In the world at large, and even in the U.S., a lot of medical care is carried on with minimal resources. A simple and inexpensive way to keep good medical records might be invaluable, even life-saving. So, CHARTSandNOTES is being made available for anybody, under a free software license that only requires acknowledgement of the copyright if it is copied. The author would be happy to see CHARTSandNOTES being adopted wherever there is such a need — in under-developed countries, at remote clinics, in charity practices, etc. (While it has been developed for U.S. practices using the English language, adaptations for other areas and languages would not be difficult).
In the U.S., many of us agree that the costs of medical care are ballooning, in large part because of exaggerated costs of regulatory requirements for everything from drugs & devices to information systems. Although powerless to affect pricing and regulations, CHARTSandNOTES is a very inexpensive information system. It may make solo practice remain an affordable option for some who would otherwise have to quit or join a big group or corporation. The author thinks that would be a good thing.
Requirements:
There is no cost for CHARTSandNOTES software or usage. With free-standing software, you never need the internet. That means no connection costs, and no vulnerability to hackers. (And even if you want to store your records on the “cloud”, you only need to connect long enough to beam them up).
There is no requirement for upgrades, maintenance, or hand-holding. CHARTSandNOTES will always run on today’s software: if you keep it, you will miss nothing by declining to upgrade your MS Office versions. What it does for you today, it will always do for you. Just like your written notes up to now.
The only equipment needed is an off-the-shelf personal computer (laptop or desktop) running with a Windows 10 or later operating system, and a printer. No internet connection is required, and no cellphone signal is needed.
You might find the commercial Microsoft Office programs Access, Excel, and Word useful — annual subscription roughly $200 from Microsoft. If you wish to be able to print consultation letters or graphs, CHARTSandNOTES requires those software packages on your computer, either free-standing or via the “cloud”. Otherwise, however, a free run-time version of Access is available and is sufficient.
With regard to payment for the software, some day we may set up a mechanism for receiving tokens of appreciation (how about the cost of a single office visit?..) that would support an active blog site with updates and additions contributed by other users. But if and when, it will be purely voluntary, and you will never be nagged.
Getting Started:
Download the program and data files for CHARTSandNOTES to a single folder on your computer, unzip them, and open the Program database. That’s it. (See the Guidance page, too).
After you input your name and practice details, you can use it immediately for your first patient visit, and put the printed output in your present paper chart. That’s all there is to it. (Preferably, however, you will encrypt the files first, to protect your patient data — see Guidance). If you are used to SOAP charting, you will still be doing it — only with a keyboard instead of a pen, and now you will have perfectly legible records plus the bonus of knowing the electronic record is always available on your computer(s) for use at home or anywhere away from the office. No training required.
Any time you prefer, or any time your computer fails or the program hits a glitch, no problem: just go back to a handwritten note. Filing handwritten pages between CHARTSandNOTES pages is perfectly OK and does not interrupt the flow of anyone reading the chart — only the electronic features will be missing (and the handwritten note can always be re-written into the CHARTSandNOTES record later).
Legality:
Electronic health records have struggled to gain acceptance in the courts, and regulations abound. However, there has never been a question of legality with office charts, so long as they are legible and made by the treating physician. That is why the printed record is the object of CHARTSandNOTES. Print each record and sign it and put it in your chart: that is all any court could expect.
Of course, you must maintain confidentiality. That means safeguarding the records on your computer, ensuring no unauthorized party can read them. You must do the same with your office charts, as you always have, using lock and key. With your computer, you are still advised to use lock and key to prevent theft of the machine, but also you will ensure the records on it are encrypted. CHARTSandNOTES does that for you, automatically and instantly.
Safety:
You have always lived with a tiny risk of your office charts being lost due to calamity. That risk is unchanged while using CHARTSandNOTES. However, all your electronic records can be copied and backed up instantly, using any medium you choose. If you decide to safeguard them on the “cloud”, you will have the utmost protection against loss plus the advantage of having them available anywhere (even on vacation). If you choose to use Microsoft Office 365 to provide Access, Excel, and Word, your subscription will include free cloud storage far exceeding your needs.
On to Downloads