Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Answers:

1-  Does Patient Junction write data directly into the visit record in AltaPoint EMR?

2-  Does Patient Junction link to the patient's appointment in AltaPoint and check-in
     the patient?

3-  Why doesn't Patient Junction write insurance information directly into the fields of
     the patient record in AltaPoint when creating a new patient record?

4-  Does Patient Junction work with systems other than AltaPoint such as Medisoft?

5-  Does Patient Junction collect co-pays and post the payments into AltaPoint?

6-  Why might I need an Advantage Database user license expansion to use Patient Junction?

7-  Does Patient Junction require special kiosk hardware or a special operating system?

8-  What about patients who aren't comfortable using a computer?

9-  What about HIPAA privacy and security requirements?

10- How can Patient Junction be extended to a website?

11- What if my AltaPoint system is hosted via Terminal Services or Citrix?

12- Can Patient Junction be used with a webcam to capture a patient image?

13- Can Patient Junction be used with a card scanner to scan insurance cards?

14- Can Patient Junction be used with biometric patient identification equipment?

15- What about the ADA requirements that might apply to a waiting room kiosk?

1-  Does Patient Junction write data directly into the visit record in AltaPoint EMR?

Not yet, but watch for news about the addition of this capability in the future.  Patient Junction currently writes health history and other survey question responses into a general filed note in the patient record.

2-  Does Patient Junction link to the patient's appointment in AltaPoint and check-in
     the patient?

Not yet, but watch for news about the addition of this capability in the future.

3-  Why doesn't Patient Junction write insurance information directly into the fields of
     the patient record in AltaPoint when creating a new patient record?

Insurance company records serve as a good example to illustrate the answer to this question.  Matching the patient's input with an existing insurance company record and adding a new unique insurance company record on the fly when a match isn't found would be very prone to result in the creation of multiple records for individual insurance companies.  Insurance company records would still need to be configured with various settings that could not be set based on patient input alone and would still require staff member intervention. 

The insurance information is written to a note in the Patient File so that a staff member can refer to the patient's input and set the values properly based on that input, a copy of the insurance card, and other information.  This process does not eliminate all need for work to be performed by staff members, but it does skip the paper version of the information and store the patient's input in a convenient note that is accessible from any PC running AltaPoint. With a little bit of practice staff members can learn to quickly copy and paste various pieces of information from the note into the specific data fields more quickly than they might type them.

4-  Does Patient Junction work with systems other than AltaPoint?

Not yet, but watch for news about the addition of this capability in the future.  A Beta version for use with Medisoft™ systems should be available soon.

5-  Does Patient Junction collect copays and post the payments into AltaPoint?

Not yet, but watch for news about the addition of this capability in the future.

6-  Why might I need an Advantage Database user license expansion to use Patient Junction?

The AltaPoint software is distributed with a third-party database engine from Extended Systems called "Advantage Database."  This software is distributed licensing that designates a specific number of users that can concurrently and you normally have just enough users licenses for you to use the number of users you have licensed for AltaPoint.  If Patient Junction is used on a PC that does not also use AltaPoint, then it will count against the maximum users that can connect to the AltaPoint database through the Advantage Database engine software and reduce the number of AltaPoint instances that can access the database.

If the number of AltaPoint licenses you have exceeds the number you actually use, then Patient Junction will probably not impact your use of AltaPoint and you will not need an Advantage license expansion.  For example: if you have a 15-user AltaPoint system and only use it on 12 PC's, then you have 3 more Advantage user licenses available than you are using.  You could run Patient Junction on up to 3 PC's before needing an Advantage user license expansion. 

However, if you use the total number of AltaPoint users you have licensed, and you run Patient Junction on a dedicated PC as a waiting room kiosk, then you will need an Advantage user license expansion.

7-  Does Patient Junction require special kiosk hardware or a special operating system?

Patient Junction is designed so that it can be used with fairly standard Windows® PC's.  With the addition of an electronic signature pad and software for securing publicly accessible PC's available for free from Microsoft®, something as simple as an older workstation PC can find new life as a waiting room kiosk using the Patient Junction software. 

However, Patient Junction can also be used on tablet PC's to create a more dynamic patient registration and electronic signature capture tool.  More sophisticated kiosk PC's can also be used with Patient Junction to take advantage of their ergonomic and space saving designs as well as additional features including touch screen displays.

8-  What about patients who aren't comfortable using a computer?

It would be unrealistic to expect that all patients will be willing and able to use a computer in place of the more traditional pen and paper method in the registration process at this point in time.  However, research has shown and your own anecdotal experience should also confirm that people are more and more inclined to choose a more computerized and self-service oriented method of performing such tasks when given the choice.  Just as flesh and blood bank tellers have not been replaced entirely by ATM's, not all patients will use a patient kiosk.  So, you won't want to throw away all of your old clipboards and pens just yet, but don't be surprised if the day soon comes when new patients arrive with the expectation that they will be able to perform registration tasks on a computer in your office.

9-  What about HIPAA privacy and security requirements?

Proper security settings on the computer and proper physical setup of the equipment involved will be required to ensure that protected health information is not exposed to unauthorized access.  The good news is that the tools needed to do so are not rare, exotic, or expensive, but instead are widely available and relatively easy to use.

10- How can Patient Junction be extended to a website?

There are at least two ways to extend all of the capabilities of Patient Junction to a website with the exception of the electronic signature capture option.  For those offices whose AltaPoint system is hosted via Terminal Services, it is possible to setup Patient Junction to run under a Terminal Services session and is accessed via a secured webpage.  This option requires the least custom setup and development effort, but does require some substantial infrastructure be in place along with the hosting services used.

Otherwise, a prefab webpage can be used in conjunction with the existing website of a practice to collect patient information and output it in a form that Patient Junction can then pickup and integrate into the AltaPoint database just as if the information were input directly at a waiting room kiosk.  Either method of extending Patient Junction to a website turns every patient's home computer into a patient kiosk that saves the patients and your office staff time and trouble by computerizing the new patient registration/intake process.

11- What if my AltaPoint system is hosted via Terminal Services or Citrix?

Patient Junction can also be hosted and run under a Terminal Services session and it should likewise be possible to do so with Citrix.  The two brands of e-signature pads that can be used with Patient Junction can also be used on Windows PC's that are running the Patient Junction software under a remote session.  There is a little additional setup work that must be done to ensure that the e-signature pad work, but they can otherwise function as they do when Patient Junction is installed an running directly on the local PC.  It is not yet possible to use a tablet PC screen to capture e-signatures into Patient Junction when it is being run under a remote session.

12-  Can Patient Junction be used with a webcam to capture a patient image?

Not yet, but watch for news about the possible addition of this capability in the future.

13-  Can Patient Junction be used with a card scanner to scan insurance cards?

Not yet, but watch for news about the possible addition of this capability in the future.

14-  Can Patient Junction be used with biometric patient identification equipment?

Not yet, but watch for news about the possible addition of this capability in the future.

15-  What about the ADA requirements that might apply to a waiting room kiosk?

Patient Junction can used on a variety of computer hardware in a variety of settings.  When setting up a waiting room kiosk there are several provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that may need to be considered in planning the physical arrangement whether you are using a basic workstation PC or sophisticated prefab kiosk. 

Most if not all Kiosk manufacturers should be taking the ADA requirements into account when designing their kiosk hardware, but it would certainly be best to check before getting very serious about a particular manufacturer and model.  When setting up a wall mount workstation or other simpler setup using a regular PC, the ADA requirements should also be considered relative the specific arrangement.

Here is a link to an introductory article discussing the application of ADA requirements to self-services kiosks:

Is Your Self-Service Solution Up to ADA Standards?
By Derek Fretheim
The Perspective, Self Service and Kiosk Association, March 4, 2008
http://www.selfservice.org/article_3580_25.php

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