In order to complete a successful upgrade to OfficeMate Enterprise v2.0 or OfficeMate v9.0, you must complete the following tasks before and after your upgrade.
Before You Upgrade to OfficeMate Enterprise v2.0 or OfficeMate v9.0:
Hardware & Systems
1. Ensure that your hardware components and network environment meet our system requirements posted online at http://www.officemate.net/enterprise_sys_req.aspx.
2. Ensure that your current version of OfficeMate or OfficeMate Enterprise is properly installed and working on all workstations in your practice.
Training
1. Ensure that all users have been fully trained on the new version.
Planning
1. Schedule time in your practice to upgrade in your compatible hardware environment. You should complete this upgrade when patients are not present in the office as it could take several hours to download and upgrade the software and your system will not be functional during this time. We recommend allowing at least 4 hours for the upgrade process. The download takes 30 to 60 minutes and should be completed the day before your planned upgrade.
Note: OfficeMate Customer Care hours are 6:00 am to 5:00 pm, Pacific Time.
2. Schedule time with your IT professional to manage your upgrade.
Preparing
Complete the following tasks up to one week before your upgrade:
1. Ensure that all of your users have passwords (and not just usernames) recorded in the User Security window. Passwords must have a minimum of four characters. Ensure that at least one active user is set up as an administrator and has the Access All and Maintain User Security check boxes selected. Only users who have the Access All and Maintain User Security check boxes selected will be able to edit security settings for other users.
2. Close all of your insurance claims that you are not going to process or that are old. Use the Close HCFA Utility at http://www.officemate.net/omkb/Article.aspx?id=10088 to close your CMS claims.
3. Ensure that all of your insurance information is properly set up on the Insurance tab in the Business Names window (OfficeMate and OfficeMate Enterprise 1.x users) or Insurance Billing Initial Setup window (OfficeMate Enterprise v2.0 users) to prevent delays in processing your insurance claims after upgrade.
3. Complete the following tasks at the end of your business day, immediately before you upgrade:
a. Record all of your fee slips in the Fee Slips window.
b. Create all of your insurance claims in the Third Party Processing window.
c. Perform your "end of day" process in the End of Day Processing window (OfficeMate Enterprise users only).
Backing Up Data
1. Back up your OfficeMate and ExamWRITER data! For information on backing up your database, go to http://www.officemate.net/omkb/article.aspx?id=10006.
After You Upgrade to OfficeMate Enterprise v2.0 or OfficeMate v9.0:
Hardware and Systems
1. Ensure that you know how to properly back up your SQL database. For information on backing up your SQL database, go to http://www.officemate.net/omkb/article.aspx?id=10006. If you use OfficeMate iBackup Powered by DataHEALTH to back up your database, call DataHEALTH at 1.888.656.3282 and verify that they will be backing up your SQL database.
Training
1. Review all of the new enhancements, especially the security, product setup, preferences, insurance setup, and third party setup features. If you upgraded to OfficeMate Enterprise 2.0, view the OfficeMate Enterprise 2.0 Enhancements document at http://www.officemate.net/pdfs/OME20Enhancements.pdf.
2. Review all of the new recorded video tutorials. If you upgraded to OfficeMate 2.0, go to http://www.officemate.net/training_enterprise20_online.aspx.
Insurance Processes
1. In Home Office, click Setup, select Insurance Setup, and review and select additional insurance carrier and plan preferences. Note that after you upgrade, your insurance carriers will now have a plan associated to them that is the same name as the insurance carrier. If you add a new insurance carrier, you must assign plans to the carrier in the Insurance Setup window. Also, note that the default Pricing Method for your insurance plans is Percentage.
2. If you upgraded to OfficeMate v9.0, open Home Office, click Setup, select Insurance Setup, select Medicare from the Select Carrier drop-down menu, click the Plan tab, select Medicare from the Select Plan drop-down menu, select the Yes radio button next to Include all non-covered items on Claim preference in the Claim Form tab, and click Save. If you select the No radio button next to this preference, you will need to manually add PQRI codes to CMS 1500 forms. If you select the Yes radio button next to this preference, you will need to either create separate fee slips for covered and non-covered items or delete the insurance selection from non-covered line items so that they do not populate on the CMS 1500 form. If you do not complete these steps, PQRI codes that you record in exams will not be recorded on CMS 1500 forms and, therefore, they will not be submitted to Medicare and your claims that require PQRI codes will be denied and will not be able to be resubmitted.
3. In Home Office, click Setup, select Third Party Setup, click the Attributes tab, and add attributes for your products.
4. If desired, close all open charges on or prior to a specific date. This is not a required function. To use the Close Open Charges Utility, go to http://www.officemate.net/omkb/article.aspx?id=21539.
5. Work with your claims clearing house to submit a test batch of claims to ensure the claims are processed without errors.
Products Processes
1. Use the Lens Product Loader in Home Office to correctly populate your OfficeMate database with ophthalmic lens and lens treatment attributes. For more information on using the Lens Product Loader, see the "Maintaining Product & Service Information" chapter in the OfficeMate Home Office User's Guide and the "Using the Lens Loader" recorded video tutorial.
2. Reselect a lens category for all contact lenses missing a category. If you added contact lens categories in OfficeMate v8.0 or below and you upgraded to OfficeMate v9.0 or above, those categories may no longer be available. To reselect lens categories, go to http://www.officemate.net/omkb/article.aspx?id=21608.
3. If you received the ophthalmic lens list to submit VSP lab orders electronically while using OfficeMate Enterprise v1.0, complete the instructions at http://www.officemate.net/omkb/article.aspx?id=20345 to correctly map your ophthalmic lenses to your product database and PMI codes.
ExamWRITER Processes
1. If you upgraded to ExamWRITER v9.0 and you are not using templates that you previously downloaded from the ExamWRITER Templates Utility at www.officemate.net/omkb/Article.aspx?id=17024, then the information in the templates that you previously created will need to be reselected and reprocessed. Due to changes that were made to the Quick Code functionality, you must open the exams that you copy forward and the templates that you previously created in ExamWRITER v9.0 and reselect and reprocess all of the information in those exams. For more information on creating templates and recording information in exams, see the ExamWRITER User's Guide. If you are using templates that you downloaded from the ExamWRITER Templates Utility, you do not need to reselect and reprocess the information in your templates.
2. For the new auto code feature in ExamWRITER v9.0 to work properly with unilateral procedure codes (92226, 92135, 76519, 92225, and 92235), you must ensure that separate unilateral procedure codes for each eye are set up in the Customization window (Procedure Codes tab) in OfficeMate or ExamWRITER (for example, 92226 RT and 92226 LT) prior to coding exams. Then, you must open the services in the Products window and select the appropriate right or left eye modifier for the procedure code.
Reports Processes
1. If you upgraded to OfficeMate v9.0, the reports that you added to the list of reports in the Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, and On Demand tabs in the Reports, Statements & Graphs window in a previous version of OfficeMate will no longer be available in those tabs and you will need to re-add them to list of reports in the tabs. To add reports to the list of reports in the tabs in the Reports, Statements & Graphs window, go to http://www.officemate.net/omkb/Article.aspx?id=10640.
Other Software Processes
1. If you upgraded to OfficeMate v9.0, update your provider lists. After you upgrade to OfficeMate/ExamWRITER v9.0, the referring doctors that you had recorded in OfficeMate and the correspondents that you had recorded in ExamWRITER in previous versions will be combined into one list and be shared by both programs. To update your provider lists, go to http://www.officemate.net/omkb/article.aspx?id=21827.
2. Modify the default logout time for OfficeMate and ExamWRITER. Due to the upcoming new requirements for certified EMRs, OfficeMate Enterprise and ExamWRITER v2.0 and OfficeMate and ExamWRITER v9.0 will automatically log you out after 10 minutes of inactivity. To increase or decrease the amount of time before the system automatically logs you out, go to http://www.officemate.net/omkb/Article.aspx?id=21795.
TIP Processes
1. If you use 4PatientCare to send automated recall announcements to your clients, call 4PatientCare at 1.877.777.9078 and verify that they will be extracting your recall information from your SQL database. If you upgraded to OfficeMate Enterprise v2.0 and you need help on using the program after you upgrade, go to http://www.officemate.net/support_ent20_resources.aspx and read the user's guides. You can also access these user's guides, and the F1 online help, at anytime within the software program.