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  1. How much does tomedo® cost?

    With tomedo® we rely on a rental model, that means that you do not incur any basic costs for the software purchase. The monthly rental price depends on the requirements of your practice. If interested, a tomedo® employee will pick up your specifics and make you an offer.

    In addition, there are the costs for setup and training, for which we also create an individual offer.

    Due to the rental model you will always benefit from the latest version of tomedo® without ever having to pay for a new version (unlike the common practice management software). We are convinced of the quality of our product; therefore, we offer a 30-day full money back guarantee (even conversion and installation costs) if you'll be not satisfied with tomedo®. In addition you can terminate the lease at any time.

  2. How do you see the future of tomedo®?

    Although tomedo was only launched at the end of 2013, it is already being used by more than 2000 doctors and is profitable. Because of our rental model, we avoid the problem of other developers that were profitable through their license sales revenue during their growth phase, but after the number of users stabilized and not enough new licenses were sold, sales dropped and revenue from software maintenance contracts was low, therefore had to dismiss developers, thus only make emergency programming and could not innovate, thereby getting dissatisfied customers, and thus ended up in a vicious circle.

    Mergers are commonplace in the field of medical office software, and the associated pressure to move to one program through non-development of the other is a nuisance to medical practices. The zollsoft GmbH is a family business, and developed the practice management software tomedo® in the premises of two large practices in which family members work as doctors:

    • a surgical practice with operating room and ward (8 specialists, in total more than 50 specialists):
      www.op-zentrum-jena.de
    • and a dermatological and general practice (10 doctors, in total more than 30 specialists):
      www.venenpraxis-jena.de

    The decision for the in-house solution was preceded by a lengthy unsuccessful search for a suitable solution. Existing software either did not have the depth needed for more complex practices or was not as intuitive to use as Apple users are accustomed to. As a transition to any practice is a resource-consuming and complicated process, with the development of our own medical practice management software, we wanted to make sure that we would not have to change again. More about it you can read in the interview with Dr. Christine Zollmann in Der Dt. Dermatologe 1/2018.

    Anyway we are not interested in becoming dependent again through a merger.

  3. We have a choice of many providers of medical software. Why tomedo®?

    Our strengths lie in usability (because many physicians have been directly involved in the development process), in features such as offline availability (a laptop can be easily taken for a home visit, even if there is no internet connection, and synchronizes the changed data automatically to the server when it is back in the practice network), in the integration of iPhone and iPad, and above all in our flexibility to promptly respond to user requests. You will also receive telephone support on workdays and public holidays from 7 am to 10 pm (subject to a charge; assistance or services such as remote maintenance due to errors in our program are, of course, free of charge). We also rely on completely open formats: your system administrator can export our entire database, including patient master data and files, at any time, without our intervention, into machine- and human-readable formats.

    A main focus with us is the integrity of the practice data. To guard against hardware problems, we offer a triple-backup concept: the database server runs on a RAID system (everything is stored twice on two disks), and as a third redundancy database changes are automatically routed to a network-attached one external backup disk backed up. We also have an extremely competent team of experienced programmers, eight of them have a doctorate.

    We focus exclusively on the Apple market as we are convinced of the Mac's advantages over other systems. As we know, tomedo® is the only medical practice management system in Germany, Austria and Switzerland that is written directly in Apple's native programming language Cocoa (as opposed to Java, Flash or browser solutions). Only then can the native Mac design rules be implemented 100%. This adherence to the Apple user interface guidelines is not just eye-candy, but also increases productivity through increased intuitiveness and consistency with other native Mac applications.

  4. I actually like tomedo® best, but the program Medibilligus has lower monthly costs!

    Many add-on modules from other AIS providers (backup, emergency hotline, customizable product catalogs, LDT, DMP, HKS, body stamp, ophthalmology module) are taken for granted and therefore included. Furthermore, our rental model does not incur any base costs and no later new costs for new versions, adding medical devices, changing the LANR/BSNR etc.

    Above all, you should also include the expected increase in productivity through the medical practice management software in your cost analysis. If the PVS you favor, versus the second-best PVS, will save each employee just 10 minutes of work per day, the increased productivity will be in the quarter
    EUR 20.- (assumed average hourly productivity per employee)
    * 6 (2 doctors + 4 assistants)
    * 78 quarterly days (Saturday opening provided)
    * 10/60 (10 min saved time in hours converted)
    = EUR 1560.-,
    which is clearly more important than the differences in software costs per quarter.

    Your doctor's office software is the economic backbone of your practice! Compared to the immense impact (positive or negative!) that the practice management system has today on employee productivity, the efficiency of the practice workflow, and ultimately on your revenue, the one, two euros more per day per employee you spend on tomedo, certainly not a crucial item in a rational costing.

  5. The Macs are pretty, but much more expensive than Windows PC!?

    Not necessarily! The Mac Mini is available at Media Markt for € 509.- including VAT. It can be used for the tomedo clients and connected to a possibly existing monitor. The beautiful iMacs with built-in monitors are indeed more expensive (see next question), but in the long run Macs are significantly cheaper than Windows PCs because they firstly last longer and secondly cause less IT support. Even IBM, formerly the largest Windows PC manufacturer, has recognized it and is upgrading Macs internally for its employees. Each week about 1900 new Macs are added! IBM estimates that cost savings will be between $ 270.- and $ 540.- per Mac, mainly because IT support calls dropped per employee from 40% for Windows PCs to only 5% for Mac PCs.

  6. What hardware requirements does tomedo® provide?

    For the server we recommend a Mac Mini with 16 GB RAM; price about € 800,-. (For practices with only 1-4 workstations, the server can instead be installed on one of the workstations - MacBook also works.) Instead of using the internal hard drive, we recommend installing the tomedo® database on an Areca RAID (this is a Thunderbolt hardware RAID, which we offer in combination with high-performance SSD disks), so that the tomedo® server continues to run normally without any loss of data even if one hard disk fails. As clients, all Macs can be used that are compatible with the current Mac operating system (or at least OS 10.9 - Mavericks). For a new purchase is recommended either the 21.5'' iMac (for € 1150,-) or the Mac mini in the basic version (€ 430,- at Media Markt plus costs for monitor) or a laptop (very close to recommend the 1.3 kg light MacBook Air 13'', about € 1000,-), which you can take home and possibly on home visits and at work simply plug in a larger monitor. Incidentally, Apple also offers leasing models for business customers.

  7. Can I integrate my scanner into tomedo®?

    Yes. tomedo® can connect to your scanner, so that scanned documents always automatically inserted into the currently open patient file (with several open files in the foreground). If it is a federal uniform medication plan (BMP), tomedo® recognizes this automatically at the barcode without having to make a single click or keypress.

  8. Can I use computer fax programs with tomedo®?

    Yes. The computer faxes can be dragged and dropped from the Fax Inbox folder to the card of the patient. It is also possible to send medical reports by fax from tomedo®.

  9. How does the device connect? We also use Medset's Custo ECG and Padsy and we want to automatically take ultrasound images from a GE Healthcare and Affinity ultrasound machine.

    Regardless of whether the devices run internally under Windows or not, Macs can easily communicate with them (for example via SMB). The doctor clicks on the corresponding button in tomedo® in the Patient Map Window to transfer the data of the currently selected patient to the device via the GDT interface. Then tomedo® connects to the device's export directory and automatically adds new files to the patient file. We also have a direct DICOM interface.

    Prior to your transition, we will review all your devices and call the manufacturers on unprecedented devices to prepare the details for your connectivity. We are also happy to provide you with a non-binding tomedo test system (with your converted patient data) and set up the device connection on it, so that you can convince yourself that the conversion will run smoothly.

  10. Is there a day's list in your program, so that I can see later, who was in the current and each past day in treatment? This list is important for us to check in the evening whether everything has been documented and settled.

    Yes, a daily list is available, with high individual configurability and flexible filtering options. Each practitioner (not just doctors) can tick individually, whether he has already billed his patient and whether he has already documented it, can see the lists of past days. Alternatively you can also configure the program via billed and documented to-dos so, that yesterday's patients can still be seen in the Today List if they are not billed or not yet documented.

  11. Can tomedo® automatically search for free appointments?

    Yes, and even searching the form "Find wart treatment appointment with either Dr. Wartsenemy or Dr. Antiwart" are possible. See also Manual: Appointment search or even better our YouTube tutorial for the calendar.

  12. Can different calendars similar to iCal/Google Calendar be displayed overlaid in an overview?

    Yes. And as many as you like.

  13. Does your program have any limitations when working on a patient file from two workplaces at the same time?

    No. For example, if two users change the patient file and enter entries and services, the patient file updates accordingly live for both users, even without closing and reopening the window.

  14. Are the iPhone/iPad apps different from the Mac app?

    Yes. There are limitations (no input of diagnoses and services via the iPhone/iPad) and additional functions (video/photos directly as card attachments, graphical bed management for the iPad, direct calls to patients/other doctors, satellite navigation to the patient's home address, surgical and anesthesia Module).

  15. What can I do on the program myself?

    You can write text modules (which can also contain complex question-answer dialogs) that can be used anywhere in the program (even in forms); YouTube tutorial is here. In addition, you can create action chains to control the practice workflow: The medical assistant or the doctor can enter the diagnoses, services, card entries and prescriptions that are typical for a treatment case and print the corresponding forms and prescriptions. You can also save pre-filled forms and invoices as templates and then only have to print or slightly edit them for the patient.

    For the letter writing, you can create your own templates that can contain commands like "past the last 5 entries ANA type here". Our form editor allows you to comfortably create so-called custom forms (in A4, A5, A6 or self-defined print format), which fields can also automatically fill in via letter commands and which you can even hand over to the patient on the iPad (also with pressure-sensitive Signature field for for example consent declarations).

    You can create your own buttons and put any Apple scripts to them. You can also have your own to-dos and filters (such as "Filter the daily list so that I only see patients who are being treated by Dr. Fischer and who are scheduled to surgery today" or "all patients not yet billed by me"). There are also various optical customizations, such as buttons (including their graphics and text) and tables (show/hide columns, rearrange).

    Last but not least, we have an exchange center that allows tomedo doctors and technicians to make their forms, letters, statistics and other templates available to all other clients.

  16. Does tomedo® support the writing of doctor's letters?

    Yes. With tomedo®, you can fill any medical letter sample as far as possible automatically. There is an extensive library of so-called letter commands available. With the letter commands you can automatically transfer almost every data record from the patient file or from the patient master data into the doctor's letter. To do this, you have to import once the physician letter templates (for example, for transfers or epicrises) and configure accordingly. Who shies the effort can also do our support. You can also create recurring phrases as text modules. You can also create your own buttons in the text editor for frequently used doctor letter text modules. There are many examples of our customers who actually write complete letters in just a few clicks.

  17. Which word processor is compatible with tomedo®? Is it possible to insert placeholders so that my assistants are more or less forced to insert text at jump labels?

    We officially support MS Word and the free Libre Office as a word processor. Pages works in principle too, but is not always fully compatible with the DOCX standard. tomedo® simply uses the default program for DOCX files set on your computer, you can change it manually by right-clicking on a DOCX document in the Finder and selecting "Information".

    The letter templates can be configured in such a way that for example the last file entry/pictures or a certain type of patient is automatically inserted at a certain position in the letter. Your helpers would then create a file entry (using buttons or keyboard text modules, question-answer dialogs and texts with jump labels can be inserted) and then click the letter writing. Of course you can also rework these automatically generated letters. We also support serial letters and special salutation texts for patient recipients and memo recipients.

  18. Is tomedo® suitable for doctors who are often out on the road?

    General practitioners, anesthesiologists, emergency physicians can install tomedo® on a laptop (for example the MacBook Air), which they can take to the emergency service/home visit/OP and are connected via a secure VPN connection to the server. At their stationary workstation, they can connect it to a monitor to have more overview with two screens. Additionally, you can have tomedo® running on iPad and/or iPhone to dictate card entries, navigate to the patient's address via the Navi mode, or call patients directly from tomedo® with one touch of a finger. Even if there is no WLAN or mobile network available, tomedo® can continue to work offline, in this case the devices will automatically synchronize with the server when reconnected.

  19. Does tomedo® also run in practices with multiple subsidiaries?

    Yes, we use tomedo® in large multi-location practices. They are geographically located in different places and they are connected via the VPN technology in a network. The secondary operations can be equipped with their own servers, which always keep in sync in real time with the server of the main site, but can also do without their own server. In the development of tomedo®, we have greatly optimized client-server communication (mainly because of the iPad and iPhone connection), so that use of tomedo® in secondary operations works well even if the internet connection to the main operation site is poor. In addition, the clients, which cache all information received from the server in their own local SQL databases, can continue to operate autonomously in offline mode in the event of a power failure, and then automatically synchronize when reconnected to the server.

  20. What is blank printing/blank form printing, and does tomedo® support it?

    We are certified for blank formatting. This is the possibility to print form background and content at the same time on special "blank paper" provided by the KV. The advantage is that you no longer have to pick the right form and push it into the printer.

    Three- or four- tray printers are ideal for blank formatting, but in principle a normal laser printer or inkjet can also be used, where you have A4 in the standard slot and insert A5 and recipes into the manual slot. You receive special empty blanks A5 and A4 papers from the insurance. These are to be placed in a tray. You can also put regular A4 paper in a third tray (for medical reports and other normal printouts), A6 cash register recipes (so-called red recipes) in a fourth tray and A6 private recipes (so-called green recipes) in the manual feed. It allows you to print all the forms from the calculator without having to put anything in the printer (that's the advantage over traditional forms printing, where you have to find the correct form and manually insert it into the printer). If you only have three trays + manual feed, you will need to print letters on another printer, for example.

    A well-proven in many practices multi tray printer is the Kyocera FS-4100DN. The Brother HL-5350DN2LT is good too. Be sure to order the 3-4 trays (the standard versions have only one tray). Total cost should be between 400.- EUR and 500.- EUR.

  21. What do you have special for ENT doctors?

    Above all, our ENT doctors were enthusiastic about the possibilities to relieve their employees in their work. It allows patients to record themselves on the iPad, fill in ENT history sheets and take their photo for the file as a "selfie". The APHAB questionnaires for determining hearing impairment can also be filled in by patients themselves on the iPad. All inputs are synchronized in real time with the computers in the office, so that the doctor can then evaluate the answers on his iMac together with the patient. With a special APHAB statistic, the physician can evaluate which hearing aids and acousticians have achieved the greatest hearing improvement for their patients.

    Appointments can be obtained online from the practice website; it synchronizes in real time with the practice server, so that no double awarding arise. Dates for following appointments patients can assign themselves in practice on the iPad.

  22. Any goodies for dermatologists?

    Any amount, tomedo has been developed in a dermatologist's practice with three distributed operations and 10 doctors. For example, with the high-quality yet very affordable Hand Dermatoscope iC1 developed in cooperation with HEINE Optotechnik, a handheld incident light microscope that can be easily attached to an iPhone, you can take pictures of nevi for skin cancer screening, position them in a body stamp and in real time without further interaction on the iMac review and evaluate with the patient.
    intellipix Cube image documentation
    Our intellipix is a suitable image management server for photo documentation. From tomedo® you can jump with one click from the patient's record into the corresponding image database archive of intellipix to look at the findings images made with the iC1 and make evaluations such as analyzing the change of a birthmark or mole between reporting dates. In order to compare a single lesion more closely, we have developed a slide-over function that allows you to superimpose two images on top of each other and then crossfade them with a slider to get an accurate impression of the change receive. For example, this feature allows you to see the difference between a polarized and a non-polarized image.

    Connections from tomedo to third-party providers like Fotofinder and the Handyscope "Handyscope" as well as "Dermlite" also exist.

    Of course, tomedo also includes chains of action for dermatologists (ready-made workflows for entering card documentation, services, diagnoses and forms), text modules, all common forms and tools such as PASI scoring.

  23. How suitable is tomedo for paediatricians?

    We have ready-made workflows and text modules. Our family connection function is very well received by paediatricians: the affair directly indicates and identifies relationships with other patients; with a click you get immediately into the file of the related patient. Furthermore, tomedo offers percentile curves for height, weight and BMI, a check-up and vaccination planner with storage and recall system including automatic reminders via serial letter, e-mail or SMS.

    Also very popular are the iPad versions of the U and J examination forms, which also support self-fulfillment by the parents. It is possible to input the history and the master data by the parents on the iPad via the tomedo app.

  24. What does the aycan workflow RIS do for radiologists and nuclear physicians?

    From a multi-year collaboration with aycan, aycan workflow was created, a fully integrated RIS/PACS, consisting of two leading technologies: aycan's reliable PACS and the innovative RIS solution tomedo from zollsoft. Some features:

    • Turnkey installation from a single source
    • Manufacturer independent and individually adaptable
    • Direct, personal service from Germany
    • Intelligent, rule-controlled order processing and scheduling
    • Custom findings and dictation options (speech recognition with radiological vocabulary).
    • Extensive possibilities for passing on findings via DICOM, pdf, web server, encrypted e-mail, ...
    More information can be found here. A conversion report of the radiology Würzburg (3 locations, 7 doctors, RIS on 40 Macs and 12 iPads) can be found here, one of the resin PET center (practice for nuclear medicine with 16 RIS clients, findings workstations with speech recognition and iPad teleradiology solution) here.

  25. Is tomedo suitable for ophthalmologists and eye centers?

    Yes! According to KBV Statistics 2016, tomedo is among the eight most widely used programs for general practitioners and by far the most popular ophthalmology software for the Mac. In addition to the connection of all common devices (Lensmeter, Refractometer, Phorometer, Tonometer, Keratometer, ...), we offer refraction and eye pressure masks (with historical value graph), individualized Sehilfeverordnung and all forms required for ophthalmologists.

    Another big plus is our very individually configurable calendar with automatic appointment search even for chain appointments, automatically configurable surgery plan and SMS reminder, as well as real-time integration possibility on your website for the purpose of online appointments by patients and referrers.

    Also for ophthalmologists we have anamnesis sheets for patient self-recording via iPad as well as IGeL/consent forms.

  26. Do you offer explanations and declarations of consent with electronic signature?

    Yes! The registration of the handwritten signature on the iPad in supplied and self-created forms is realized by storing the pressure sensitivity and thus increases the legal certainty of your documentation. The signature is thus stored almost tamper-proof with the form data in the tomedo database.

    You will need either a stylus of the "Bamboo Fineline 2" brand from WACOM or the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil.

    We also provide an interface to Synmedico's iPad-based infoskop® product suite, with educational arches of various disciplines and several thousand patient videos and illustrations.

  27. Can I schedule duties and time management of my employees in tomedo?

    Yes! It is the part of our working time management module Arzeko (included in tomedo without extra cost). Short overview here and more in the Arzeko chapter of the manual as well as on our YouTube channel.

  28. Do you support waiting room TV like HITPANEL?

    Yes! The patient information and guidance system HITPANEL for patient announcements, display of medical services, vacation plans and opening times can be optimally integrated thanks to a jointly developed interface.

  29. Is tomedo® also usable outside Germany?

    Yes! We currently support medical practices in Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Dubai. In the course of the cash register obligation in Austria from 01.04.2017, which also applies to medical practice management software, we have extended the cash book to fulfill the corresponding requirements.

    You can create our forms and letter templates in the local language, and create the service catalogs and drug databases individually. The software is currently available in English and German; support for other languages can be provided on request.

  30. Can I keep a free copy of tomedo® when I retire? Is there a 10-year storage requirement for patient data?

    Yes. After your retirement and even if you terminate your contract for any other reason, you can continue to use tomedo indefinitely for free in "read-only mode" (new entries can not be made).