MedLook 3.0.160 has been posted to our site for you to download at your convenience. There have been no database updates since May 26, 2009 - Version 3.00.138. If you have a version since that time the update is very simple. If your version is older than this you will have to update your database(s) once you install this version. You can check the ReadMe at http://www.MedLookUSA.com/updates/readme.txt for details of recent changes. Hopefully this will be the last update before MedLook 4.0 is released.

We want to wish you all a great Labor Day weekend.

Hot on the heels of 3.0.148 we have already posted 3.0.149.  There were a number of very minor changes.  The only one listed in the ReadMe.txt file is in regards to font size.  Several people have asked for some control of the font size on some of the dialogs.  On the Tools::Options dialog we now allow you to change the font size from the default of 8 to 10, 12, or 14.  This will affect the Batch Billing options, Scheduler fields, and Patient dialog (Edit, Charges, Billing) along with a few other forms.  Using this option and Windows display settings you should be able to configure your dialogs to be easier to read if necessary.

Trivia: From what animal do we get catgut?

The last trivia question was: Which country makes Panama Hats?

The answer is:  Ecuador 

A new version of MedLook 3 has been posted to our website and will soon be available for MedLook On-Line. This version includes many changes that may be of interest to you. However, if you are moving along fine in your day to day activity there is probably no need to update.  You can view all changes at http://www.medlookusa.com/updates/readme.txt.

There are two changes that may be of more interest than the rest.  The first is a new patient statement format (only in the patient account, not available in batch billing yet). This new format has been given the title Multi-column Payor and the older two are called Preprinted and Simple. The new statement has additional columns for Fee, Insurance, and Patient.  In addition, the data is listed in chronological order by service with all assigned payments and adjustments listed under each service.  This brings a lot of clarity to the patient statement.

The other change is on the Transaction tab on the right click menu.  Add Note allows you to add a note (there is no delete or edit, once it’s in, it stays) to a DOS.  This is great for tracking all actions regarding a particular service.  View Notes allows you to see everything that has happened to a particular DOS.  You’ll be surprised at how many notes are saved with each transaction.  The notes can be of any length.

The 835 processor has undergone a lot of changes as well.

This may be the last edition of MedLook 3 as MedLook 4 nears an initial release date.

Trivia: Which country makes Panama Hats?

The last trivia question was: How long did the 100 Years War Last?

The answer is:  116 years, from 1337 to 1453.

A new version of MedLook 3.0 has been posted to our site.  This build includes a very small feature regarding box 25 of the CMS 1500 form.  In some rare cases (first time in many years) one carrier may require box 25 to use the SSN and all the rest require the EIN for any given provider.  While there are work-arounds for this using multiple providers it can get messy and confusing especially when a patient may have multiple carriers.  As a result we included an exception list (see the readme.txt file) to make this much easier to deal with.

The New Year is now fully upon us with much of the country being gripped by the excessive effects of global warming (and I’m joking - it’s cold as blazes in most places).  I sure hope the citrus crops in Florida don’t freeze - I love oranges and grapefruits.

I appreciate the many very kind emails and cards regarding the passing of my dad.  You guys are the best. I will do my best to continue to deliver a product that makes you competitive and productive.

Along those lines this is a good time to consider the MedLook Auto Posting solution for only $300.  If you find that you are posting a significant amount of payments the Auto Posting module will save you a lot of time.  In addition to making the postings it also records the reason for adjustments, etc., which is great for review later without having to dig up old paperwork.

I hope 2010 holds an abundance of pleasant surprises for each of us.

I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving weekend filled with lots of food, family, friend, and some much needed rest.

We have just posted a very minor update to MedLook to our website.  You may wish to download the update if you feel the changes are worth the time and effort. You can download the update from http://www.MedLookUSA.com/downloads.php .

November 30, 2009 - Version 3.00.143

Patient Sub-Folders.  Added primary group number and secondary carrier, mnemonic, policy and group number to Patient Table list. Also added Detail Line Items to show all transactions entered since the beginning of the year and how they have been assigned.

Transactions.  Fixed a minor nuisance regarding the “No further confirmation” delete message.

Last week (November 16) MedLook On-Line went live. So far, so good. It really is a good solution for multi-user data access whether in the same office or remotely.  We once again have a demo account so if you’d like to give it a try contact us for the proper connection information.

For users who have already signed up and received the connection information be sure to read the information on your launch page (MedLook support information and User guide).  There is some very useful information in each location.

Within the next week or two we should have ePrescribing working with MedLook 3.0.  We think this will be an excellent solution as it fully integrates with MedLook and your personal gadgetry such as your smart phones, etc.  We will keep you up to date as this feature becomes available.

Work on MedLook 4 continues. At the moment we are adding some very useful features for template driven notes using MS Mail Merge (and Open Office and html).  This also opens up some basic document management functionality.

The 837 EDI data files are almost ready as well. We will have a stop-gap solution for MedLook 3.0 to a very limited extent.

Lastly, you are receiving this information as I have added you to the MedLook Blog.  You can remove yourself at anytime as well as update your profile. You will not know your password if I added you automatically but you can request it from the blog and it will be sent to your email account.  So with this blog the email list I used to maintain has been officially closed.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving week.  Travel safe and best wishes to you, your family, and friends from all of us here.

MedLook 3.0.140 has been posted.  It contains the following fixes:

• A small but necessary fix for batch insurance claims.
• On the Payment dialog on the bottom grid the secondary paid amount would include adjustment amounts if adjustment contained the text “ins” in it.
• The referral on the Edit Patient dialog continued to revert to the first referral in the list. This was only a display problem as the referral was not actually attached to the patient.

Unless we encounter any further problems this might very well be the end of the line for MedLook 3.0.  MedLook 4.0 is nearing completion and MedLook 5.0 is already underway.  More on this later.

MedLook 3.0.139 has been posted to our website.  This new version has only a few minor changes from the prior version.  The most significant is the Invalid Login message and error - it has been removed.  The default login is still Administrator (same for password).
In the Patient Sub-folder a Payment List entry has been added.  You can edit the dates using Ctrl+Shift+E to invoke the Edit Layout dialog.  You may need to use Toggle SQL to show the SQL statement.  There are four dates to edit.

Our new website is up and running and we have a new version of MedLook (1.0.138) posted as well.

Please note for existing customers to update you will need to run the Database Analyzer (Start::Programs::MedLook::Diagnostics::Database Analyzer).  Click on the Upgrade DB button.  You will need to do this command for each of your databases if you have more than one.

Also note that the setup is just a little different than before.  When you are updating you can optionally install XML Notepad, the Manual, Help, and the “Common Files”.  These former three items have not changed.  The “Common Files” must be installed with the latest MedLook. If you skip the “Common Files” your reports will not appear correctly, if at all.  All subsequent updates will not require any of these four installations.

New users will be prompted for each installation and each should be installed.

Besides the change in the installation procedure and the method of updating the database, the most visible change is the immediate presence of a Login dialog.  All users must log in via the login dialog at least once.  You can make the login immediate by checking the Remember Password option.  By default the Password is the same as the User Name.

If you log in as Administrator then you can add/edit users on the Tools::Security dialog.

As always, before updating be sure to make a backup of your database(s).

The next version will be hot on the heels of this version with a lot of minor additions and hopefully no more database changes (making upgrades painless).

One last thing, if you wish to be notified of updates, etc., Please either Register as a user via clicking the Register link at the bottom-right of the blog menu under Meta, or to Subscribe/Unsubscribe to the mailing list use the Subscribe link at the top-right of the blog menu under Pages.