Many medical offices are transitioning to paperless offices. While these offices will never be completely paper-free, paperless essentially means that the office has electronic files instead of paper ones. They also try to communicate with clients electronically rather than sending out letters. If your medical office has not yet gone paperless, you may have many questions about going paperless and medical record scanning.
Medical record scanning is generally done in two phases. The first phase is the longest and the most tedious, as every paper document must be scanned into an electronic file management system. Once all of the paper files are converted into digital ones, medical record scanning becomes significantly easier. From there, the office staff simply needs to scan any doctor’s notes or incoming documents into the electronic file.
If you own a medical practice or are in charge of an office, you may have many questions about going digital and medical record scanning. Read on to get answers to the questions you may have about paperless medical offices and medical record scanning.
What’s Wrong with Keeping Paper Medical Records?
One of the questions people have is, “what is wrong with keeping paper medical records?” After all, this is the way most offices have done things for some time. Unfortunately, while paper files have been used for a long time, they are not very efficient, and there are several problems associated with them.
One of the most significant downsides of paper medical records is the amount of time they take to maintain, as someone has to file each hardcopy document in a physical location. This practice is time-consuming and inefficient. It is also easy to misfile a record or misplace it. When that occurs, office staff may spend a lot of time looking for or, worse, recreating that document. Scanning is much faster, which can reduce the number of employees your office needs for its workflows or allow your employees to focus on value-adding tasks.
Another major issue associated with paper files is the amount of space they take up. Most medical offices have a room dedicated solely to their paper files. If you did not have to keep paper files, you could free up that space for other uses, such as an extra room to see patients. A significant amount of overhead is spent simply on storage for paper files, something you will never get a monetary return on.
How Does Medical Record Scanning Work?
The first step involved in medical record scanning is selecting a scanning service. The scanning service you choose can help implement the software you need and start preparing your paper files for the scanning process. From there, the company will take the time to scan every single file, including every paper contained in the file. This is by far the longest and most tedious part of the process. Converting files can take some time, especially if you have a large volume of files, but rest assured, it will be well worth it.
Once all your documents are scanned into the system and converted into the appropriate file, you will be ready to use your new electronic system. Depending on what your needs are, employees in the office will be shown how to scan all incoming documents and add them to the correct electronic folder. Another option is to bundle up your incoming documents and send them to your document scanning vendor on a daily or weekly basis. They will maintain the process of scanning and converting them.
Choosing the Right Scanning Service for Your Healthcare Facility
If you are looking for a medical record scanning company for your healthcare facility or medical offices, the first thing you need to do is find a company with experience working with the healthcare industry. You must find a vendor that is familiar with HIPAA laws and ensure that they are HIPAA compliant. Many companies may offer document scanning services, but not all understand HIPAA rules and regulations and patient privacy.
Once you find a company that is well versed in HIPAA regulations, you will want to learn about the costs associated with their services, the types of services they offer, and the software they use for the conversion and storage processes. You want to be able to access the files easily because complex systems can be challenging for your employees to navigate. Also, be sure to learn the reputation of the company you are using. You want to use a reputable and reliable company, and taking the time to learn who they are as a company and what past clients have to say about them can give you insight into how they may be if you do business with them.
Is Your Healthcare Organization Wasting Time Using Paper Files?
If a patient comes in, a doctor has to pull that file, thumb through it, and look for a specific report. Often, healthcare workers may find themselves having to track down or recreating lost documents. Going paperless and using electronic files reduces the amount of time employees spend filing documents and pulling files while making it easier for doctors and providers to find patient information and past reports.
More and more medical offices are going paperless because doing so helps healthcare providers focus time and resources on patient care instead of paper files. It also reduces overhead expenses associated with employing people to file hardcopy documents and paying rent for space to store all of those files.
If you are ready to make the transition to electronic, paperless files, medical record scanning companies can help you get started. If your West Hazleton-area healthcare organization needs assistance with medical record scanning, contact IMR Digital, a KDI company, today and speak with one of our scanning specialists.