“What do other clinics, physicians and researchers use Ocean for most often?”
This may be the single, most-asked question that we get from clients and prospects. In an attempt to clearly answer this question, we decided to take a look at the number of times each form has been completed, and pull together a “Top Ten on Ocean” list.
When we looked more closely at the the 644 forms that were used over the past 90 days, we realized there were about 30 forms that were used with relative frequency across our customer base. Not surprisingly, the forms clearly fell into two categories – administrative and clinical – with 10 that were more administrative, and 20 that fell into the clinical category.
If you’re new to the Ocean Platform or considering using it, knowing how your peers are making the most of Ocean tools can be a big help. If you’re already using Ocean, this list should help inspire you with ways to get even more out of the platform.
10
Consent for Interventions and Clinic Procedures
Arguably, forms to document consent for procedures and interventions straddle the line between administration and clinical purposes, but they round out our top ten nicely. There are a number of clinic and procedure-specific forms in the library including the two examples below.
9
Consent for Release of Medical Information
Similar to #10, this is another consent form that allows clinics to easily track and maintain consent in the patient record without printing or scanning any documents.
Consent for Release
8
General Patient Reminders and Clinic Notices
Many of our clinics use the tablet as a way to share clinic updates and important reminders with patients. The most-used form is a reminder to clean your hands after using the tablet; this approach can be used for any important messages you want your patients to see.
Hand Cleaning Reminder Form
7
New Patient Registration
New patient registration forms on Ocean can save a large amount of time for administrative staff, while helping to ensure that correct patient information is entered in the EMR. There are ten different new patient registration forms in the core Ocean Library, and another 20+ that have been added by Ocean customers. Like all forms, the new patient registration can be completely customized to meet specific clinic requirements.
6
Clinic Policies
Many clinics use Ocean to gather consent for clinic policies, including no-shows, non-insured services, block fees, and confidentiality. Clinics using this approach report higher rates of policy awareness and compliance.
5
Patient Follow Ups: Missed Appointments, No-Shows and Outside Use
Communicating with patients about missed appointments and outside use can be a time-consuming and sensitive issue. Many patients don’t realize the impact these have on clinic operations. By using simple, emailed Ocean notices and surveys, clinics can help increase awareness and compliance among patients while collecting helpful feedback and patient perspectives on outside use. It can also help to identify patients that should be de-rostered after transferring to another physician.
Outside Use Follow Up Missed Appointments (Fee Waived) Notification Missed Appointment Survey/Clarification Letter
4
Patient Experience Surveys
By far one of the most commonly used forms for administrative teams is the patient experience survey. As an added benefit, the results can be anonymized and collected as an Ocean study. Clinics or Family Health Teams with multiple locations can also collect their results in one study , and download the results at any time.
Patient Experience Survey (based on the 2015 HQO guidelines)
3
Email/Communication Consent
This is definitely up there among the most valuable administrative forms in Ocean. Collecting email consent remains a significant challenge for clinics; Ocean simplifies the process and removes it from administrative staff workload, while ensuring that clinic staff can easily view a patient’s email consent status in the patient record at any time.
Extended Email Consent form Simplified Email Consent form
2
Flu Shot Invitation and Consent
The flu shot invitation is another automated, universal form that can be presented to every patient. Not only does it help to increase vaccination rates, it also provides a way for clinics to maintain up-to-date vaccination data for patients that may get their flu shot outside the practice, in a pharmacy or at a flu shot clinic.
Flu Shot Invitation and Consent form
1
Demographic Review
The most commonly-used form on Ocean by far is the demographic review form. In most clinics, this form is presented by default to every patient (or every patient using a tablet), allowing the patient to review and update their contact details as needed. The updates are automatically reflected in the patient chart, saving time and ensuring better patient data accuracy.
Demographic Review
