When the medical practice of David Anders, MD, wanted to go paperless – they didn’t realize just how much money they’d be saving as well. The practice saves more than $400 a month (or $5,000 per year) for paper, toner and shredding and even more with other Updox solutions.
Dr. Anders runs a small, tight ship. He’s the sole physician in the group, supported by four nurses and administrative staff. They say that Updox helps them improve their efficiency in caring for patients. Located outside of Atlanta, Ga., the practice specializes in geriatric and internal medicine and uses Updox for fax, Direct secure messaging, patient portal and inter-office Messenger.
“We started with electronic faxing from Updox as we were looking for the easiest and cheapest way to eliminate paper from our office. We now have more than 20,000 fax sheets a month that run through Updox. We’re saving hundreds on the paper, toner, fax line and shredding expenses that we would have been paying if that was actual paper, let alone the expenses of paying a staff member to scan all those documents into our system to file in charts,” says Luke Anders, who provides IT support and clinical services for the practice.
“One of the best things we’ve found with Updox is that it has made us a faster, more efficient organization. The inbox shows what action steps are needed and we can respond to faxes or messages immediately and electronically. Things can be signed, routed, approved in seconds. We’ve also set up some inboxes to text or email us when a fax is received to speed up responses.”
“As Updox expanded their services, we added them on as well. With our patient population and those who serve as caretakers, a patient portal works well for us,” says Luke. “The key was to walk patients and families through the portal before they left the office. We take them step by step through the portal – how to set it up, how to see messages. Once they see how it works, they appreciate the service and how easy it is to access information from visits and patient history.”
The practice recently started using Updox Messenger, an inter-office communications tool. “It’s been great for us – no running around to find someone and ask a question, no chasing down documents. It’s made us so much more efficient,” says Luke. “We can quickly send notes about a question or issue and everyone can check in or use comments in Messenger to share answers or updates.”
Luke would recommend Updox without hesitation. “Getting set up is easy and Updox support is right there if you have any questions. They are really customer focused. The payoff for using Updox has been great for our practice. I’d estimate we save more than $400 each month because of Updox.”
