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AcuBase Pro (New release 6/8/04) 

 

 

AcuBase Pro
is a practice management tool and a modifiable reference library all in one!
The world's #1 selling software for acupuncturists, it manages patient intakes, billing, and herb and formula inventory, and also contains a searchable virtual library full of herbs, acupoints, formulas, and patent formulas from top vendors. Support is available for this product from the manufacturer.

Very complete manual
included with the CD-ROM.

Standard in the business:
Software is not returnable once opened.


 
AcuBase Pro 2004
Practice Management Software
CD for
PC or MAC
 
 
*NEW
UPDATED VERSION*

Retail $249. 
$195.00
Order now!

Click these subjects for detailed descriptions:
Overview of Features
Testimonial & Review
Download the DEMO software
 

 

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AcuBase 2.003 Software Review
By Michelle Bullard, MS, LAc

Finding a decent practice management software package is no easy task. Prior to becoming an acupuncturist, I worked as a CPA and as an assistant in successful acupuncture and chiropractic offices. One of the most common issues I encountered was the difficulty in finding systems that could streamline menial but necessary office management tasks such as billing, inventory, and patient record keeping. There are many professional software programs on the market which purport to help out, and I have seen my share, from Chiro7000 to MediSoft. Each had its advantages, but all were inadequate in one way or another, whether it be frequent crashes, inefficiency of data entry, lack of appropriate features, being difficult to learn, and/or difficult to get adequate support when necessary. 

When it came time for me to open my own practice, my first thought was that I would do whatever was necessary NOT to have to use billing or practice management software. I would hand-write simple receipts, or type my own HCFA forms. But after a short time, it became evident that I would not be able to keep up. I had to take the dreaded plunge. A combination of my prior experiences, together with some research, convinced me to try AcuBase from Trigram Software. From what I could gather, the original AcuBase started in 1994 as a simple TCM reference library, with points, herbs, and formulas. At the time of my purchase, Trigram had just come out with AcuBase 2.000 (in the year 2000, not coincidentally). The 2.000 version was the first program by Trigram to incorporate practice management features, with billing, inventory, and basic reports. While the program did not include the ability to print HCFA 1500 forms, I was told that this feature would soon be available as a free update. 

Well, a couple of years have passed now, and I am still using AcuBase. Trigram did come through with its promise to incorporate the HCFA form, and the program has really taken off since that time. The latest iteration of AcuBase is version 2.003, and it is the program I wish I had years ago. Since the release of its first practice management product, Trigram has apparently been taking user suggestions very seriously. In fact, the literature on their website (www.trigram.com) states that most of the current features were taken from user suggestions, which I can attest to. Among the latest are some things that were on my wish list. The first is line-item billing. AcuBase 2.003 allows you to apply payments and adjustments directly to procedures. So, for instance, if I bill an insurance company for acupuncture ($55) and massage ($30), and they pay $50 and $20, respectively, I can apply the amount that they paid to each procedure, adjust for the difference, and then get better accounting when I later run reports.

The reports themselves are another area of great improvement. First off, all reports can now be run right from the Main Menuís Reports button. And where previous versions of AcuBase had only a small number of billing reports, the 2.003 version has about three times as many. The most useful for me are those that help with my year-end accounting, such as procedure and product sales summaries that include the amount of tax I have collected and the amounts left outstanding after insurance payments. The new line-item billing features also yield reports that summarize my reimbursements by procedure. I also find the new Summary Daily Report, Transaction Report, and Payment Summary Report quite helpful.

There are many other new features which are worth mentioning here. These include: keyboard shortcuts that allow for faster data entry; inclusion of all relevant California Workerís Compensation procedure codes; a special HCFA help screen that aids in getting the HCFA form properly filled out; the ability to keep track of the last date each invoice was printed; and a special place for insurance verification information. AcuBase 2.003 also has many new customizable forms and letters (such as SOAP notes, birthday letters, new patient letters, and the like). And, unlike past versions, its support materials are formidable. While past versions of AcuBase had only help screens for support, the latest version comes with a 130-page manual in addition to the context-sensitive help on most screens, and a toll-free number if you need further help.

In addition to the practice management features of AcuBase, the program also contains a virtual ìTCM Reference Library which the user can search through and edit. The latest version not only contains herbs, points, and formulas, but also has patent formulas taken (with permission, I assume) from the materials of some of the most popular vendors, such as Kían, Health Concerns, Lotus, and many others. Lotus Herbs founder John Chen, a licensed acupuncturist and professor of pharmacology, has also contributed the material for an herb/drug database which gives recommendations to practitioners on how certain popular prescription and over-the-counter medications may affect herb absorption, as well as rough herb-drug equivalents. The herbal formulas suggested are from Lotus, of course, and all suggested formulas are in the AcuBase reference library. 

Overall, I find that AcuBase 2.003 has almost everything I could ask for in a billing and practice management suite. It has been designed specifically for Chinese medicine practices, comes with most of the ICD-9 and CPT codes you will need, creates superbills and HCFA forms, and even tracks inventory as you sell itr. The only significant thing I find lacking in this package is the ability to do electronic billing. Editor's Note: The latest version has refined an electronic billing program.

I also wish that I could install the practice management section without the TCM reference library; that it was a little bit faster on my Macintosh; and that there was an easier way to back the program up. These points notwithstanding, I am sticking with AcuBase for the long haul. Editor's Note: The software has been updated and refined with the busy office in mind, for ease of use and reliability.

Michelle Bullard is a CPA and licensed acupuncturist working in Berkeley, California.

2nd review: AcuBase CD-ROM Review by Douglas Eisenstark, L.Ac. (on HealingPeople.com)


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