Tools aim for paperless, flawless documentation

WASHINGTON - With error rates for power wheelchairs consistently hovering around 50%—or more—providers say it's time to bring technology into the equation.

“I asked, 'Isn't there a better way?'” said Ron Manno, president of Sewell, N.J.-based HME company Core Care Technologies and CEO of software company Reliant Data Solutions. “The answer is yes, and it starts with going paperless.”

Both Manno and Gary Cox, who recently sold his Glendale, Ariz.-based HME company All-Med Health Care to focus on his software company PMDRX, have recently released new tools to ease the burden on providers and help perfect the documentation process.

Become a Mobility Expert

Manno in January released a completely revamped Mobility Expert iPad app. There's a free version for physicians called Mobility Expert ATP and a fee-based version for providers called Mobility Expert.

Both apps lead the user through the process of documenting encounters—like the physician's face-to-face exam and the provider's home assessment. The app uses a “gold standard” that will meet any payer's criteria, Manno says.

Additionally, users can speak their notes using the Siri function, take photos and create videos.

Everything becomes part of the electronic medical record, Manno says.

“With videos, picture and sound, what we can capture goes way beyond anything we could write,” he said. “Imagine being able to send that in for an additional documentation request.”

Manual but complex

Providers using PMDRX's web-based documentation tool for power wheelchairs can now introduce physicians to a version for manual and complex manual wheelchairs. The tool leads a physician through the process of documenting an exam, then creates narratives from open-ended questions.

Documentation for manual wheelchairs is not as onerous as power wheelchairs, but it's still complex, says Reid Bellis.

“This is a physician tool, but it, by happenstance, really helps the supplier, because they're the ones these audits come to,” said Bellis, public relations director for PMDRX. “Audits aren't going away any time soon, and they're putting an extreme amount of pressure on the supplier community—you need a solid physician's record in your system.”