With a national goal of moving all medical facilities to electronic health records (EHR) by the year 2011, many health practitioners are scrambling to find an easy and quick solution.
Before you set out to find an EMR scanning solution, take inventory of what will need to be done, and how each document scanning solution will accomplish that. The need for electronic medical records (EMR) is expanding rapidly, and there are many new and untested providers out there trying to capture this market. You will want to be sure that the provider you choose is able to meet the specific needs of your organization.
First, determine your budget. An EMR scanning solution can be as simple as buying a scanner and some simple software, or it can be as elaborate as a multi-million dollar overhaul of a hospital systems current records and archives.
An even bigger question is whether you will have your medical records scanned in house as a capital investment; or if you will outsource the project to a professional document scanning service.
No matter which way you choose to make the transition to a paperless practice, the costs cannot be escaped. Plan on spending a great deal of time and resources either way, and compare the costs of devoting a full-time team of employees versus an outsourced provider. In the end, you may find it makes more sense to outsource to a professional EMR scanning company.