Healthcare reform is on everyone's mind. Making Paper Easy is proud to present the fourth in a four-part series of articles addressing the benefits and challenges of making the vision of well-implemented digital patient record a reality.

The process of converting paper documents into electronic images is relatively easy. Scanners can be placed virtually anywhere on your network—nurse’sstations, admissions counters, and the mailroom. You can have a few scanners at central locations, or you can have many scanners scattered throughout your organization. Or a mix of the two.

Scan it.

In any case, the paper passes through a scanner. The scanners available today make it easy to capture high-quality images. Some (like Kodak Scanners) allow you to scan batches of mixed types and sizes of documents to cut down on presorting. The scanner sends the images to one or another software application for quality control and indexing as necessary. The paper can be warehoused and later disposed of according to prevailing regulations.

Index it.

A variety of options are available for indexing the incoming document images according to their type. Preprinted barcodes, which are used in many hospitals to identify blood samples, medications, and requisitions associated with a specific patient, can also be applied to documents and read within the digital document environment. Specific information on a form or the entire content can be converted to text-searchable formats in an automated process making the data instantly available to the clinical staff.

Share it.

Once the indexing step is done, the document images can be accessed on wired or wireless devices by the parties who need to see them as they come in. The information can be housed and shared using the existing hospital infrastructure and information system. The host software can collect related documents into virtual file folders that take the place of paper charts. Remember, because the patient record is online, multiple people can refer to the same report at the same time.

Secure it.

Finally, backup copies of all document images can be made on off-site servers and removable media automatically, protecting you and your patients from loss or an onsite disaster such as fire, flooding, or a hurricane. The detailed documentation is also vital should the hospital get involved in a law suit. Furthermore, you have the option of copying electronic document imaging to microfilm for near-permanent archival storage.

Move into the future with confidence from the ER to the Boardroom.

As noted earlier, an intelligently indexed database of document images should be easy to integrate with patient information systems yet to come. Already, many radiology groups have adapted systems that build association between patient data and diagnostic images, managing the two types of information as one entity. The time is getting closer to when this kind of access to meaningful patient information rolls out to be on line in practices and hospitals everywhere. By paving the way with document imaging, you can enjoy clinical benefits and cost savings today, while shortening your implementation of an EMR infrastructure when that day arrives.

i/oTrak is committed to making paper easier. We are a Kodak Authorized Info & Photo Scanning Equipment Reseller and Document Conversion Center. We offer a range of back-office services to help businesses of all sizes with their document needs, including E-Z Scan, E-Z Store, E-Z Shred, and E-Z Send. For a complete copy of Petra Beck's article featured in this series, click here.