ECM Provides Coding Bridge For Hybrid Medical Records

By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

Electronic document management software allows Tufts Medical Center to cut outsourced coding costs by more than 50% by providing coders with remote access to scanned physician notes.

Most healthcare facilities currently maintain a "hybrid" medical records system. In other words, they have fully or partially implemented an EMR (or several EMRs) in some areas of the hospital, but other areas or applications still rely on paper processes. Tufts Medical Center, an academic medical facility in Boston with two full-service teaching hospitals and 415 licensed beds, is no exception to this rule. Tufts currently leverages a Siemens Soarian Clinicals EMR for lab and clinical reports, but the facility's inpatient physician notes and orders are still being completed in paper form. This hybrid record-keeping environment can create some significant challenges, particularly in the areas of coding and billing for services.