If your business is new to the world of document scanning and digital document management, it is important to go about the conversion in the most sensible way. There are dozens of companies now offering software programs for do-it-yourself document scanning and storage, but all of these systems are not created equal.

Choosing the right method of document scanning can also be crucial to your compliance with HIPAA and other privacy laws. Publicly held companies must be aware of how a paperless office will affect their compliance with regulations and annual audits. However, in most cases, companies find that the transfer to digital document storage leaves a much clearer audit trail than paper files.

Whether your business is just starting down the path to a paperless office or is looking to replace your current system with something more robust, there are some common pitfalls that should be avoided. Use this checklist to be sure you are starting the project with the right set of resources.

1) Assign a “champion” for the project and be sure that he or she has a clear vision of the company’s goals, from how to handle initial document scanning process to avoiding potential security risks.

2) Choose an IT expert to collaborate with the project’s champion, one who understands the details of your corporate IT infrastructure.

3) Before the project begins, conduct a thorough analysis of your business, how the various documents are currently used and who handles them.

4) Look for ways to streamline and improve business processes through online document storage and better automate the company’s documents for positive change.

Once these resources are in place, you are ready to start the document scanning process. Work with a professional document scanning company, who will ensure your documents are properly indexed, managed and archived.

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While there is little doubt about whether EMR scanning will be a more efficient way to organize patient information within an office setting, there is still serious concern about whether greater access to EHR records can keep confidential information away from prying eyes on the Internet.

Doctors everywhere are in a rush to comply and use federal dollars to implement EMR systems that will ultimately be used in a more “meaningful” way by government agencies. However, they are finding that extensive regulations have been placed on the type of systems that can be used. In order to qualify for reimbursement from the federal government, doctors must follow guidelines of what the Department of Health and Human Services defines as “meaningful use” in their EMR systems.

The government’s requirements may seem a little over the top, and even a bit “big brother-ish” to some, but in reality, these regulations are designed to keep health information secure and untainted. When medical records are accurately converted into an electronic format, using such security measures as encryption and firewalls, they can be prevented from falling into the wrong hands. It is also important that during the document scanning process, the records are digitized using commercial grade – not personal grade – scanning equipment.

EMRs undoubtedly represent a major step forward in healthcare information technology, which is why attention to detail is so important. Secure and accurate medical data will ultimately allow caregivers to analyze and share information, which is expected to not only improve the quality of healthcare, but lower the cost to consumers as well.

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Why has document scanning and electronic recordkeeping been such a major focus for the healthcare industry?

Even before the first draft of the Healthcare Reform bill was written, many medical centers and hospitals were already using electronic medical records (EMRs), primarily for their ease of use, efficiency and easy compliance with HIPAA laws. But now, with healthcare information technology being such an important component of true reform, EMRs have become a more powerful tool.

In addition to making healthcare more efficient, reducing overhead costs, and helping medical offices streamline operations, industry experts also expect EMR adoption to reduce duplicate testing and medical errors while allowing healthcare systems to analyze their clinical effectiveness. Until digital systems are more widely adopted and patient health records are truly integrated across multiple networks, it may be difficult to realize the true capabilities of this technology. It will be interesting to see how long it really takes for the healthcare industry to go “paperless” and become truly integrated.

Document scanning services are able to help medical offices efficiently transition to an EMR system, with little disruption to their day-to-day activities. With the help of these services, physicians can become highly organized and efficient with their patient information, cut the cost of storage, overhead and supplies, and manage patient care in secure digital environment.

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Electronic medical recordkeeping not only reduces the amount of paperwork, it helps ensure better time management and more accurate billing. And since most of these systems are web-based, physicians can access information 24/7 from any computer.

It is hard to tell when the use of EMR scanning systems will have completely saturated the healthcare industry, but as these systems improve, more and more physicians are making the decision to go paperless. Once they complete the document scanning and archiving process, EMR management systems present a new way to handle day-to-day operations.

Here are some highlights of what the latest EMR scanning systems include:
* Convenient information storage and organization, including billing info, doctors’ notes, lab results, etc.
* Full system customization to meet the needs of any size organization
* Management of prescription data by patient
* Built-in office visit management programs, including alerts for personnel
* Multiple levels of security for access to patient information
* Templates for prescriptions, notes, letters of consultation, etc.
* Integration with other billing systems and previously used databases
* HIPPA Compliance
* Built-in search engine
* PDA compatibility
* Ability to track communications with other institutions and integrate this into a patient’s record

Unlike the early versions of EMR systems, the latest versions have progressed beyond document scanning and medical chart retrieval to become a total practice management solution.

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Now that Healthcare Reform is here, a system-wide transition to electronic health records isn’t far behind. Many hospitals are already moving from their old system of EMRs to a new system that will be compatible with universal EHRs. It won’t be long before every doctors office, small or large, is expected to make their patient records available in a digital format.

But large healthcare systems are not the only ones who realize that digital medical record scanning is a necessity. Patients are also demanding this technology be offered by their providers. It is much easier for patients to communicate with their doctors when all the information they need is easily accessible. EMR scanning also make it easier for doctors’ offices to track billing, recognize healthcare trends, and keep test results with a patient’s file where they belong.

As a medical professional, it makes sense to keep up with the latest technology. Not only will it inspire more trust from your patients, it will minimize overhead costs for your practice. The process of scanning documents and medical charts may be tedious and time consuming, but it can be done.

Many small medical offices outsource the document scanning and storage to a team of professionals who can work on-site or at a separate facility. Most document scanning companies are also equipped to help small medical offices make the transition into a new EMR system.

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One of the best solutions for the conversion of image files, or PDFs, into text-rich searchable documents is to use document scanning. It can be done in many languages, and allows law firms, archive facilities and museums to search, catalog, and manipulate the content of image files. Many offices use HTML programming language in OCR scanning because it allows for quick access and simple editing.

In addition to converting these scanned documents into searchable text, OCR scanning can also structure the data for conversion to Excel. Of course, the success of any Excel conversion through OCR will depend greatly upon the readability and structure of the existing pages. Document scanning that has already have tabulated data (using delimited tabs and spaces) usually generate the best result, while sheets with non-standard columns may need to be manually adjusted.

There are other ways to make the conversion from image file to Excel, such as Zonal Software, Adobe Acrobat, and Visual Basic, but these can be time consuming and more expensive than document scanning. A great way to determine which solution is best for your needs is to ask for a test or sample.

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Many law offices shy away from going paperless because they cannot devote the time or resources to scanning and cataloging every pleading, petition, contract and brief. Like many law firms, a decision needs to be made about whether to do the document scanning in small increments over a long period of time, or hire a document scanning company to come in and do it for them. However, even if the bulk of the documents are scanned by professionals, law offices must still invest in a reliable scanner to keep up with the constant flow of paperwork.

In many cases, law firms choose to only digitize certain types of documents, such as archived casework, and use paper documents for all original pleadings, signature-related documents and evidence. The most important caveat, particularly for smaller firms, is that the process of going paperless doesn’t prevent lawyers from doing what they do best – practicing law. Only when this type of endeavor is managed properly can a small office begin to compete with larger firms.

Once all the important documents have been scanned, a computerized case management system must be in place to keep everything in order. These programs perform many tasks, including case management, maintaining detailed client accounts, and organizing documents both by client and subject matter. There are several case management software packages on the market, each with varying price points and benefits.

Another valuable addition to any paperless law office is a digital law library. Using a document scanning system like this, it is possible to copy and paste citations and statutes into legal petitions and pleadings.

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Remember, going “paperless” involves a lot more than just the scanning of paper documents. Each digitized document must then be categorized and made searchable in a database, where it will be stored for future retrieval. Some systems are set up to add administrative rights to each document, requiring a user name and password for access. Other systems are purely web-based, allowing for easy access to office documents from any computer. If your office works with customer financial, health or legal information, then certain guidelines must be followed to ensure the privacy and security of this information. Then, there is the question of what to do with all those paper files after they’ve been scanned.

As you can see, the entire process is very tedious and could be an enormous drain on the resources of a small business. Hiring a professional document scanning service makes the conversion process much more manageable. In most cases, you will be able to ship records directly to an off-site facility, but some companies prefer on-site document scanning using a mobile set-up. Either way, the team will use the best high-speed scanners available, making it possible for them to scan thousands, or even millions, of records within a reasonable time frame. Once scanned, your documents will be provided on CDs, or directly indexed on your document management system.

Converting your paper documents can take time and money, but ultimately it will make your business more efficient and your information more secure. A professional document scanning company will take the guesswork out of the process and help you go “paperless” much faster than doing it yourself.

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With the recent healthcare reform legislation comes a new emphasis on Healthcare Information Technology (HIT), which is expected to redefine the way information is stored, evaluated and transmitted throughout the medical community. Instead of using electronic medical records (EMRs), healthcare providers will be transitioning to electronic health records (EHRs). EHRs will take the quantitative data from a standard digital health record and make it accessible to a broad range of public and private entities. Many fear that this could compromise patient privacy.

Until recently, the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) by medical offices wasn’t seen as a threat to patient privacy. This is because an EMR is generally used by only one organization, as a replacement for a paper chart. While the record exists on a computer, it is no less secure than paper medical charts, and some would argue that it is even more secure. Professional document scanning companies and document scanning software have made it possible for healthcare facilities to access digital charts with ease. However, an EHR is an aggregate electronic health record that is gathered cumulatively and available across multiple platforms. Here, HIPAA rules will be a major consideration in ensuring privacy and security of patient information.

Individual medical offices need not be concerned about how the industry wide adoption of EHR systems will impact their individual records. Each practitioner will only be responsible for their own EMRs. This will require four types of security measures are taken: physical security of computers, user security for the patient database, system security to prevent a hard drive crash and network security to prevent hackers. As long as each of these four areas is addressed, the risk of compromising patient data is very minimal.

Most professional document scanning companies work with many medical practitioners and will make sure patient data is indexed and stored securely.

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As more companies start to use document scanning software on their own; they are finding it to be a huge drain on resources and complicated set-up for untrained office staff.

Here are three reasons why you should consider a professional document scanning service instead:

Less Expensive. Practically every law firm or medical practice will approach the “paperless” project by purchasing a document scanner. However these machines can generally scan only scan 1,000 pages per day. Purchasing a high volume scanner will be a lot more expensive, and the people in charge of the project must be paid to pull staples, archive documents, index the scanned documents and run the scanner. A professional document scanning company will base their price on a lower price-per-page which means the total price will be based on the number of converted documents instead of the hours spent on the project.

Faster turnaround. Since document scanning is relatively new, it is difficult for companies to gauge the amount of time it should take employees to finish the operation. Instead of letting the project drag on forever, a document scanning service will responsibly deliver results in a pre-determined timeframe. Since they are not paid by the hour, the job will be completed as quickly as possible and it will be done right.

Better Quality. Outsourced document scanning means that a team of experienced professionals will personally manage the project. They will ensure that the image quality and accuracy of data are given the utmost attention.

Businesses should think twice before investing a lot of time, resources and energy in a document scanning project. A team of professionals will make the job a lot more cost-effective and quick.

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