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Lori Duquette, OD
​
Duquette Family Eye Care
North Smithfield, R.I.

Lori Duquette, OD has been an optometrist since 1998. After first working in an OD/MD practice, she took over an established optometric practice in Rhode Island in 2010. She quickly began to convert the practice from paper records to electronic health records (EHRs).

“When I first took over the practice, electronic health records were coming into use more,” recalled Dr. Duquette. “The government was encouraging it. So we went right from a paper-based practice to using Eyefinity. We used their first product, OfficeMate ExamWriter, which was server-based.”

Dr. Duquette’s practice then upgraded to Eyefinity’s web-based EHR, which featured a patient portal. “The portal let patients input their insurance and demographic information and sign a HIPAA form before their office visit. That was very helpful,” she said.

Using a web-based program has many advantages, Dr. Duquette pointed out. For instance, it allows her to respond to patients anywhere, anytime. “I’ve had patients call the office on a Sunday to renew their prescription, and I can just go to my iPad with my EHR product and do it. It’s very easy. Anyone can learn it,” she said.

Dr. Duquette and her staff also use Eyefinity’s practice management program which is interconnected with the company’s EHR program. “It makes it easy to code charts, because the EHR automatically codes things when I put in the diagnosis when I’m doing my charting,” Dr. Duquette explained.

“It seamlessly goes into the practice management program, so when the patient goes to the checkout, the information is already in there. I don’t have to constantly go into the IDC code book. This helps us see how well we’re doing with Meaningful Use, and it keep us up to date with all our codes, and qualify for our government incentives. That was a major reason for getting Eyefinity EHR.”

One of the biggest advantages of using the Eyefinity systems is that it allows Dr. Duquette to provide more personalized care to her patients. She said that patients have told her that they like having her work on an iPad instead of looking at a computer screen because she can face them while taking notes. “It’s less obtrusive, and allows for more human contact,” she observed.

Dr. Duquette also likes the fact that Eyefinity EHR lets her send letters to other physicians while the patient is still in the exam room. “It helps with coordination of care, especially when patients see more than one doctor in a day.”

Another plus is that the practice’s ophthalmic technicians can do more spontaneous testing, in addition to the scheduled testing, a feature that is integrated into Eyefinity EHR. “I can be in the exam room with a patient who’s had a visual field test, and then pull it up on my iPad and show them the results. They don’t have to come back for a separate visit.”

The increased efficiency reduces paperwork for the technicians. It also allows more flexibility in scheduling, so Dr. Duquette and her staff can accommodate emergency patients and fit more contact lens patients, resulting in more revenue for the practice.

The integration between Eyefinity’s EHR and practice management software also helps with billing, which is now done in-house. “We used to use a billing company, but now, because everything is integrated, we can send the patient’s data straight to our clearinghouse instead of sending it to a billing company first. Our payments come quicker, and that helps our cash flow.”

akarp@jobson.com