I am considering the customization of openEMR for a physical therapy practice but am not sure how much work I would be getting myself into. I wrote an extensive database application in PAL back before there was a Windows version so I am not afraid of a basic finding and replacing of details such as available ICD9 codes and treatment codes. However, before I begin I would like to know 1) is this possible/advisable/necessary, 2) is this all that it would take, 3) is someone already doing this, and/or 4) has it already been done.
1. Code types are easily added and/or modified. See Administration -> Lists -> Code Types.
2. No idea, what’s special about a physical therapy practice?
3/4. There is an option in Globals to specify use for athletic teams (I put this in), and some of that is about sports injuries and associated therapy, rehab and statistics. You might look it over and see if anything looks useful for you. There are some associated code sets for physiotherapy, etc., let me know if you are interested in those. rod at sunsetsystems dot com.
Ok, I spent the afternoon fooling around entering code types and trying to fully understand the billing process in the demo. I am really new to this adventure but the owner of the clinic is motivated and I have a lot of time on my hands right now. But at the risk of seeming like a total fool, when you speak about Globals are you talking about something available in the demo itself, an option in the installation, or some code that is available in the Git repository?
You didn’t say what version of the demo you are playing with. If 4.0, go to Administration -> Globals. If 3.2 you’d have to modify the interface/globals file which you can’t do in the online public demo.
I see. That’s why I couldn’t find it. I was using the 3.2 demo. Do the new ICD9 codes have to be entered for every patient or do they become part of a table in the database?