Document Scanning Blog

Up until recently the primary focus of document scanning and online document management has been to get medical practices and law offices into the 21^st century.  This was immediately followed by the financial and insurance industries.  Now that so many businesses are managing everything digitally, other companies may find it easier to switch to a paperless office.

 

As the American labor force becomes more accustomed to electronic documents, the use of paper in an office seems a lot more cumbersome.  Gone are the days when there was a line at the copy machine and a stack of manila folders on every worker’s desk.  Without even trying, today’s worker has gradually changed the way they manage paper documents in an office environment.

 

It’s hard to say when it happened, but at some point it become redundant to keep a file of paperwork for each client, when there was already an electronic file in existence.  It probably happened around the same time that people started “trusting computers” and realizing that their documents wouldn’t be lost in a computer crash.  IT professionals have become very adept at maintaining back-up files and ensuring the safety of network drives.  In most modern offices, client documents and important files are saved to a network drive instead of existing solely on a workers computer.  As a result, the average worker feels a lot more confident maintaining electronic document scanning without the requisite paper file. 

 

This shift has impacted various industries in different ways, but there are very few businesses that still operate in a paper-only model.  In the interest of efficiency, it appears that the American business owner is ready to follow the example of medical and legal office and embrace electronic document management solutions. 

 

Getting started with a document management solution for your office may require the help of a document scanning company.  These digital imaging professionals are the most effective way to make sure every employee is on the same page with the transition, and they can recommend the right software to securely manage employee document access.  In addition to actually document scanning and archiving your paper documents, most document scanning firms offer training for your employees. 

Electronic document storage is quickly becoming the most important element of the digital office. It usually involves the conversion and upload of all paper and digital files into a web-based, secure site or FTP server for later editing and retrieval. It can also include the physical storage of archived paper documents at an off-site storage facility. Today’s microprocessors allow millions of documents to be stored in a space that is about the size of your thumb, but digital document storage is nothing new. For decades, people have been able to store documents safely on magnetic tapes and disks, but CDs became the preferred method of storage for most businesses. However, even that is beginning to change. Web based document storage provides the added protection of an off-site, highly secured server, regular backups of data, and instant access to stored files from any computer with Internet access. Compared to paper document storage, electronic document storage typically offers a search function that allows the document to be retrieved instantly from wherever it is stored. Here, a single document can be stored in multiple locations and subcategories with the click of a mouse. It is more environmentally sound, offers more efficiencies in worker productivity, and gives a business more flexibility. Paper storage only allows documents to be sorted using predetermined criteria, and must be sorted manually, making it easy for documents to be misclassified or returned to the wrong folder. This method slows a business down, and can make document retrieval a difficult process. It also takes a great deal of space to store paper files at an office location. Other considerations include the expense of floor space, filing cabinets, office supplies, paper, toner and all the people who need to sort, file and retrieve the documents on a daily basis. Conversely, compact media and online document storage use very little space, can be managed at any computer, and doesn’t involved the physical storage, retrieval, copying, and filing of an paper. Digital document storage improves virtually every process, making for a faster, more efficient and cost-effective business environment.

A surprising and somewhat dismaying fact is that even in 2009, an alarming number of hospitals and private medical practices are mired in antiquated and often (sometimes tragically) dangerous methods of medical record storage: methods that for all intents and purposes are indistinguishable from the medical document storage practices of eighteenth century physicians. Ironically, many of these same medical practices regularly utilize cutting edge diagnostic and treatment technologies that didn’t even exist last year but somehow that same forward thinking approach to quality healthcare is absent when it comes to tracking their patients’ medical records. Why? It is difficult to say. Perhaps some healthcare providers are unaware of the new technologies involved in medical records scanning even though the “new” technologies have existed for years. Or perhaps they are aware that the digital document imaging industry exists but they are unaware of the fact that it is a substantially more secure way to store and maintain medical records. (Some healthcare providers are even under the false impression that paper records are superior to online document storage with regard to physical damage caused by fire, flood, theft, spills, misplacement, and privacy. The truth, however, is quite the opposite). Other medical practices are concerned about the cost of digitized document storage. But the fact is that the costs involved with paper storage far surpass those of digital storage and document scanning. Perhaps the biggest cost savings involved in making the switch to digitized medical record keeping is directly connected to the time wasted searching for and maintaining paper records in contrast to the simple click of a mouse needed to retrieve digitized records. Another rationale for some medical practices’ reliance upon paper records is quite similar to the explanation given by the last generation of bookkeepers that wouldn’t (or couldn’t) make the transition from paper balance sheets to computerized accounting programs: they were locked into their old ways of doing things. And now they are retired or otherwise out of a job. Similarly, some doctors are creatures of habit afraid of making the change to digital document imaging just because it is new. But as those same doctors ought to know, indeed change can be difficult but alas, it can be good for you too. Contacting a reliable and helpful document scanning company such as scantronix will aide healthcare professionals in taking the first step toward efficiency and reliability.

Captain Kirk got it right: Space indeed is the final frontier. Now perhaps document storage isn’t quite as glamorous as intergalactic travel, but nevertheless, if you are a business owner or point person in charge of your company’s document storage needs, and you are dealing with (to stay a bit too long on the sci-fi metaphor) “space and time” issues of your own, your final frontier may just turn out to be the world wide web. That is, online storage has become an increasingly more popular answer for companies that are concerned with saving time, space, and most importantly, money. The advantages of online document storage to businesses of all sizes are many. But the big three are as follows… One: Accessibility. When your data is scanned and saved online, you literally can have access to it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, with the simple click of a mouse. And you can do so from anywhere in the world. Two: Safety. One nice feature about the Internet; it doesn’t burn down or get destroyed in a flood. It’s there… permanently. Thus, your data is never going to get lost. Three: Money. When you have your hard data stored either on your own premises or at another storage space, you need to pay for hardware and storing devices. But when you store your data online, the cash you may have spent on the aforementioned budgetary line items can be spent on, well, whatever else you want! Still, there some risks with online document storage, most notably is the fact that if the online company providing you with the service is less than credible, they could go out of business and/or you data could be at risk of being stolen. So if you do decide to store your data online or through electronic document storage, make sure you choose a document scanning company with a solid track record and existing clients you can call for a reference.

Sometimes it is not so easy to make a change. Especially with regard to how one runs a business. If a certain method of operation has worked for you throughout the years, regardless of how idiosyncratic, old-fashioned or even archaic it is has been there ought to be a compelling reason (or reasons) to move on to something new. So why should business offices that have always relied on paper filing make the transition to document scanning? Well, first of all there is the cost factor. The expenses involved with paper filing and storage are quite high, and quite unnecessary. Also unnecessary is the huge waste of physical space involved in paper-based offices. Many an office employee has had to learn how to navigate through and around stacks and clusters of filing cabinets without either getting lost in them or knocked on their butts by them when turning around a corner. (I speak from bruised experience on the latter front). Furthermore, when filling cabinets, desks and closets that are cluttered with files are replaced by CDs and online document storage the time saved from not constantly searching for various pieces of paper greatly improves personnel efficiency. Aside from productivity improvements, (and perhaps even more important) document scanning makes professional offices significantly more safe and secure. When paper documents are scanned, stored, and backed up either on disc or in a virtual online capacity, all too common occurrences such as office theft, fires, floods, and the dreaded afternoon coffee spill no longer jeopardize the loss of vital and confidential information. There are yet even more reasons to choose document scanning over paper filing: it is more eco-friendly, it is quicker and easier to retrieve information for your customers, and pretty soon for many professional offices, the switch to a scanned and digitized environment will be the law. So you might as well start helping yourself now, before you have no choice. Document imaging solutions are here to assist your business to advance to the digital age.