We can’t really implement a paperless office—a system for digital session notes that are secure and tamper-proof is beyond our means. But we’re still always looking for ways to conserve resources. For example, we can use less toner and printer paper and reduce our filing footprint (paper tests would need to be stored for almost a decade). Also, when you have to maintain a well-organized library of printed questionnaire hand-outs all the time, that means more administrative overhead for the everyday running of the practice, so we wanted to get rid of that step and save time.
We’re always extremely careful about patient data and never use applications that collect too much personal data or where we can’t track where that data goes. PsyDix allows us to assess patients anonymously. We can then put the patient code in our files by hand. That’s ideal for us right now and helps keep our patients’ health data safe—without needing special computer skills. Also, we were unsure how patients would react to being sent online questionnaires to fill out. But so far no one has had any difficulty and the patients find it easy to fill out the forms online.
We reorganized the practice (to increase overall treatment hours) and realized just how much paper questionnaires and screening cut into office supplies and printing. That led us to look for solutions where we could get similar results using fewer resources.
I looked at the tests currently on offer and saw that every single one of our paper-and-pencil tests could be replaced by similar or even identical assessments from PsyDix. That really clinched it for us. We’re currently testing the other assessments you offer and seeing whether they would be useful for us.
In our everyday work, we’re now much more likely to run another assessment for context as long as it’s in our plan. I no longer worry about whether I’ll have enough time later for scoring the assessment. Before, I needed an uninterrupted time slot so I could concentrate on scoring, and that wasn’t even factoring in interpretation or chart creation. Now we just send the access link by email and have the scoring ready as soon as the patient responds. The short scoring PDFs are especially useful for giving to patients to take home with them. That way I spend my time on the diagnostic questions (like whether the patient meets cut-offs for a disorder at the beginning of treatment or whether there are other areas I need to be looking at), measure improvements (like a decrease in depressive symptoms), or use data to answer patient questions (for example on the line between a disorder and a personality trait) without needing to budget a lot of time for scoring.
—Dipl.-Psych. Nina S. Barthel
We were looking for a digital, easy-to-use tool for administering tests in our clinic. To integrate it into our everyday operations, we had to keep the costs per assessment as low as possible while covering a broad diagnostic spectrum.
First we had to deal with data protection issues, since we send the link to a patient’s private email address. So once we got a consent form allowing us to use the email address for transmitting the link, we were good to go.
A colleague was familiar with PsyDix.org from her outpatient work. A trial run with a free account convinced us that we could implement it in our everyday operations.
The tests can be accessed through a browser on any end device, making it perfect for our setting. And the variety of tests is amazing!
We can now perform routine screenings in our clinic as part of everyday care. That gives us more comprehensive insights into the patient and makes differential diagnostics quicker and more accurate.
The time savings on scoring are huge. Plus, we can be certain that the scoring is correct.
The instant scoring and the clean visual representation of the
results.
Simultaneous access for multiple users on a premium
account.
We can conduct normed assessments comprehensively in a standardized procedure, allowing us to make evidence-based treatment decisions. That increases the value of our diagnostics and treatment and helps us explain our decisions to patients.