5 Reasons Why Scanning Medical Records Is So Important
As more hospitals, medical offices and other health care purveyors consider the advantages of scanning medical records, there is a groundswell of evidence underscoring this document management method is a smart move. Here we’ve compiled some of the top reasons why scanning medical records can be a boon to the reputation, profitability, and sustainability of your organization.
Scanning Medical Records Can:
- Reduce costs: From expenses associated with labor-intensive processes like copying, searching, faxing, and filing paper medical records to the expense of transporting and storing all those medical record files (and backup copies thereof), this alternative digitized process saves money across the board. An office can even save on equipment, repair, maintenance and technology costs.
- Satisfy compliance issues: The healthcare and medical industry is under tremendous pressure to be wholly HIPAA compliant across the many facets of medial document management, especially when it comes to the privacy and security of personal information contained in patient health records. Scanning medical records can increase security related to maintaining the integrity of the data itself, and how the files - originals and any backups - are accessed, shared and stored. This will mitigate problematic issues that could lead to lawsuits, litigation, and penalties for non-compliance.
- Access critical information quickly: As volumes of medical records increase and the workflow intensifies as organizations strive to be as efficient and competitive as possible, it is important to locate and query medical records quickly – especially when time is of the essence in a patient emergency situation. Scanning medical records puts the information in a single, highly searchable place where those who need to access that critical information can easily do so and then identify the data of interest in short order.
- Maximize office space: Extra square footage is often hard to find in a medical office as paper medical record filing systems dominate the space…not to mention the copiers and fax machines needed to work with such hard copy documents. Scanning greatly reduces the physical footprint required for document management, freeing up the real estate for other interests – perhaps those that can cultivate additional operational revenue rather than this one commonly classified as an expense.
- Improve Customer Perception and Business Reputation: Business partners and customers, alike, perceive offices where technology has replaced paper or traditional processes as more advanced, efficient and forward-thinking. They may also feel - and actually get - better service because the staff is more available to help given the operational efficiencies inherent with digital document management. Overall, this higher level of efficiency and service along with enhanced marketplace perceptions can increase reputation and become a competitive advantage.
In Summary
The key points in this blog post are:
- Scanning medical records offers a significant set of advantages over traditional paper medical records.
- Businesses can reduce costs related to labor, space, and equipment while maximizing their space available for revenue-producing activities.
- Information can be accessed quickly while compliance issues are easier to address.
- Clients feel as though they are working with a better company when they see technology in place and have more personal contact with staff.
Fig Gungor is CEO of OneSource Document Management, a New York based company that offers a broad range of customized copy and scanning services that translate into a significant savings for insurance companies, hospitals and large medical facilities.