Originally Posted by
William Stacy O.D.
I'd like to know what's in use and some big plusses and minuses on software in use by opticians, o.d.s, o.m.d.s, and staff people. Mostly interested in practice/office management as opposed to lab stuff.
1. How computerized is your office (est from 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all, 10 being completely paperless. (if 0, you can skip to #5)
I'd say 8.
2. What software do you use mostly?
We use VMS, Visual Management System, by MS Group Software
3. What do you especially LIKE about your software?
We originally bought it because it was the only multi-user system at the time (approx 1981?). It was very robust. Good support. It encompasses patient demographics, recall, walk away statements, accounts receivables,HCFA and electronic billing, inventory management using scanners, lab ordering and tracking, patient scheduling, report writing. It has ability to do exam data entering and/or scanning of patient records. All of this, mind you, in DOS...which is not actually a liability. It's actually very fast, as DOS requires less hardware overhead. They are working on a Windows version. All of our computers (about 17) are set up to toggle between VMS and just about any windows based program you could want. We also have high speed internet access on all stations.
4. What do you especially HATE about your software?
?? Getting staff to explore and use the software appropriately...but this is more of a training issue.
5. What one feature do you wish it had?
It needs to be updated a bit on emailing to patients, recalls, newsletters etc. ...and patient ability to schedule appointments through the web...but these are going to be included in the windows version.
Thanks for your input! :idea: If I get good responses, I'll tabulate them for the board.
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