Document Scanning Blog

Given the amount of money that has been earmarked for paperless medical information systems, it looks like we are closer than ever to having electronic medical records (EMRs). According to experts in the health care industry, EMRs will make administering health care and medications much safer, more cost effective and less cumbersome. Public opinion is gradually catching up with the facts, but skeptics still say they prefer the chaos of a paper-based system.

Here is a summary of some reasons why electronic medical records are an essential next step for the health care industry.

1. With EMRs, people won’t need to make a trip to their primary care physician every time they need to reorder a prescription. They will simply be able to email their doctor. This is not only great news for patients; it will allow doctors the ability to serve more patients and use their time more efficiently.
2. Online personal health records allow patients to track their own medical information much more readily than getting information supplied by their doctors. Pretty soon, patients will be able to access their own health records online and download test results, immunizations and other information.
3. Speaking of test results, EMRs will eventually eliminate the need to drag x-ray films from one doctors’ office to another. Pretty soon, it will be possible to view test results online and incorporate them directly into a patient’s electronic record.
4. With so many people in this country taking a handful of different prescription drugs every day, it is amazing there are not more problems with drug interactions, dosages and side effects. When patients are able to centralize all their medical records – and prescriptions – into one online record, drug interactions and side effects will be flagged automatically.
5. When most people think of online medical records, they expect to view them on a PC or laptop, but it won’t be long before they can be viewed on a cell phone.

Electronic medical records are designed to comply with all the HIPAA privacy laws and be securely encrypted. This is actually a lot more security than what is currently in place for the storage of paper records, which can easily be photocopied or stolen from a doctors’ office.

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As your company takes on the challenge of going “paperless”, hiring a document scanning company is usually the best way to go, but there are several steps in the process that must occur before you begin working with an outside vendor.

1. Assemble your team: Changing the way documents, billing statements, patient records and interoffice correspondence are managed within an office environment can be a daunting task, and it is not one that can be done effectively without the input of your organization’s major stakeholders. Before embarking on this process, be sure you have the right team in place to make it happen, and that you know who will be participating in each phase of the project.
2. Analyze your usage: Once your team is in place, you will want to take a closer look at your document usage, including the types of documents your company uses the most, and how they are typically used.
3. Get organized: Plan out the way you would like to see your documents organized, whether it is in digital libraries, team-based portals, limited access sites, etc. Once you determine this, you will have a better idea of how and where each type of document should be stored and who should have access to which documents. If you choose a library, you can further organize specific documents into folders and subfolders.
4. Go with the flow: How is content currently moving through your company. Does it need to be converted from one format to another as it moves around? How can you make the flow of content easier for your organization? This may take some input from the entire team.
5. Be Consistent: Plan out how you will identify “content types” in your new document management system. Some companies use metadata, others use specific templates. The most important thing is to maintain a level of consistency throughout the organization.
6. Maintain Security: For each document, you will want to maintain different levels of control. This is especially true with legal documents, where many firms opt to require employees to go through a check-in/check-out process to prevent unauthorized distribution.

These are just some of the many ways companies prepare for a complete overhaul of their document management. In most cases, these decisions are made before any document scanning or electronic document storage begins, because the planning process helps determine the level and scope of services.

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These days, we don’t push paper anymore, but we do push digital files, documents, spread sheets and quotes through a series of internal and external networks. In highly confidential work environments, such as doctors’ offices and law firms, there is always a concern about maintaining control over who can access each document.

As documents move through an office environment, they can be converted into PDFs, reformatted, recalculated and edited. They can also be emailed, printed, mailed and released to the public. But because each document is essentially a “corporate record” it is important to retain each one properly throughout every stage of its existence.

Whether you choose to use a document scanning company or handle your document management process in-house, it is wise to come up with a company-wide protocol for the movement of digital files through corporate networks. Most companies will also want to use off-site online document storage for instant retrieval of important records from any PC.

For those who choose the do-it-yourself method, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server has features that will help you implement a fully functional document management system. All aspects of the program work well with familiar applications from Microsoft Office, such as Word, Outlook and Excel.

Larger organizations, and those who require more security features, should consider outsourcing their document management system to an outside vendor. Not only will this free up your employees’ time, it will also ensure that the project is managed properly, all documents are archived, and system updates are maintained on a regular basis.

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If your business is looking into spearheading a new document management system, it is important to plan ahead and make decisions as a team. A good plan will allow you to better manage the document life cycle, including the formats in which they are created, and methods used for publishing, storage, consumption and ultimately, disposal or retention.

An effective document management system should be a group effort, as it will ultimately reflect the needs of the entire organization, as well as its culture and goals. In some larger corporations, the structure is tighter, but a plan can also be loose and flexible, depending on which is the best fit for your enterprise.

First and foremost, the goals of your new document management system should be the ability to find and share information in a usable and logical way. This way, content creation is standardized across the business, which promotes easy access to important knowledge and helps an organization be legally compliant.

The planning process helps guide a company through the document’s life Starting a new document management system? You will need a plan cycle and track it through each state of its existence, from authoring through auditing, storage, and ultimately archiving or destroying.

When you are ready to plan out a solution that works for your business, ask yourself the following questions.

* What templates will you use for each document?
* What metadata, or sorting text, will you use to identify each document?
* What types of documents will your organization create?
* Do you plan on using a specific template for each document?
* Where should each type of document be stored for easy retrieval?

With a little planning, staring a document management system is a great way to improve communications, productivity and legal compliance.

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