Q. I already use Dragon voice recognition software. How difficult will it be to learn Medamation MD?
A. Very easy.  Physicians have completely switched over from their previous charting method to Medamation in about a week. This includes inputting past medical data and customizing templates.

Q. I already use voice recognition software & MS Word along with data templates for charting. Why should I consider Medamation MD?
A. Many reasons - true database functionality, the ability to search historical data, record locking, multimedia, printed reports (chart, release instructions, prescriptions).

Q. Can I switch over gradually to Medamation?
A. Yes. You don't have to abandon your previous charting method. Many customers start off with one or two charts per day and work their way up at their own rate.

Q. Does Medamation MD come with special templates? Can I add my own?
A. Yes Medamation MD does come with some templates and you can easily create your own at any time.  These become a permanent part of your program and can be reused & modified at any time.

Q. "Does Medamation MD allow me to program multiple variables into my templates?"
A. Yes. we have a very elegant solution to this need. Consult the help file.

Q. We're already using an accounting and billing database. Can we import our existing patient demographic information?
A. In most cases yes. Contact your software vendor about details on how to get a one-time download of these fields. 

Q. What are the advantages of Medamation MD over a transcription service?
A. Lower cost, much faster turn-around, fewer errors, and more control over the final product.

Q. I've seen other charting programs that have drop-down menu choices for data input.  This seems like it would save a lot of time.  What advantage does Medamation MD have over these programs?
A. These "Chinese Menu" programs are convenient, but they force a physician to choose canned answers and the resulting charts tend to look the same.  With Medamation MD you can use pre-written templates, but they can be easily altered to suit your own unique style.  The result - professional, accurate, individualized charts. 

Q. There are many EMR programs on the market.  What makes Medamation MD different?
1. Cost - Medamation MD is affordable to the smallest practice.
2. Simplicity - it's much easier to learn. You can be productive the first day.
3. Adaptility - you can use Medamation MD as is, right out of the box, or add your own templates & shortcuts.  It works the way YOU want.  

Q. Can Medamation MD be used without Dragon voice recognition software?
A. We are currently doing beta testing on Medamation MD without Dragon.  At this stage it appears to have no problems.  We plan to release this version shortly.

Q. I've seen demonstrations of Dragon voice recognition software & Medamation MD and was very impressed with the speed & accuracy of data entry. However when I enter data it's much slower & has more errors. Why?
A. You must take the time to "train" the software to understand your voice.  When it makes an error, retrain the software to understand that specific word rather than changing your speech patterns.  Use a high quality sound card & microphone. 

Q. What are the hardware & software requirements to run Medamation MD?
A. That depends on whether or not you will also be running Dragon.  See our hardware requirements page.

Q. What type of camera should I buy for digital photos?
A. There are many good digital cameras on the market.  Look for at least 1-2 mega pixel resolution, flash, macro capability and a preview screen. SLR cameras are more accurate for close-up photos.  Some (Sony for instance) also capture short video clips.  Transferring the photos to the computer can be time consuming - look for a "Sans-disk" adapter or USB connection.

Q. What about security? Does Medamation MD have password protection? What if one physician "hands off" a patient to another physician?
A. Yes, Medamation MD does have password protection for all patient records but you can still transfer control of a record to another physician.

Q. Can records be modified at a later date?
A. Yes. Although the original record cannot be changed, a duplicate record can be created and modified.  In addition, addendums to previous charts can be added at any time.

Q. If I don't currently use Dragon voice dictation, how long will it take before I am fully functional using Medamation?
A.  That's difficult to estimate.  Some Doctors come up to speed very quickly while others require a little more time.  The most important thing to remember is that a little practice initially will result in enormous productivity gains in the long term.

Q. Does your product have any interface capabilities (ie. SQL7, ODBC etc.)?
A. Medamation is ODBC compliant.

Q. What if I use Medamation MD but decide to switch to another EMR at a later date? Will all my patient data be lost?
A. Absolutely not. Medamation MD stores it's data in MDB (Microsoft Database) format, the industry standard. All data can be easily migrated to another compatible database by any competent programmer. We think Medamation MD is the best EMR product on the market, but we don't want you to feel "locked in" by proprietary data formats.