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Can i import a form i currently use in my practice?

6/4/2016

0 Comments

 
The ability to seamlessly import and automatically integrate external user-created forms is something that no existing software can do.  This is, by many accounts, the "Holy Grail" of electronic document management.  The ability to easily import a document and then automatically/reliably recognize text or drawing fields is a tremendously complicated task and one that has not yet been accomplished.  

The closest solutions for most users are with PDF annotation applications, which allow users to upload documents and then annotate those documents within a specialized editor.  These editors allow users to select custom fields using specialized tools.  Insight Notes does not currently have PDF annotation capabilities, largely because we wanted to focus on ease of user experience and maximizing notetaking efficiency.  

Insight Notes does, however, have two tools that many users find helpful, particularly if forms are a priority:

The first is that Insight Notes allows your to create your own text templates.  If you write similar things for your progress noes, such as if you have headers you usually use, our app allows you to create a text template that you can call up for use when you start a new text note.  

The second option is that Insight Notes also allows you to capture an image of a paper form (such as of a checklist) and save it as a background for a drawing note.  Recall that, in addition to offering you a way to type in your notes, Insight Notes also allows you to write on the screen.  Our drawing templates allow you to draw/write on top of form images you've captured.  

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Should I use a stylus for writing?

6/4/2016

1 Comment

 
In addition to being able to type and scan notes, Insight Notes allows you to draw or write directly onto your iPad's screen.  Our digital ink is extremely sensitive and makes it possible to sketch detailed diagrams, drawings, or even handwrite directly onto the screen.  While using a finger works just fine, many of our users have reported that a stylus makes this much easier and approximates the feel of a pen.

iPad Pro users who use Apple Pencil should have palm rejection automatically enabled when drawing/writing  with Insight Notes.  

For other styluses and iPad models our app does not offer palm rejection at this time, so any passive stylus will work (though writing without resting your palm on the screen may take some practice).

(If you are planning to write on your screen quite a bit we recommend trying a screen protector, as well.)

If you use and recommend a different stylus for Insight notes, please leave us a coment (below) with the brand and model so that we can test it.
1 Comment

What are the limitations on notes exports?

12/11/2014

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Insight Notes allows backup subscribers to encrypt and securely export a single note, a selected group of notes, or even multiple records.  Our app allows for exports of up to 20MB at a time.  

How many notes can you fit into 20MB?  That depends on the kinds of notes you want to export.  If most of your notes are text notes, you should be able to export approximately 200-300 notes at a time, depending on the average length of your note.  If most of your notes are scans or drawings, the file sizes for those notes are larger, so you'll be able to export fewer at a time.

In the event you try to export a batch of notes that is too large, Insight Notes will tell you.  If that happens just select a smaller number of notes and try again, or subdivide the batch into two or three exports.  If you are a backup subscriber, you can make as many exports as you wish.

We encourage all backup subscribers to periodically export their entire notes database to themselves for extra redundancy.



Here is a short demonstration video of the exporting process showing how easy it is to export your notes to yourself:
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Do I Have To "Complete" My Notes?

6/8/2014

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No.

The "complete" feature was added to allow users a means to show that a record has not been altered. When a note is "completed," the note is rendered uneditable from within Insight Notes and the day/time of the completion is recorded in the user's activity log.

Some users, however, prefer to not "complete" notes because they have no need to do so. Notes that have not been competed can be edited at any time. They are auto saved when the user selects the "back" button and they are backed up just like competed notes. Uncompleted/Open notes can be exported and printed, as well.

Many users have a combination of open and completed notes in their notes databases.
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Why is there a cost to the secure backup and encrypted exporting service?

5/20/2014

2 Comments

 

Unfortunately, HIPAA-compliant security is expensive to provide

This is unfortunate but true.  It is expensive to provide storage and security in a way that meets HIPAA standards.  We just can't afford to provide it for free.  In fact, to our knowledge, no one does.*  Here's why:

On our end of the equation, it costs about 4X as much to provide the type of infrastructure that is required for HIPAA compliance.  If you've done comparison shopping for the various cloud storage providers, you have probably noticed that when companies have both regular and HIPAA-compliant (i.e., they will sign a business associate agreement) storage products, the HIPAA-compliant storage products are often 4-5X as expensive as the basic non-HIPAA-compliant option.  This is an industry-wide phenomenon and is  due to a number of factors.

In terms of driving cost, efficiency is the most important factor.  Many tech companies provide users with a tremendous amout of storage, much of it for free or at a very low cost.  This is because hosting companies provide storage and software solutions that share computing resources in the most efficient way possible.  Everyone's data are managed by collective and shared servers.  Most of the time you only pay for the cloud when you need it.  It is incredibly efficient, there is very little waste, and the savings are passed on to the users.

HIPAA-compliant storage, on the other hand, can't benefit from those same economies of scale or on-demand wholesale pricing.  Furthermore, you don't want your sensitive data to be administered by computing resources that are shared by others.  In fact, without appropriate access controls that might even be illegal.   In order to maintain compliance with US federal law, we have to forego the public cloud and all of its pricing advantages.  We need our own infrastructure, reserved for us exclusively.  At Insight Notes we use the robust security infrastructure of one of the world's largest data hosting companies, but we pay for our own segregated server with strict access controls, including firewalls, monitoring, security, backup, liability coverage, etc.  For us it just costs more - a lot more.  When you add all these things up it turns out to cost quite a bit.  So much, in fact, that it's impossible to give away.



*There are one or more web-based EHR companies who will store your notes and provide you with some services at no cost to you.  However, these companies make money (in part) by selling the data that you produce.  Some of these data are anonymized.
2 Comments

Does the insight notes technical staff have access to the contents of my notes?

5/20/2014

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No.  Absolutely not.

We take the confidentiality of your notes very seriously.  This confidentiality is the cornerstone of professional practice, and it is something that we do not want to disturb.  Your notes are yours and yours alone.  We have absolutely no access to the contents of your notes.  Your notes are encrypted and inaccessible to us, too.

If you use the secure backup service, your notes are encrypted before they are sent to our secure servers.  This means that when they arrive at our backup server, the notes are encrypted and we have absolutely no way to read the contents of your notes.  Your encryption code, which is necessary to decrypt and read your notes, is known only to you.  

We have taken extraordinary precautions to protect our server, and our server itself is regularly backed up and the backups are stored offsite for extra redundancy.  In the unlikely event that our server is ever breached, your notes will be encrypted and unreadable to any intruder, just as they are to us.  
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When I print I receive the message, "No AirPrint Printers Found."

5/19/2014

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If you are attempting to print from Insight Notes and are seeing the message, "No AirPrint Printers Found," this likely means that your printer does not have AirPrint capabilities.  More information can be found here.  
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I'm interested in the secure backup subscription, but is 2GB enough space?

5/16/2014

0 Comments

 
Yes.

The Insight Notes notetaking code is very efficient.  Our internal simulations suggest that most users of Insight Notes will store well under 100MB of data per year.  Frequent and heavy users can expect to store somewhat more, approaching approximately 100-200MB of space per year, depending upon how many scans are taken.  (Scans take up approximately 4X as much storage space as a text or drawing note.)  It is highly unlikely that any single user, even one who mostly uses the scanning feature, would accrue more than 200MB of notes in a year.  In the exceedingly unlikely event that you approach your storage limitations, all you have to do is contact us and we'll take care of you.

In the future we may provide additional storage capacity, but we are reasonably confident that users will not exceed the current 2GB limit before that happens.    
0 Comments

Can I print directly from Insight Notes?

4/3/2014

0 Comments

 
Yes.

Users who have an AirPrint-enabled printer can print notes directly from within Insight Notes.  The process is automatic and seamless. 

Users who do not have an AirPrint-enabled printer may be able to install third-party applications on their computers to enable printing from an iPad via a wireless network.  Insight Notes has no relationships with these companies.   One of these solutions can be found HERE.

Insight Notes users who wish to print their notes also have the option of using the encrypted exporting service to export notes to themselves, which can then be opened on their own computer and printed (or saved for external archiving).
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Can I use the same Insight Notes backup subscription with multiple iPads?

2/23/2014

2 Comments

 
Insight Notes is currently designed for use with one user and one iPad. The backup application is not currently designed to sync different backup databases or resolve syncing conflicts. Thus, Insight Notes is not currently a good match for multiple users who want to share the same backup credentials, or a single user who wants to use Insight Notes simultaneously on multiple iPads.



2 Comments

If I delete Insight Notes from my iPad or I have to do a system restore of my iPad, what happens to my notes?

2/22/2014

2 Comments

 
Deleting:
Insight Notes is just like most other iPad apps: when you delete the app, you also delete the app's data that were stored on your iPad.  If you want to delete Insight Notes but keep the notes you've written, you have two easy options:

The first option is that you can print your notes.  Insight Notes includes AirPrint and allows all users to print their notes.  

The second option is that you can use the secure backup and encrypted exporting service to send your notes to yourself electronically.  The encrypted exporting service allows you to send up to several hundred notes at the same time.  They arrive pre-organized and in PDF format.

Users who delete their notes don't have to worry about residual copies of their notes remaining on the iPad.  Your notes data were always encrypted, so any residual files that remain after deletion are still inaccessible.
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Restore:
If you have to do a system restore of your iPad and have an active subscription to the backup and encrypted exporting service, to restore your notes database to Insight Notes all you have to do is re-download Insight Notes from the App Store, select that you are an existing user,* supply the backup server with the email address and server password you created when you first signed up for the backup service, and your encryption code.  The server will verify your identity so that you can select your backup database, after which your notes will be downloaded to your iPad once again.  (Also note that during this process Apple and the iTunes store will ask you for your Apple ID password twice so that Apple can verify that you have an active subscription.)  

While the restore is in progress, we strongly recommend keeping Insight Notes onscreen and your iPad on  (do not allow it to go into standby mode).  The restore process will proceed as quickly as your connection will allow you to receive data from the internet.

If you do not have a subscription to the backup/sharing service, deleting Insight Notes from your iPad  or performing a restore of your iPad will also delete your notes.  Due to security concerns and in order to facilitate HIPAA-compliance, Insight Notes does not back up your notes database to iCloud or to your computer via iTunes syncing.  


*The screen for existing users that prompts users to input their email, server password, and encryption code is only for users with active backup/subscriptions who are doing a restore.
2 Comments

Enhancement in progress: multiple scans

2/22/2014

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Status: FIXED  


(Users who continue to experience this issue should contact user support.)


Some users have reported that the scanning feature is sometimes delayed when using the app to take multiple scans in a row: the scanning feature will load, but the iPad screen will be black for a short time before showing the live camera image.  (Pressing the scan button when the screen is black will still capture the image.)

This is a known issue and we are in the process of constructing a fix.  Insight Notes currently uses some standard elements of iOS to perform its more complex functions, and the camera is one of these elements.  Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a bit for the camera component in iOS to make the live feed available.  (If you have an iPhone you've probably noticed that sometimes when you open up the camera app it takes a bit for the camera image to render; the same thing is happening here, but it just takes a bit longer because the process is routed through Insight Notes.)

In our experience the live image always eventually renders, sometimes it just takes a bit.  We know this isn't ideal for rapidly scanning multiple documents, but we are working on this issue to make your workflow faster.  

When we first produced Insight Notes it was purely a notetaking app.  However, our testers quickly saw that it would be possible to expand the list of features to do other things, and we've tried to respond to those requests as quickly as possible.  Scanning is one of the things we added to accommodate user requests.  Improving the ability to capture multi-page documents is a work in progress.

We will also be making continued enhancements and modifications based upon user feedback.
0 Comments

Can i use a business credit card to purchase Insight Notes?

2/22/2014

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We've heard that some users would prefer to use their business credit card to purchase Insight Notes, but the credit card they have on file with iTunes is a personal card. 


Is there a way to purchase Insight Notes using a business credit card (for expense/accounting purposes)?


Here's a suggested workaround for those who want to make sure Insight Notes is a business expense: use your business credit card to purchase an iTunes gift card for the value of the app (and months of the backup  and encrypted exporting service, if desired).  iTunes will automatically deduct from the balance of the gift card first, then proceed to the credit card on file once the gift card is depleted.  You can purchase additional gift cards as needed/desired.
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What is an Encryption code?

2/16/2014

2 Comments

 
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When you first start Insight Notes, you will be asked to provide an "encryption code."  This is a critical step, so please do not rush through this screen.  

Insight Notes requires users to select an " encryption code," which is a code that is known only to the user.  Your encryption code is used by Insight Notes as part of the encryption algorithm, which in turn enables Insight Notes to provide a higher level of security.  

Most of the time you use a password on programs other than Insight Notes, your password is maintained on a server in a master list.  To gain access to your files, you provide your password to the application and your password is then cross-checked against that master list.  If the password matches, you get access to your files.  By way of (oversimplified) analogy, this is like a doorman holding a clipboard: if your password matches what is contained on the clipboard, the doorman allows you to enter.

Insight Notes is different.  We have no doorman and no master list to cross-check.  You are the only person who knows your encryption code.  The analogy for Insight Notes is that your files are locked behind a very heavy and sturdy door; you have the only key, and it is one that you created.  Insight Notes does not keep a copy of your key.  The use of a user-determined encryption code is a feature of many security-conscious applications and password storage services.  Security is our top priority, too.

The benefits to this approach is that it enables Insight Notes to provide a higher level of security.  You can be assured that no one has access to your notes.  No encryption code = no notes.  A potential drawback, however, is that because you have the only key, a lost key means that you lose your notes.  Insight Notes currently has no way of resetting or retrieving your encryption code, so be sure to keep your encryption code in a safe place.  This is your only key.  In addition, because your encryption code is part of your encryption algorithm this means that you cannot change your encryption code, because doing so would also mean having to change the encryption for all of your notes.  Choosing a good encryption code is a one-time event, so make it count.



We recommend selecting a strong encryption code, which is one that is (1) at least eight characters long, (2) is not contained in any dictionary, (3) and contains numbers, letters, and special characters (e.g., #, &, @).


We also strongly recommend against keeping your encryption code anywhere on your iPad in unencrypted format.  One of the benefits of Insight Notes is that your notes remain inaccessible to others even if your iPad is lost or stolen, but if your encryption code is taped to the side of your iPad (or saved in clear text elsewhere in your iPad) that undermines the security Insight Notes provides.  

(Please note that if/when you first create your backup and encrypted exporting account, Insight Notes also asks you to set up a "password."   However, this password is only used to verify your identity with our servers in case you need to recover your notes.  If this should happen, you will also have to know your encryption code to enable your iPad to decrypt the notes that have been recovered.)

2 Comments

How much does Insight Notes Cost?

2/16/2014

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Insight Notes is available for purchase in the App Store, which can be found on your iPad.  Our goal was to keep the price as low as possible.  Users who purchase Insight Notes in the App Store will receive a fully functional app with printing capabilities.  The optional secure backup and encrypted exporting features can be enabled via an in-app purchase.  

Our users generally report that Insight Notes reduces notetaking time by approximately 30%* and pays for itself many times over.

Insight Notes can be purchased for $9.99 (USD), and the secure backup and encrypted exporting features are available for $14.99/month.


Why is there a cost to the backup and encrypted exporting service?  Please read our explanation here.


*Insight Notes accomplishes this by eliminating/reducing login time, pre-organizing your notes, automatically providing headers/footers, enabling dictation via Siri, providing a one-touch backup, etc.  These things add up to significant time savings.
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Is Insight Notes PC/Windows compatible?

2/16/2014

2 Comments

 
Insight Notes is a self-contained iPad app and does not require Windows or a Mac to function. Many Insight Notes users have an iPad and a PC.  All notes that you export from Insight Notes using the encrypted exporting service are sent in PDF format, which is recognized by all operating systems and nearly all mobile devices.  


2 Comments

I already use an EHR or practice-management system.  Does Insight Notes work with my existing system?

1/26/2014

0 Comments

 

Probably.

This depends on your existing system.  Most, however, allow for document uploads that allow Insight Notes to compliment your existing EHR.

Some Insight Notes users also use systems that offer additional features that Insight Notes does not currently offer, such as billing, scheduling, etc.  Other Insight Notes users want to remain with their existing EHR systems because they work in a group practice but prefer to utilize Insight Notes when they need to be more mobile and nimble.  Others use Insight Notes because a practice location lacks the internet access that required for another system (Insight Notes does not require an internet connection).   Still other users elect to maintain a chart in an existing EHR, but use Insight Notes to keep separate "psychotherapy notes."

Insight Notes is convenient and inexpensive enough to effectively extend the capabilities of other EHR systems, especially if the other systems allow for convenient document uploads.  To append notes from Insight Notes to your existing EHR, simply send the notes you take from Insight Notes to yourself using the encrypted exporting service, then upload them to your existing EHR.
0 Comments

Does Insight Notes include forms?

12/24/2013

6 Comments

 
Yes.

Insight Notes version 1.2.0 (and later) contains a progress note template.  The template allows users to begin a new note that contains pre-filled text and prompts.

If you have other forms that you use, you can fill out a paper copy and use the scanning feature to quickly add a document to your record.  

Our most important goal is to build a first-rate interface that improves upon an ordinary pad of paper, and to do that we need to concentrate on the basics of efficiency and security.  We have the same goal for forms.   Your note system should facilitate your work, not slow you down or reduce your clinical work to data entry.  We are actively researching ways to incorporate more forms into Insight Notes.

6 Comments

Is Insight Notes available for android OS?

12/24/2013

6 Comments

 
Insight Notes is currently only available on iOS for iPad.  
6 Comments

Will using Insight Notes make me into a HIPAA covered entity?

12/20/2013

0 Comments

 

NO.

This has been a common question from users who want to use Insight Notes, but are concerned that using the Insight Notes backup will turn them into a Covered Entity ("CE").

The answer is clear:  If you are not a HIPAA covered entity, using Insight Notes will not automatically make you into a HIPAA Covered Entity.  

Stated slightly differently:  merely transmitting electronic information doesn't make you a HIPAA Covered Entity.  Transmissions fall under HIPAA if they are made in connection with a specific type of transaction (usually for reimbursement purposes).   If you are not a covered entity and do not use Insight Notes to export your notes for reimbursement or another HIPAA-defined transmission, your status as a non-covered entity won't be jeopardized.


Of course, if you are a HIPAA Covered Entity, using Insight Notes is entirely consistent with your obligations under HIPAA.  It is highly encrypted and secure, and we will sign a business associate agreement.  
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Securely Exporting notes with Insight Notes

12/8/2013

2 Comments

 
Your notes are important, but securing and saving your notes is only part of what Insight Notes does.  Insight Notes also provides you the ability to encrypt and securely export your notes to whomever you choose.  We strongly believe that you shouldn't be tied to a proprietary file format.  Your notes are your own, and you should be able to do with them whatever you please.  Insight Notes allows you to seamlessly export your notes from within the app.  You have the option to do this on a per-note basis, to group notes in batches, to export an entire client file, or even (size permitting) to export your entire notes database to yourself for external backup.  

Insight Notes does not use email to transfer your notes.  Regular email is not secure.  Your notes are confidential and they require a higher level of care.  To maintain legal compliance we don't use regular email to transfer your notes.  The use of third-party external drives or other cloud backup services may not be HIPAA compliant.

If you choose to subscribe to Insight Notes' secure backup and encrypted exporting service, you can locally encrypt and export notes any time you have an internet connection.  Here's what happens behind the scenes: 


  1. Insight Notes copies the notes you've selected and prompts you to assign a unique download code to the export file.  
  2. Insight Notes then sends an email to the recipient that includes a unique and temporary download link.  
  3. Once your recipient clicks on the link, the recipient is brought to a webpage on our server where  he/she is prompted to enter the download code (that you have communicated separately).

The recipient sees a webpage that looks like this:

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If the download code is correct, our servers decrypt the file into memory and send the contents via secure connection to the recipient, who receives the exported notes as an ordinary .zip file.  All of your notes arrive organized by date and in universally recognizable PDF file format.  

Following transmission of the file, the decrypted file is automatically overwritten by our servers.  The originals will, of course, remain on your iPad and in your backup.


Here is a short demo video showing the three different ways to encrypt and export notes with Insight Notes
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