In 2009 the Federal government passed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act also known as HITECH. This law mandates that health care records must be kept electronically. This created a tremendous burden on the health care industry, with hospitals and physicians having many past years of paper records. To be compliant with this law health care providers must convert all paper documents into electronic files. Companies that provide medical document scanning services were formed to fill this need.
Hospitals and all other facilities serving patients have literally tons of paper medical records. To convert all these paper records to electronic files is no easy task. It requires careful planning and a special set of technical skills. For the files to be retrievable there must be naming protocols and an organized filing system. The electronic files must be retrievable for future patient care.
Paper documents must be arranged systematically to be compatible with the electronic medical records software in current use by the health care facility. Protocols for how to name the electronic files and where to save them for later retrieval must be established. These steps are critical to having retrievable medical records.
Health care providers absolutely need a qualified, trusted and secure document scanning service. There are years worth of paper files with paper clips, post its and staples that have to be removed before the documents are scanned. There can also be X rays that need to be converted into electronic images, which requires a special type of scanner.
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.
Once all the hard copy documents have been scanned, the service is left with a mountain of paper that must be securely destroyed or securely stored. The decision to shred or store must be made before the documents are scanned. Scanned documents are stored electronically, but if the health care provider wants to store paper documents there will be an ongoing expense for this service also.
Services to scan documents are necessary. The physician or hospital should not attempt to hire temporary workers and purchase their own equipment. Services have the skill set for thorough and secure execution of this mandate. Doctors and hospitals do not possess this required skills or equipment.
Hospitals and all other facilities serving patients have literally tons of paper medical records. To convert all these paper records to electronic files is no easy task. It requires careful planning and a special set of technical skills. For the files to be retrievable there must be naming protocols and an organized filing system. The electronic files must be retrievable for future patient care.
Paper documents must be arranged systematically to be compatible with the electronic medical records software in current use by the health care facility. Protocols for how to name the electronic files and where to save them for later retrieval must be established. These steps are critical to having retrievable medical records.
Health care providers absolutely need a qualified, trusted and secure document scanning service. There are years worth of paper files with paper clips, post its and staples that have to be removed before the documents are scanned. There can also be X rays that need to be converted into electronic images, which requires a special type of scanner.
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.
Once all the hard copy documents have been scanned, the service is left with a mountain of paper that must be securely destroyed or securely stored. The decision to shred or store must be made before the documents are scanned. Scanned documents are stored electronically, but if the health care provider wants to store paper documents there will be an ongoing expense for this service also.
Services to scan documents are necessary. The physician or hospital should not attempt to hire temporary workers and purchase their own equipment. Services have the skill set for thorough and secure execution of this mandate. Doctors and hospitals do not possess this required skills or equipment.
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 PCI Certified paper scanning management he recommends you check out www.docufree.com.
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