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) |