According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, the adoption of electronic medical records has been going up steadily across the world. The advancement of tech and digital solutions has made that switch possible, also contributing to patient service improvements.
If you’re still reliant on traditional charts in your medical facility, it may be time to start planning an upgrade. Patient chart scanning is the first part of the process.
To scan all of these documents successfully, you will have to adhere to some best practices. Alternatively, opting for some professional assistance in terms of medical record scanning can give you excellent results and a rapid database setup.
Rely on Standardization Protocols
We have previously discussed the basics of successful medical record scanning.This time around, we’ll take a deeper look at more specific steps that can ensure the uniformity and usability of the outcome.
When it comes to patient chart scanning, you will first need to review the manner in which information about medical histories has been entered.
Different medical professionals may rely on specific protocols and codes in line with their area of specialization. When such discrepancies occur, however, it can be challenging to enter all of the information within the database (making it easy to retrieve later on).
Before scanning, do come up with standardization procedures so that all patient charts follow the same protocol. If necessary, redo the documents that do not comply with such requirements. Otherwise, you’ll need to go through thorough editing and modification of the files after they get added to the archive.
Come Up with an Indexing Procedure for Patient Chart Scanning
The indexing of patient charts is an important part of the medical record scanning process.
Indexing records involves a couple of distinct steps.
For a start, you have to sort charts by type or department (depending on the methodology that you’re going to use for retrieval later on).
Also, validate the names and other identifiers of patients on all of the documents. While this may seem like a tedious process, the prep work can save you a lot of time later on. Not only that, it will reduce the risk of costly errors.
Finally, once the documents are scanned and entered into your digital archive, do a final verification. After you make sure all information is accurate and properly indexed, you can move on to securing the paper-based records or going through appropriate destruction.
Consider Additional Documents That May Have to Be Scanned
Patient chart scanning often involves lots of support documents and additional information you will need to enter into the database.
Again, determine what kinds of records and papers you will have to handle as a part of the digitization.
Often, you will have progress reports, medical billing forms, health insurance claim forms, explanation of benefits and insurance cards that will need to be added alongside the charts in a patient dossier.
If you have such a selection of different documents to scan, do consider professional assistance. Professionals that specialize in the field of medical record scanning possess the right equipment and can visit your location for a faster and more effective process. Not only that, they have the experience and the background knowledge to handle the entire documentation in a quick, effective and accurate way.
Quality Control
While patient chart scanning is taking place, you have to organize a quality control and assurance process.
If you hire professionals for the job, they’ll typically handle this task for you.
Still, it’s a good idea to double check. The reputation and operations inside your healthcare facility are heavily dependent on a complete transfer of information.
Count the total number of documents scanned and make sure it matches the number of paper-based patient charts. Also, you will need to count the individual pages in each record to be certain all of those have been scanned.
Determine at least four index fields in each of the medical records and again – check that information upon the completion of the digitization. We can’t stress enough the importance of this process. Medical facilities handle sensitive information pertaining to the lives and wellbeing of patients. As a result, a quality compromise is simply unacceptable.
Privacy Concerns
Sending records out to a third party can be risky as you could potentially be committing a HIPAA violation.
Privacy is the final essential to keep in mind during the scanning process.
To comply with all related laws, do find a company that can visit your premises and complete the digitization process there.
Companies like Scan N More offer on-site, rapid scanning services. We are HIPAA certified, which means there’s whatsoever no risk of committing a privacy violation by hiring us for medical record scanning. All our staff members are properly trained on legislative compliance and data safety, helping you rest assured that patient records are in the right hands.