Legal Case Management Software Helps in Smarter Moves

To perform secretarial and various administrative duties in law offices or offices which work with legal documents, legal administrative assistants are required. They help to handle and format legal correspondence, and also proofread and review the legal documents. To help a law firm or Office of General Counsel (OGC) manage its firm matters, cases, and clients, the new age solution includes using various software on case management.

There are some specific responsibilities of the assistants of the legal administrative services. It includes but not limited to:

•    preparing and entering the correspondence and legal documents, such as affidavits, deeds, wills, and briefs

•    proofreading as well as reviewing the documents and correspondence to make certain they coply with the legal procedures

•    schedule meetings, appointments, and conferences for the employer

•    use knowledge of legal records and procedures to create and maintain filing systems (including the confidential matters and documents)

•    open and distribute postal and electronic mails and other material

•    co-ordinate the flow of information internally along with the other outsourced departments or organizations

The assistants of the paralegal administrative services are involved in preparing legal documents and conducting research to assist lawyers or other professionals. Their duties mainly include:

•    assist lawyers by interviewing witnesses, clients, and other related parties
•    preparing trial briefs
•    assembling the required documentary evidence
•    arranging papers for trials
•    research for the records, various court files and other legal documents
•    draft legal correspondence while performing the clerical duties

Many law firms operate without using legal case management software, and it is mainly seen in small and mid-sized firms. This reluctance largely stems from a flawed belief how the software might be prohibitive. Also, the acceptance and eagerness to use new technology is lesser among the traditional law firms.

But if you invest in high-quality software for legal case management, the following are the main benefits:

They help to streamline a myriad of functions, freeing up valuable time for marketing and client retention. The time saved from doing the manual jobs help to increase productivity by enabling greater profitability.

Client satisfaction is critical for word-of-mouth referrals. It is equally important for law firm reputation and online reviews. Proper legal administrative services are no doubt the pillar of success, but it is enhanced when the new age software is used to fasten and simplify the process.

Losing critical data, including confidential information, is possibly the most disastrous situation any law firm can be into. The software helps to protect the loss of any data. If you are dependent on paper documents, make sure you have a cloud-based back up for any future reference.

Legal case management software makes it simple for the attorneys, outsourced companies and other involved parties to share information quickly and effectively. The centralized systems offered by case management software helps to retrieve data from a single source, maximizing the efficiency of the people as well as the firm.

With all these being said, it should be understood that involving technology in the legal industry will do more good than harm. The software suites are designed to be simple enough so that both support staff and attorneys can use it without being tech savvy. The customizability built into the top software make it easy for law firms to acclimatize themselves to the software to fit their specific needs.

All about Medical Records – Information and Objective

The process of requesting your medical records can be a daunting task, especially if you are not aware of why the records are required, or if you don’t know the rules, the laws and the basic requirements that could possibly ease the process out.

A medical report is something which everyone has, at least one, in their lifetime. A medical record can be defined as a record of a patient’s health and medical history. Depending on the level or need of care a patient has, records may vary, but all medical records will contain some common information. These records are crucial and hence, requesting medical records for your keep and access is a must for all.

Some common types of information that a medical record holds:

a)    Personal identification information

Each medical record must have some specific personal identification information, such as social security, or an identification number issued by government body which identifies the correct patient.

b)    Medical history

Patient medical history includes all diagnoses, medical care, and treatments, allergies, and even the lack of need for medical care.

c)    Family medical history

One of the most important parts of your medical records is the information about the family’s health. That’s mainly to keep a record of genetic health concerns.

d)    Medication history

Providing complete information about every medicine taken in, under prescription or not, is important to keep the medical records in proper way. A medical professional needs to know about herbal, over the counter, home remedies, prescription medicines and even illegal drug use because of the way these can affect our health not only immediately, but over time.

e)    Treatment history

Being aware of what treatments have been given and whether they worked or failed is of significant information to save time and money while providing the right treatment.

f)    Medical directives

Medical directives hold the documents in a file that tells the treatment team the wishes of the patient in the event that they are unable to speak for themselves regarding their medical care.

g)    Test results

The tests done, their bills and the detailed report summary, if you were hospitalized ever, are kept with utmost care.

Objectives of maintaining medical records:

Medical records are maintained mainly because of the following reasons:

•    Monitoring of the actual patient
•    Medical research
•    Medical/dental or paramedical education
•    For insurance cases, personal injury suits, workmen’s compensation case, criminal cases, and will cases
•    For malpractice suits
•    For medical audit and statistical studies

Things to keep in mind while requesting medical records:

•    Your name, including your maiden name (if applicable)
•    Social Security number
•    Date of birth
•    Address and phone number
•    Record(s) being requested
•    Date and duration of treatment (months and years) under the doctor’s care

Care taken while issuing medical reports

a)    Prescription

The prescription should be preferably on the OPD slip of the institution or the letter pad of the doctor. rescription must contain—patient’s name, age, sex, address and institution/hospital name. Prescribed drug should be preferably in capital letter or else clearly visible.

b)    Lab investigation reports

All lab investigation reports including X-ray reports, ultrasound reports, computed tomography, magnetic imaging resonance and histo-pathological reports should be issued by a qualified person.

c)    Referral notes
Referral notes should mention the date and time along with treatment given. Also, the carbon copy of the same should be kept especially in the case of critically ill patients.

d)    Discharge card

Condition of the patient on the admission, investigation done, the treatment given and detail advice on discharge should be written on discharge card by the consultant in-charge.

These are the information and things to keep in mind while issuing and requesting medical records.