GFI Software found, in a 2012 study, that of the 1,000 office workers they surveyed, nearly half (49 percent) admitted they had read a private fax intended for someone else. When it comes to PHI, security is the number one priority, but how can providers secure information while it’s being sent between facilities?
The Mental Health Center of Denver is a nonprofit community mental health organization. The facility employs more than 600 professionals and offers a wide array of mental health services. For the Mental Health Center of Denver, insecure faxes were not an option when it came to patients’ sensitive information.
When the Mental Health Center of Denver replaced fax with a cloud-based direct messaging solution, it was able to go green, reduce costs, and improve security.
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GFI Software found, in a 2012 study, that of the 1,000 office workers they surveyed, nearly half (49 percent) admitted they had read a private fax intended for someone else. When it comes to PHI, security is the number one priority, but how can providers secure information while it’s being sent between facilities?
The Mental Health Center of Denver is a nonprofit community mental health organization. The facility employs more than 600 professionals and offers a wide array of mental health services. For the Mental Health Center of Denver, insecure faxes were not an option when it came to patients’ sensitive information.
The Mental Health Center of Denver imports information from a variety of sources (e.g. faxes, CDs, USB drives, encrypted emails, etc.) into its EMR. Because the information comes in so many forms, and security is a priority, Mary Peelen, the director of health information systems management, sought a direct messaging solution to ease the burden of document management.
Many Sources Cause Uploading Nightmare
The Mental Health Center of Denver receives several requests for information every day from other community mental health centers and hospitals, as well as attorneys, courts, and regulatory ![]()
entities. To send this information, staff usually would print a hard copy of the information from the record or copy paper files. Often external requests require a combination of electronic and paper records. And once compiled, all of these documents are either mailed or faxed.
This process, from receiving the request to sending the prepared documents, took the staff 20 to 30 minutes for each request averaging about 60 pages. Larger sets of documents, often with more than 150 pages, could take 1 to 2 hours to prepare.
Taking multiple sources of data and integrating them into an EMR also typically involves scanning paper and uploading electronic files. The Mental Health Center of Denver sought a solution that would directly upload received information into the EMR, but some of the technology formats (CDs, USB drives) did not easily integrate into the system. The facility needed a solution that could electronically bundle and securely transmit and receive all types of file formats, including discrete data housed in the EMR.
“A constant challenge in healthcare, and especially in behavioral health, is keeping information protected and secure,” says Peelen. “This becomes even more important when it comes to exchanging information electronically. Paper records run the risk of being seen by anyone; there is no way to tell who is on the receiving end of a fax.”
A Direct Messaging Solution
To address these challenges, the Mental Health Center of Denver chose Inofile’s Kno2, a cloud-based clinical document exchange platform. This solution incorporates all of the common sources and formats for document exchange, such as scan and fax, and integrates them into a direct messaging application for exchange among healthcare providers within a community.
With this application, the medical records staff can create a folder of the documents from the EMR and include paper documents, which can be scanned directly into the folder. Once this is complete, the entire folder can be sent through Kno2 directly to the requester’s Direct Address mailbox.
For example, if another organization requests a patient’s history, staff first search for the documents requested — they are either already created in the EMR, scanned into the EMR, or on paper. Most of the records at the Mental Health Center of Denver are part of the EMR, but some of the older files are still hard copies. Next, staff scans any paper records and compiles all electronic ones into a digital folder using the Inofile Kno2 software. Within this folder, documents can be sorted by date, and the program automatically counts the pages. The entire folder is then ready to be sent directly to the requester.
Secure Communication Satisfies MU
Since integrating Inofile’s Kno2 software, the Mental Health Center of Denver has significantly reduced the amount of time it dedicates to document preparation. Moreover, the provider has reaped the benefits of decreased copying and mailing costs. As an added reward, when documents are sent, an audit trail automatically tracks sent, received, and read messages.
Kno2 captures information and converts it to a secure and standard format that satisfies current healthcare regulations such as Meaningful Use Stage 2, which requires providers to “Protect electronic health information created or maintained by the certified EHR technology (CEHRT) through the implementation of appropriate technical capabilities.” Staff can view, send, receive, manage, and upload content through a single interface.
Perhaps most importantly, this solution provides a secure and protected system for document exchange with external providers. Direct messaging sends information only to known users, thereby making it secure for sensitive patient documents. The Kno2 software also converts incoming files to whatever format the receiver needs, eliminating the need for the sender to make any changes to formats or workflow.
Finally, since Inofile’s solution is cloud-based, it increases the security of stored information. Data is encrypted at rest as well as during exchange between direct messaging users. Also, the cloud allows the staff at the Mental Health Center of Denver to easily set up connections with their partners once a direct address is established. In addition, it minimizes cost for each organization, since the price of infrastructure is shared with all users.
Currently, the Mental Health Center of Denver sends many of its documents directly from the EMR, but the organization has plans to pair Inofile’s Kno2 solution with Kodak Alaris scanners for sending paper files as well. The provider is also trying to encourage adoption and use of direct messaging throughout the region.
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“We are asking other community mental health centers and hospitals to look at Inofile Kno2 as a direct messaging system to send requested information directly to the Mental Health Center of Denver,” says Peelen. “Receipt of documents through Kno2 technology would allow our medical records staff to upload the content and directly electronically route it to the EMR.”
Benefits of using this technology to communicate with more facilities would include increased security, since the risk of sending faxes to unknown recipients would be eliminated. It also would ease the process of receiving information and allow more timely filing of records — which benefits providers who could then view the requested health information in the EMR and improve the quality of care they provide their patients.
GFI Software found, in a 2012 study, that of the 1,000 office workers they surveyed, nearly half (49 percent) admitted they had read a private fax intended for someone else. When it comes to PHI, security is the number one priority, but how can providers secure information while it’s being sent between facilities?
entities. To send this information, staff usually would print a hard copy of the information from the record or copy paper files. Often external requests require a combination of electronic and paper records. And once compiled, all of these documents are either mailed or faxed.
“We are asking other community mental health centers and hospitals to look at Inofile Kno2 as a direct messaging system to send requested information directly to the Mental Health Center of Denver,” says Peelen. “Receipt of documents through Kno2 technology would allow our medical records staff to upload the content and directly electronically route it to the EMR.”
