapist Helper (www.helper.com - 800.3-HELPER) was my choice for a billing program, and QuicDoc (www.quicdoc.com - 800.850.8510) was the documentation program selected. Now after two years of solo practice, I can honestly and happily say these were two of the best practice decisions I ever made! Both programs have gone through major and minor revisions, and from my experience, these revisions have made both programs even better.
So, what’s so great about these programs? First, while you can expect to pay more for a billing and documentation program than for an upgrade to Windows 98, I was pleasantly surprised by the costs. Currently, the Therapist Helper web page indicates that the cost for a solo practice is $595.00, $795.00 for two to five providers, and for larger groups (more than 5), the per provider cost is $100 for each provider over five (e.g., 6 providers would be $895..00). Prices for the new Version 3 for QuicDoc are $489.00 for a single PC, $489.00 for a network server, and $200.00 for each network workstation. Considering what both programs do when it comes to saving time (which is money after all) and effort, I found this to be money well spent.
Next, I find both programs straightforward and easy to use. Therapist Helper has undergone several revisions since I first purchased my copy in early 1998, the most recent version being 5.11. I will admit that some of the changes in Version 5 have taken some getting use to, but I largely attribute this to not wanting to get out of my comfort zone which was needed to learn some of the new features. But, now when I come in each morning, I click on each client scheduled for the day, click on "Add Sessions," and click on "Save" since all of the information is already set up after the initial session, a process taking only a few minutes. When the client pays, I click on "Add Payments," enter the amount, method of payment (check, credit card, cash, fatted calf - just checking to see if you’re reading every word), and click save. Payments are associated with specific sessions which is very helpful when it comes to insurance company payments, and later you want to follow-up on sessions that have gone unpaid. The newest version includes a "Billing" icon, so when it is time to print HCFAs (I print mine daily) and bills, make the selection, select the time frame (day, week, etc.), stick the insurance forms or paper in the printer, and go wild.
For those of us still yoked to at least some managed care, Helper also allows for the entry of authorization data including expiration dates, number of sessions, type of services allowed, and warns when sessions are running low and time is about to expire. Further, if planning ahead is something you do, reports can be printed so that you can make sure that a person scheduled for follow-up a month from now will still have coverage.
Helper is extremely flexible when it comes to generating reports. Want to know how hard you’ve worked and how little you’ve made for the day, week, month, or year, just click on "Reports," select "Summary Reports," and "Transaction Summary." Making a deposit, and want to check your math? Helper will print a deposit slip (but not one the bank will accept) so you can match the information on the bank deposit slip with transactions recorded in Helper. I like the flexibility of the reports, that is, the provider can modify the layout in order to generate reports which specifically meet her or his needs/wants. (I’m a REBT type so I think in terms of wants rather than needs, but you get the idea.) Need to regenerate a HCFA? No problem. Within "Billing," those sessions that have already been billed and closed, can simply be highlighted and returned to "ready to send" in order to be reprocessed. Want "Market Analysis" reports with information such as grouping clients by referral source or even zip code? Click a few buttons, and you got it.
Is Therapist Helper perfect? As with any product (or even human), I found shortcomings. First, the printed documentation is limited, but the online help is fairly extensive. If support is needed, I would use the e-mail option rather than spending time on hold (on your nickel). Even with that, it seems to me that it is often the "luck of the draw." Some support technicians have been very helpful the first time, others give the usual, "You’ll need to uninstall, reformat your hard drive, and start all over, and oh yeah, it’s probably another program causing the problem." (I exaggerate of course.) Also, I wish the built-in scheduler would print appointments that could be given to clients. Finally, there is also a yearly contract that must be renewed in order to obtain upgrades and ongoing support which starts at $199.00 for a solo practitioner and goes up depending on size of group and number of users. But, I’m rather compulsive, so I prefer having the updates and access to support if I need it. (By the way, the good news is, I have rarely needed any support, and when I did, had I just followed the instructions in the online help, I could have solved the problem myself.)
But what about a program that helps with intake notes, progress notes, treatment plans, etc.? While Helper allows for entry of narrative progress notes, I wanted more. In my anything but humble opinion, here there is only one choice _ QuicDoc developed by Arnie Schuster, PhD (psychologist) and offered by DocuTrac, Inc. One of the drawbacks of being a psychologist is that we (hopefully) know some of our limitations and areas for improvement. For me, I wanted a program that would guide me through the intake documentation process, make creating subsequent progress notes a snap, and could generate treatment plans if needed for our friends in managed care or for some other reason. (I’ve been using Version 2.75B for quite some time, and just received a copy of Version 3.0, so my experience is obviously greater with 2.75B.) When in group practice I would take notes in the first session, and then dictate my initial evaluation. Using QuicDoc, it honestly takes me much less time to enter the information into QuicDoc after the first meeting, generate the report, edit the report as needed, and print the final product than it did when I would dictate! Doing progress notes takes less than five minutes to generate a note that covers session content, characteristics such as motivation, resistance, activity level, etc., interventions used, response to interventions, etc. There is incredible flexibility with the program so clinicians can add their own interventions, problems, and goals that are consistent with their orientation, approach, etc.
Can’t print appointment for clients from within Helper, no problem with QuicDoc. When I first got the program and realized I could not print appointments, I called DocuTrac, an adjustment was made, and the fix was e-mailed the next day so I could print appointments! That’s service after the sale. Of course, the new version has a scheduler that is much more refined than the earlier version, and you can find appointment slots, print your daily or weekly schedule, and print appointments for clients.
If you buy the QuicForms V2.5 add-on for QuicDoc and enter the necessary information when doing the initial intake, then treatment plans are available for most if not all of the major MCOs. (And, if they are not available, DocuTrac encourages providers to send a copy of the treatment plan format so one can be developed and posted online.) While I have developed my own treatment plan formats using Caere OmniForm 4.0, the times I did use QuicForms, I was impressed. The ability to generate a quick treatment plan is also nice if you are about to speak with a MCO reviewer. You can impress them with your thorough approach, and of course get lots of referrals from them in the future - just kidding again.
QuicDoc does not, as far as I know, have any pesky yearly contract, and support, if it’s ever needed, is outstanding. E-mail DocuTrac and get a reply the same day in many cases. (DocuTrac provides 90 days of free support, and beyond that free support via e-mail and fax. If phone support is needed, there will be $20 per incident fee, but of course if the problem is related to a product defect, there will be no charge.) Another nice feature is the ability to import and export information from Therapist Helper to QuicDoc, so you only enter certain demographic information once. Also quite impressive are the report capabilities within QuicDoc. Reports can be generated (summary or detailed) that cover diagnoses, contact hours by type of service, medications, etc. Outcome measures and satisfaction scales are also included, and these can be printed out for clients to complete, and these data are then entered into QuicDoc. If these scales are used on a routine basis, any questions asked about outcome, satisfaction, etc., can likely be answered after clicking on a few buttons.
Again, I’ve not yet had time to fully appreciate all of the enhancements in QuicDoc V3, but from my review so far, the additions are outstanding. The clinician has the option of using the SOAP format for progress notes, something I know some people prefer. The intake note includes one of the most comprehensive psychosocial histories I have seen in a program which is especially helpful for child clinical psychologists. The chances of overlooking important areas in the treatment/intake documentation process such as risk factors are minimized if the clinician follows the logically based process included in QuicDoc.
One final thought about QuicDoc. Version 2.75b had a mail merge feature, and while not in the initial release of V3.0, it will be returning according to DocuTrac. One day when I had too many cancellations and no shows, I used this feature to create a "Happy New Year" and follow-up letter for some of the clients I had not seen in some time. To create and generate the letters (about 30) only took 15 minutes (no kidding). The letters then resulted in several clients calling to schedule "booster sessions" which almost covered the purchase price of the version I bought in 1998. Now that’s return on investment!
All I can say is I’m a fan of both of the programs, and have not once regretted the purchases. Check out the web pages (www.helper.com and www.quicdoc.com) and request demo programs to get a better feel. However, from my experience, there is a learning curve for both programs, so be willing to be at least somewhat patient as you go.
Happy computing!