TIMS Audiology Software Version 6 Brings New Features and Enhancements

Carolyn Smaka:  Jerod, welcome to AudiologyOnline and thanks for your time.  I see TIMS Audiology Version 6 is now out.  What were your goals in developing this new version?

Jerod Schaefer: Version 6 brings a lot of exciting changes.  First, we completely modernized the user interface.  Version 6 has a fresh, modern look.  We also focused on streamlining workflows for all users, including front office people who schedule appointments, office managers, billing, and clinicians. We made the software easier to use for everyone.  We also added enhancements and new features, like our Communications Center, enabling new functionality.

Carolyn:  Can you give a few examples of how TIMS Audiology Version 6 streamlines workflow?

Jerod:  Sure.  In Version 6, we completely rewrote all of the panels of the interface. One of the big benefits that this enabled is immediate access to all of your relevant patient data from wherever you are in the system.  For example, say that you are in the claims section of the software, and you want to be able to see full patient demographics.  In Version 5, you would have to switch out of that tab to access all of the patient data.  Now, in Version 6 there is a panel there in claims.  With just a simple click onto that panel, you have access to all of the information. It’s very easy to access from wherever you are in the software.  It’s a much more integrated workflow as opposed to having to jump around between screens.

I’ll give you another example.  Say you’re the audiologist, and you’re conducting diagnostic testing with the patient.  While testing, you want to see the patient’s medications, or their insurance information.  That information is now literally two clicks away.  Instead of having to leave your charting session to look up that data, you click on a button on a tab that’s already there, and it brings up that data. 

Carolyn:  That sounds very useful.  Let’s get into some of the features, starting with the Communications Center you mentioned. 

Jerod: The Communications Center allows you to be able to reach out to your patients and archive all of those interactions in ways that were never before possible in the software.  Now, you can create customized mailings to send out either to an individual patient or to a group of patients based upon just about any criteria you can imagine. 

For example, maybe you want to send out a letter to all of your current hearing aid patients who have hearing aids that are more than 5 years old (or any age range you specify), and that have been repaired in the last six months.  In Version 6, you can generate a list of these patients, create a custom letter to them, and include data about them in the letter.  You could refer to the last date you saw them in the office and refer to the service they received (i.e. repair of the left hearing aid).   The software will generate that letter, and populate those fields within the letter.  Letters can be generated for an individual patient or a group of patients, and printed out with labels, or emailed.

The system allows you to be able to create all those interactions, archive them, with an innovative workflow that makes it very easy for the audiologist.  Sometimes, you put together a great marketing piece that reaches a lot of patients who actually book appointments.  Then, when the patient comes in, the audiologist asks, “What brings you in today?”.  Talk about a disconnect.  It can be awkward to say the least, and may not make a great impression.  The integrated workflow within TIMS Audiology Version 6 will bring up the marketing piece you sent out, so you can begin discussion with the patient from that point. 

Carolyn: It’s more efficient and effective all around.

Jerod: Definitely.  In addition, the Communications Center tracks both inbound and outbound phone calls, specifically for marketing purposes.  Say you sent out that marketing letter to patients who have older hearing aids with recent repairs.  That list can also be used for phone calls to those patients.  When you make those outbound calls, you can track the result of each call, and that interaction is also stored in the history. 

So whether you’re making a phone call, sending an email, or mailing something to a patient, you can easily track all of those interactions and archive them.  Then, they’re immediately accessible to whoever needs it in the office, whether it’s the audiologist, front desk, or billing person.

Carolyn:  It makes you work so much smarter, as they say.

Jerod: Exactly! That was our goal.

Carolyn:  Going back to the old days of paper charts, the hearing aid history section could be challenging, especially for patients you’ve seen for many years.  What does TIMS offer to help manage that aspect of patient care?

Jerod:  In Version 6, we’ve completely rewritten the hearing aid history section.  Now, you can more easily organize a patient’s devices, whether they’re hearing aids, ear molds, or accessories, and keep a historical record without having to look at all that data all the time.  Take a patient who has been with you for 15 years, for example, and you have a lot of records of hearing aids, accessories, and ear molds for him over the years.  Every time you look at that patient’s record, you don’t have to review all of that data.  We save it, we  store it, but we also allow you to hide it.  Now, you only see the most active or the most recent devices.   It makes a lot more sense, because you probably don’t need the information on the hearing aid that they were wearing in 1996 to be front and center as it is not relevant to today’s visit.  However, you do need to store it and you may want to access it at some point.

It makes the patient’s record a lot easier to manage and more immediately useful, as you no longer have to sort through a bunch of old data. 

Carolyn:  Yes, I remember the patients with the thick paper charts where you would pull it out of the file cabinet, and the file would literally be ripping apart. Now, you’re telling me that all the new information is right “on top” in the software, while the historical data is in there too, but ‘filed away’.

Jerod: Right.  That brings up another feature of Version 6; we’ve also strengthened our imaging component.  Those paper charts you’re referring to can be easily scanned into the patient’s record, so that you can archive and access all that data immediately from wherever you’re at in the software. 

Many offices want to transition to a paperless office, but are dealing with years and years of paper records. They see the benefit of an electronic format, but they don’t necessarily know how to get there.   We’ve bolstered our imaging component to make it easier to use and more flexible.  We’ve also developed workflows to support offices in moving to a paperless environment.

Carolyn: That brings up another point.  We know that electronic medical record (EMR) electronic health record (EHR) is an important topic in healthcare.  How does TIMS support that?

Jerod: With TIMS, you can take every piece of the patient interaction and either store it digitally or record it digitally.  For example, you can create a patient intake sheet, have the patient complete the information, capture an electronic signature, and archive it back to the system.  We have an electronic super bill that eliminates a tremendous amount of paperwork and duplicate work by allowing the audiologist to indicate charges for a particular patient visit.  This includes claims charges, or the purchase of a hearing aid accessory, for example.  The audiologist can do that within the history section of the software without having to have a piece of paper follow that patient around. 

Paper super bills can get lost.  They can get stuck on the wrong folder, or end up in a pile of papers on a desk.  They could be misinterpreted due to handwriting issues. An electronic super bill ensures you don’t miss those charges. The software automates it by looking for anything that needs to be invoiced, such as a new hearing aid.  When you sell hearing aids to a patient, and you finalize the visit, the software indicates that it sees you added hearing aids.  It asks if you would like to add them to this invoice.  It prompts you to ensure that you have accounted for the services you entered.  When the visit is finalized, the electronic super bill creates a claim transaction that’s ready to be processed in the system.  It requires review to make sure it’s correct, and then it also creates an invoice for the patient. 

This frees up the workflow within the office.  Now, you don’t have to send that piece of paper back out to the front office, have the patient have a seat, and wait for someone else to create an electronic document. So depending upon the office workflow, you can create the invoice, create the purchase agreement, print it out for the patient to sign, archive that report, print it out, and hand a copy to the patient.  The whole process takes a lot less time electronically than it does on paper, and there is much less room for error.  It also provides a solid audit trail.

Carolyn: What makes TIMS unique?  Why should someone who is considering new software, consider TIMS?

Jerod: TIMS Audiology software is the most versatile audiology software on the market, and the most complete.  We can do everything from scheduling the initial appointment and intake, all the way through finalizing the claim and the adjudication, within one software system.  You don’t have to have three different systems to try to get this to work.  There’s no importing or exporting of the data.  It all happens within one integrated solution.

Also, because we are not a cloud-based system we have the ability to move much faster.  We provide instant access to data regardless of whether or not you have an Internet connection.  There’s no worrying about the Internet server going down, or a service interruption bringing down your system.  We’ve been using the cloud well before it was called the cloud.  We’ve been using the Internet to synchronize data across locations and with mobile clients for years.  I like to say that we do the cloud right, because we don’t rely on it for everyday activities.  Instead, we utilize the cloud to make sure the data is synchronized across all locations.

Carolyn:  Most people have an office management system.  What are the barriers to getting people to switch to TIMS?

Jerod: Fear of change. People are often concerned that switching to TIMS will be overly complex and create too much stress on their staff.  The other major concern is converting data from their current system for use in TIMS.

TIMS has really set the benchmark for audiology software.  We’ve been innovating for the last 20 years, since 1995, and over the years we have developed well-defined workflows and systems to make the process of switching as painless as possible, including converting data into TIMS.

There is also the misconception that people think because we’re not web-based, that they will have limited access to their data. In reality, because we don’t rely on the web for connectivity to your data, you have immediate access to all your data with our without an internet connection. For those situations when you need to access your calendar while away from your office, we have a web scheduler that allows you to create patients, create appointments, and make modifications to appointments and patient records. However, we don’t rely on that for our primary functionality. So if you’re on the road, you can check your schedule with your phone, tablet, or any web-enabled device.  For example, say you have a big snowstorm and cannot get into the office.  You can hop online, and access your patient data to call and reschedule appointments as needed. When you get back to the office, all that information is updated, and away you go. 

Our software has more functionality and more features across the board than any of our other competitors. The challenge with this is that it is difficult to relate to people the full range of functionality and how various features can benefit their practice. 

Carolyn:  Along those lines, how do you handle training for someone who wants to get up to speed on Version 6? Maybe they’re not using all the features available to them today, or maybe there are ways they can do things better.

Jerod: For someone who’s already using Version 5, and moving to Version 6, we do customizable phone virtual training. We cater the training to help them understand the new functionality, and focus on the things that they need to use in their practice based upon their workflow.  We walk them through it.  We use their software.  We answer their questions, in order to help them understand how to use the software.  In addition, there are robust help files built into Version 6, printable documentation, and also some helpful videos that we produced.

For new clients to TIMS, we pride ourselves on the fact that our service is second to none.  As part of the package of being a TIMS customer, you get unlimited training, and it’s not just for setup.  It’s not just for initial trainings.  It’s for all that you need.  That means not only getting you and your current staff up to speed, but also refreshers and trainings for new people.  So if you bring on a new office manager, you don’t have to train them.  You call us.  We train them on the software, and that way there’s consistent training across the board, which is robust and effective.

Carolyn: Yes, I’ve had the experience where you train someone, and then they train someone, who in turns trains someone else, and it’s a bit like the game of telephone where things get lost in translation down the line.

Jerod: Yes, that’s a good analogy and why we find it’s critical to offer the level of training and support that we do. 

Carolyn: Thanks for all the information, Jerod, and all the best with the launch of TIMS Audiology Version 6.

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