Case Study: Easily Customized Fortis Document Management Works Cost-Saving Wonders At Community Hospital

Marshall County Hospital has been providing healthcare to Benton, Kentucky, and the surrounding area since 1964. The hospital's mission is to provide primary and specialty services with high-quality care, concern, dedication, and value in a costeffective manner. Keeping costs under control while maintaining clinical excellence requires a strong collaborative effort between the administrative and medical staff. As part of planning for a new facility, which opened on March 8, 2009, Marshall County Hospital incorporated document management into their technology mix to automate administrative processes and reduce the need for storage space.

"In the old building, we had filing cabinets everywhere full of paper. Each time we were asked for a copy of a bill, it would take several minutes to find it," said Patrick Waters, director of Information Technologies for the hospital. "I knew there was a better way. I started looking at which document management system would be the best fit for us. The main goal was to save space and promote better organization in the new facility."

Marshall County Hospital chose Fortis document management software because it was easy to customize. "With other systems we looked at, you got a generic set of document types and databases, and you were stuck with them," Waters said. "With Fortis it was easy to create a system that met the hospital's specific needs."

The software was implemented by KeeFORCE, a systems integrator based in Paducah, KY. "KeeFORCE has been great. They're very knowledgeable. They were able to ask the right questions to help define our document types correctly and make sure the initial set up was done correctly," Waters said. He estimates that it took less than two months from the time they started talking with KeeFORCE to initial training for employees.