Provider's Guide

Power Sorting and Searching the PRM

The PRM has extremely powerful sorting and searching capabilities that you can use to identify and access copies of your patient's prior medical records - in real time even while you are examining or talking to your patient - to help you understand, diagnose and treat your patient's current issues.

Sorting and Searching PRM Tables

The PRM has a robust sorting capability that enables you to sort your patients' records in every table by each of the table's column headings just as you can do on your patient's MedKaz.

These headings are referred to as "index fields." And because all records on the PRM are indexed and digitized, they can be sorted electronically by clicking on the column headings at the top of each table as you would do in a spreadsheet. For example, the Encounter records in the Providers Table can be sorted by: Date, Provider Name or Specialty, Age, Reason/Chief Complaint, CPT or ICD-9 billing codes, Assessment, Document Type, Body Location or Body System.

To identify all encounters your patient has had, for example, regarding his or her back, simply click on the column headed Body Location. All records - whether initially paper or electronic - re-sort alphabetically by Body Location, and all records relating to your patient's Back are grouped together in descending date order (as are records relating to other body locations). You then can open and read these back-related records to find those relating to the issue that concerns you. Similarly, you can sort the Test-Labs Table by type of test, and all tests will be re-sorted alphabetically by type in descending date order, thereby enabling you to track and compare specific test results over time.

You can search a patient's chart on your PRM just as you do in your patient's Medkaz. Enter the word you wish to search for in the patient's chart by entering it in the Search field: All instances where the term appears in the patient's chart are displayed in the Document Viewer - just as they are when you search the Patient's Medkaz.

Searching Across The PRM

In addition to searching within an individual patient's chart on your PRM, your PRM has an added search capability that lets you search across all your patients' charts - an extraordinary capability not available today even in the most powerful EMR systems.

Using this "global" PRM search function, you can instantly identify which patients in your practice should be contacted about developments that might affect them, such as a drug or device recall, a disease alert, a new treatment, or a public health issue.

Simply enter the word you wish to search for in the Search box at the top right corner of the opening PRM screen or the screen listing your patients, and click Enter. A screen opens listing all of your patients whose charts contain that specific word and their contact information. For example, if you enter Lipitor, all patients who take Lipitor will be listed, along with their contact information. If you enter Diabetes, all your diabetic patients are listed. You can then contact them to let them know of the new development.

The ability to manage the medical needs of your patients in this way across your practice is one of the important Stage 1 Meaningful Use core requirements. So, even if you have an EMR system and your practice is paperless, you may wish to embrace and use the MedKaz PRM for this function alone.

If you keep paper records, this is but one of the many ways the MedKaz System can help you meet Stage 1 Meaningful Use requirements.

Two other important core requirements the Medkaz meets that other systems do not are the ability to electronically exchange clinical information about your patient with other providers, and to provide electronic copies of a patient's health record within 36 hours of a visit.