Posted by: Atlas MD

August 28, 2023

It’s the Burn, Not the Out

If you’re reading this or have decided to become part of the DPC movement, it’s because you’ve experienced burnout.

This isn’t just bad for providers, but also for patients, families, and healthcare systems — and in 2023, it’s worse than ever.

Based on the latest report from Medscape:

  • 53% of physicians say they’re burned out
  • 23% of physicians say they’re depressed
  • Female physicians are affected more severely than male physicians
  • Self-employed physicians report less burnout
  • Burnout is blamed on bureaucratic tasks and long hours

While none of this is really surprising or new, it’s that last point that deserves attention.

Often when we think of burnout, we get the impression that providers have nothing left to give. They’re worn out, depleted, spent.

But what if the problem wasn’t the fuel left in the tank, but the flame itself? The flame that used to burn bright and consistently when you were in med school or just starting out at your first practice?

Maybe it’s not the quantity of the work overwhelming providers but the quality of it. Churning through appointments to make more money is hardly meaningful, and neither is drowning in the subsequent endless seas of paperwork.

A lot of providers want to do work so that they have more time to enjoy life — and that’s completely understandable.

But most physicians aren’t afraid of work – it’s why they got into healthcare in the first place – but of doing banal work.

The solution, then, is to focus on doing work that matters. Reignite the flame. Spend time doing the things that made you passionate about healthcare in the first place:

  • Working hard
  • Finding creative solutions to problems
  • Being of service to others
  • Helping patients
  • Changing lives

It’s about finding work worth doing, and doubling down on that work, rather than getting caught in the work that pays the bills but starves the soul.

The stoics believe that the secret to happiness is work worth doing.

That feels true. And maybe that’s true for burnout too — the secret to burnout is work worth doing.

Posted by: Atlas MD

August 17, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? Audio Transcripts.

We recently released the Audio Playback Support feature to send audio files directly into Atlas.md from your device or computer. Today we’re happy to announce another audio-related feature that should make charting and content organization much easier: Audio Transcripts!

Transcribing anything used to mean starting and pausing audio files and jotting down the content as you went along.

Now, you can turn audio files into searchable text-based content with a single click, simplifying the process of finding and editing notes, understanding problems, archiving patient conversations, and much more!

Imagine seeing patients, recording visits, and having those notes automatically added to your patient’s chart with two easy clicks. It’s another way that Atlas.md lets you spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork.

The whole process is really straightforward. When you upload an audio file, Atlas.md will automatically start transcribing it.

While it works, we recommend checking out other patients’ charts, managing your billing, or getting a coffee refill.

The point is, you don’t have to wait for the transcription to finish – we’ll notify you once it’s ready and attach it to the original note so you can view the audio file and the transcript in the same place.

If you have any questions about Audio Transcripts, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

July 25, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? Appointment Statuses.

There are many reasons why a patient might not be able to make an appointment. Maybe they overslept. Maybe they were unlucky and got a flat tire on the way to your clinic. Or maybe they had to pick their kids up from school.

Regardless, missed appointments happen, and keeping track of them always requires an extra bit of admin!

Today we’re rolling out a smarter way of tracking appointments with Appointment Statuses.

Now, you can assign an appointment a status depending on the stage it’s currently in.

Appointments have five possible statuses:

  • Scheduled (which is the default for new entries)
  • Checked In
  • Checked Out
  • Canceled
  • No Show

You can change the status of an appointment directly from your calendar by simply clicking on it, then selecting Change Status.

Once you’ve changed the status, the appointment in your calendar is updated with an icon that indicates its current stage. If an appointment is marked as canceled or a no-show, you’ll have to provide a reason. And once an appointment is marked as canceled, no more reminders will be sent to patients about that appointment.

This feature is completely optional. If you find that this doesn’t suit your workflow and you choose not to use it, nothing in your appointment-making process will change.

But if you do decide to use it, we’re confident that this feature will give you much more control and insights into appointments and allow you to better streamline your schedule.

For more detailed information on how Appointment Statuses work, check out our help article.

And if you have any questions about Appointment Statuses, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

June 29, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? Audio Playback Support.

As a doctor, taking notes is incredibly important during your day-to-day. Jotting down thoughts about a diagnosis, writing prescriptions, documenting a patient’s medical history – the list goes on.

While our Notes feature is already pretty comprehensive, today we’re providing another avenue for taking notes and collecting information with Audio Playback Support.

Now, with any synced device, you can send audio files directly into Atlas.md from the Voice Memo app on your phone, from chat apps like WhatsApp and iMessage, or your computer. The feature supports standard audio formats like MP3 and MP4.

You can upload audio files directly to your patient’s chart by heading to the chart, clicking the plus sign in the upper right corner, Add Attachments, then Attach Files. Any uploaded audio files will be playable right from that patient’s chart.

You can also send audio files to Atlas.md through your Files Inbox. Simply send them via the email address, Google Drive, or Dropbox connected to your Files Inbox and they’ll show up in your EMR. You can then assign them to a patient’s chart to better organize and categorize them.

So if an idea occurs to you that you’d like to quickly record, or there’s a longer diagnosis you’d like to dictate and attach to a patient’s chart, you can now do both easily straight from your mobile device.

This is just the first of a few great features we have planned for audio files in Atlas.md. If you have any questions about Audio Playback Support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

June 7, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? Labs Follow-Up Reminder.

When requesting labs, it’s pretty common to have to repeat a test a few weeks or months down the line. While diary and calendar entries can do the trick, we thought we’d do one better with the Labs Follow-Up Reminder feature.

Now, when ordering labs for your patients, you can easily set up a follow-up reminder to notify you or your staff in a couple of weeks (or however long you need), to perform another test.

Atlas.md will automatically set up a reminder for you or another member of staff to order a follow-up lab test in the future. The follow-up task reminder includes default details about the labs being ordered. You can, however, change them or add your own additional notes to help out your future self.

You can also use your macros to streamline common follow-up scenarios, such as referencing a previously requested lab.

If you have any questions about Labs Follow-Up Reminders, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

May 23, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? Patient Hub and Patient App Support for Family Members.

The recent release of the Patient Hub and Patient App brought many cool features into patients’ hands. At the time of writing, they can:

  • Self-schedule appointments
  • Get in contact with you or your clinic
  • Manage their billing

Today we’re extending some of that functionality to patients’ family members.

Before, only the head-of-household of a family account could access the Patient Hub and Patient App. Now, all family members can set up appointments (if you choose to activate self-scheduling), and easily find your clinic’s contact details should they need to get in touch.

As the Patient Hub and Patient App grow, family members will also get access to even more new and exciting features.

If you have any questions about the Patient Hub and Patient App Support for Family Members, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

May 18, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? The Atlas.md Patient App.

We recently released the Patient Hub – a platform that allows patients to connect directly with their doctors. Today, we’re extending that connection from browser to mobile with the release of the Atlas.md Patient App.

The app brings the full functionality of the Patient Hub directly into the hands of patients. Using the app, patients can contact their doctor, self-schedule appointments, see upcoming appointments, and manage their billing. The iOS version of the app also synchronizes Apple Health data with the patient’s doctor.

The Atlas.md Patient App is designed to further enhance the doctor-patient relationship and makes providing care as easy as unlocking a screen.

If you have any questions about the Atlas.md Patient App, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

May 4, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? Monthly Age Tiers, All Prescriptions, Improved Macros Page.

Knowing the exact monthly fee to charge a patient can be difficult – especially considering that our medical needs change drastically as we age.

With Monthly Age Tiers, we’re giving pediatricians more control and granularity when assigning age tiers for billing, by allowing them to adjust their prices for infants less than a year old.

The feature works the same as other age tiers, except that instead of adding a yearly tier, you can opt for a monthly one.

Another feature we’ve finished working on is the All Prescriptions page. This page consolidates all prescription data – including your prescriptions from in-house dispensed medication, faxed and printed prescriptions, and e-prescriptions – and eliminates the need to hop between different pages to find the Rx you’re looking for.

Lastly, we’ve improved the Macros page by adding a search bar and pagination, which will help you find and manage your macros much more quickly.

That’s it for now, although we have many exciting updates in the pipeline. If you have any questions about any of the above features, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

April 6, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? The Patient Hub.

The mission of Atlas.md is, first and foremost, about connecting doctors with patients. While we’ve made huge strides in doing just that with our existing app, we wanted to make this process even more seamless while simultaneously providing patients and doctors with a wealth of new communication, account management, and payment tools.

Today we realize that vision with the release of the Patient Hub. This browser-based web app allows existing patients to quickly and easily create an account designed to interact exclusively with you and your clinic.

To register, simply send any existing patients a login link (or include it on your website, emails, or newsletters) or invite them directly from Atlas.md. Each login link is personalized to your clinic and can be found in your account settings.

Once signed in, patients can find all of your clinic’s contact details at a glance, reach out to you at their convenience, update their payment methods, and settle all bills and invoices.

We’ve also put a huge focus on managing appointments. Patients can self-schedule appointments based on your availability and be reminded of any upcoming appointments. This feature is completely optional, and you can enable or disable it easily within the EMR.

The Patient Hub will continue to grow and evolve over time. We’ll constantly be adding new features (and letting you know when we do) to further enhance the patient-doctor relationship and streamline communication.

To learn more about the Patient Hub, check out our doctor-facing and patient-facing support articles.

If you have any questions about the Patient Hub, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at support@atlas.md.

Posted by: Atlas MD

March 7, 2023

What’s New in Atlas.md? Community Forms

Hot on the heels of the launch of Community Contacts, we’re happy to announce our next community feature – Community Forms.

This feature lets you share forms with the Atlas.md community, review forms others have shared and copy them to your account for reference and use.

If you’ve created a very useful form for gathering ADHD data, for instance, you can share it on the Community Forms page, and all other Atlas.md users will have access to it.

To share a form, head to the Forms page, select the form in question, add a title and description, then share it with the Atlas.md community. You’ll also find a full list of shared forms on the Community Forms page if you want to add them to your account. Click here to read more about how Community Forms work.

Since forms are excellent for gathering particular types of data but time-consuming to create, being able to share and access forms made by experienced doctors is endlessly beneficial.

If you have any questions about Community Forms, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at support@atlas.md.