Building a Business Case for Records Consolidation – I
Over time patient records become fragmented due to changes in technology, leadership, processes, and government regulations. Records are stored in multiple locations, sometimes with multiple vendors, and exist in multiple formats such as microfilm, paper, and electronic files. This presents many challenges for healthcare facilities. Coming up with a solution can be difficult, and articulating…
Read the full article-
Article
Building a Business Case for Records Consolidation – II
Part one of this article outlined the initial steps in building a business case for records consolidation. Recognizing a problem and recommending a solution may seem like very basic steps. However, the key is being able to articulate those in a meaningful way to other decision makers. The next steps illustrate how to take those…
-
Article
MoHIMA 2012 Recap
As a way to continue supporting the HIM community, EDCO team members often speak at national and State Health Information Management Association (HIMA) annual meetings and conventions. Last week, ten-year veteran Blake Sawyer, Senior Sales Engineer for EDCO Health Information Solutions, addressed the attendees at the MoHIMA Annual Meeting. This session’s topic was “Making your Electronic Health Record…
-
Article
Why is scanning so hard?
At a recent regional association meeting, a group of health information management directors were asked, “How many of you operate in a fully electronic environment?” Surprisingly, the majority raised their hand. When pressed further with the question “Does that include all inpatient, outpatient, and emergency charts?” hands started to drop and the discussion switched to:…
-
Article
The Big Bang Effect on Paper Records
The “Big Bang” Effect on Paper Records In the transition to the electronic medical record (EMR) environment, hospitals are faced with two primary choices for implementation, a phased in or big bang approach. One relevant topic in both situations is what will happen to the remaining paper documentation, and how quickly? Recently, an EDCO® Health…
-
Article
Ten Must Haves When Storing Your Records
10. A highly secure HIPAA compliant facility – with staff specially trained in managing personal health information. 9. An active storage and destruction plan – to help reduce your storage costs over time. 8. A regulated, temperature controlled environment – to maintain the quality of your documents over time. 7. Records…
-
Article
Leave a Legacy in the HIM Department, Not Paper – Part II
Unconsolidated patient records create some of the biggest challenges for health information management (HIM) professionals because they force HIM departments to hold multiple operational processes to access patient records. Part I of this article reviewed past decisions made by the HIM department that create current and future challenges. By marrying existing legacy records into a…
-
Article
Leave a Legacy in the HIM Department, Not Paper – Part I
Unconsolidated patient records create some of the biggest challenges for health information management (HIM) professionals. These records are stored in multiple places and exist in multiple formats (both physical and electronic), and force HIM departments to hold multiple operational processes to access patient records. As a result, adverse effects ripple through the healthcare facility, put…
-
Article
The Future of Medical Record Scanning
Scanning in the health information management (HIM) department can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. Staffing challenges, a continual backlog, and delays in downstream processes due to scanning issues certainly can cause a headache; one, in many cases, that feels never ending. These headaches, regulations, and risks have caused many HIM departments to rethink internal…
-
Article
Do Your HIM Scanning Dashboards Measure Up?
You know what they say; you can’t manage what you don’t measure. As healthcare facilities become less reliant on paper, more records are processed electronically. For some HIM leaders, this lack of paper can feel like a lack of control. Instead of seeing the workload of a staff member by the stack in front of…
-
Article
The Effects of Scanning with Intelligent Technology on FTE Count
By scanning more efficiently, HIM departments can free up full time equivalents’ (FTEs) time to focus on more critical initiatives. Unfortunately, many HIM departments are engaged in scanning processes without clear benchmarks to measure success and make the best use of FTEs. Healthcare facilities using intelligent technology with best practice workflow should average 1.5 FTEs per million images scanned per year.
