Making the transition to paperless medical record scanning is an exciting yet tedious task, but it is one that you will never regret. The only thing that you might regret is a lack of planning before starting the process.
Here are some tips that will ensure your EMR scanning transition goes off without a hitch.
1. Decide on a Time frame: No matter how long you think the project will take, it will usually take longer. This is because most medical practices have employees do the scanning in small increments, over a matter of months or years. If speed is important to you, why not outsource the job to a document scanning company that specializes in EMRs?
2. Take a Closer Look at your Volume: One you have a good idea of how many records need to be scanned, you will readily determine the length of time it will take to complete the job. If you plan to use an outsourced solution, then you should ask them how much they can realistically scan per day. Most professional services will give you an accurate time frame based on your volume.
3. Determine Access Levels: Before you turn your paper documents into EMRs, figure out which employees will have access to which records. The easiest way to implement Access Levels on EMRs is to use an online solution for document storage, with password protected access.
4. Don’t Forget HIPAA Laws: This is a good time to re-read the HIPAA privacy laws, which require the tracking of all activity on digital health records. Complying with these laws may require a special software program.
5. Importing Scanned Images into an EMR System: Remember, going paperless doesn’t stop at the document scanning process. You will still need a solution for importing scanned documents into EMRs. An outsourced provider should be able to handle this, but make sure you ask them up front.