Health care providers have no choice in the matter, they are mandated by law to convert paper medical records to electronic files. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, also known as HITECH, makes electronic records a requirement. The mandate has caused considerable grief among health care facilities. Thankfully, companies have been formed that provide medical document scanning services to achieve this daunting transition.
Hospitals and other health care facilities have enormous amounts of paper records from years past. The task to convert all these paper documents to electronic files is almost unimaginable. The job goes beyond passing documents through a scanner. People doing this work must have an appreciation of the filing system and how to name and save the electronic files. Unless there is an organized system, files cannot be retrieved.
The process involves organizing the paper documents systematically before scanning them. As documents are scanned the must be named and saved in keeping with protocols established that will make the electronic files easy to access and retrieve. If electronic files are not retrievable, they are virtually useless.
The companies that provide these services must be qualified and trusted to securely perform the job. Someone has to take the time to remove staples and paper clips and organize the paper documents before they can be scanned. The patient records may include X rays, which also need to be converted to electronic.
The health care providers must maintain the chain of command of records in order to be compliant with HIPAA regulations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is referred to as HIPAA. The purpose of HIPAA is to ensure the privacy of health information. Every time records change hands there is a risk of breaching this privacy.
After the documents have been scanned, there is still a mountain of paper to handle. Some facilities opt for storing the paper documents, which will be an ongoing expense. The other option is to securely shred the paper. Secure shredding is another service these companies provide. There is a long list of tasks associated with converting the paper documents to electronic files. There is nothing simple about this process.
These companies are providing a very necessary services. Hospitals are ill equipped to do this work, and hiring temporary employees is a plan fraught with the probability of errors and mishandling. A staff trained and dedicated to converting paper documents is the best way to approach the requirement for electronic patient records.
Hospitals and other health care facilities have enormous amounts of paper records from years past. The task to convert all these paper documents to electronic files is almost unimaginable. The job goes beyond passing documents through a scanner. People doing this work must have an appreciation of the filing system and how to name and save the electronic files. Unless there is an organized system, files cannot be retrieved.
The process involves organizing the paper documents systematically before scanning them. As documents are scanned the must be named and saved in keeping with protocols established that will make the electronic files easy to access and retrieve. If electronic files are not retrievable, they are virtually useless.
The companies that provide these services must be qualified and trusted to securely perform the job. Someone has to take the time to remove staples and paper clips and organize the paper documents before they can be scanned. The patient records may include X rays, which also need to be converted to electronic.
The health care providers must maintain the chain of command of records in order to be compliant with HIPAA regulations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is referred to as HIPAA. The purpose of HIPAA is to ensure the privacy of health information. Every time records change hands there is a risk of breaching this privacy.
After the documents have been scanned, there is still a mountain of paper to handle. Some facilities opt for storing the paper documents, which will be an ongoing expense. The other option is to securely shred the paper. Secure shredding is another service these companies provide. There is a long list of tasks associated with converting the paper documents to electronic files. There is nothing simple about this process.
These companies are providing a very necessary services. Hospitals are ill equipped to do this work, and hiring temporary employees is a plan fraught with the probability of errors and mishandling. A staff trained and dedicated to converting paper documents is the best way to approach the requirement for electronic patient records.
About the Author:
Loris F. Anders is an office management specialist focused on optimizing workflow processes in document management. If you would like to learn more about HIPAA compliant document scanning management he recommends you check out www.docufree.com.
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