Taming The Paper Dragon In Healthcare
Last month, I moderated a panel discussion at AIIM Expo 2010 (a leading information management trade show) on the value of electronic document management in the healthcare industry. Document imaging and management technologies are relatively mature, but many healthcare facilities are still largely paper-based. Moreover, many believe that simply implementing EMR or EHR packages (initiatives in which most hospitals are currently engaged due to ARRA [The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act]) is all that’s required to decrease their dependency on paper. This misconception is why I felt this topic was such an important one to tackle at a venue like the AIIM Expo. My panelists included executives from document scanner manufacturers, traditional document imaging and management software houses, records management companies, and business process outsourcing firms. Each provided different, and compelling, reasons for why basic electronic document management systems and services are invaluable to the entire healthcare enterprise.
ECM: A Better Way To Manage Unstructured Content
Susan deCathelineau, healthcare solutions manager for Hyland Software, set the stage by outlining the different types of content most healthcare facilities need to manage.
“Healthcare-related content falls into one of two categories — structured (data in fields and columns like a patient’s social security number or date of birth) or unstructured (paper, forms, faxes, videos, and clinical images). When it comes to creating a full EHR, about 75% of the content is structured, and 25% is unstructured.
Obviously, if a healthcare provider only buys technology that manages the structured content, such as an EHR platform, it’s doing a disservice to those who have to use it. To solve this problem, most ECM software products offer all the capabilities needed to manage that other 25%.”
This concept was illustrated by a case study I recently wrote on Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network (ADMHN). The story, titled Document Scanning Makes An EMR Whole, illustrates how implementing an EMR system wasn’t enough to complete the electronic record for patients. Paper transfer records were often submitted from other facilities and paper was also required to obtain physician signatures. Only by implementing a document imaging system and integrating it with the EMR was ADMHN able to create a complete electronic record. You can read the entire story here.
ADMHN implemented an in-house document imaging and management, but Greg Lusch, director of healthcare business development at ibml, outlined how some healthcare facilities may benefit more by outsourcing document conversion tasks to a third party provider.
“By outsourcing the document scanning of medical records and data extraction of key clinical information, providers have the opportunity to integrate clinical information with the EHR. Another service that is currently outsourced extensively in healthcare is medical records release of information (ROI). This process, which authorizes, tracks, and records submission of medical records to third parties (e.g. payers, attorneys and regulatory agencies), can also be tied to the scanning of medical records, since some service providers scan records as part of the ROI process.”
For more on the pros and cons of outsourcing document conversion services, read the article Document Outsourcing In Healthcare.
ECM Provides Enterprisewide WOorkflow Benefits
In addition to providing a way to manage unstructured content, document imaging and other ECM (enterprise content management) technologies also offer more sophisticated workflow capabilities than today’s EHR systems. This was point was hammered home by Lauren Bellon, VP of healthcare solutions and strategy at Perceptive Software.
“Traditional ECM systems transcend the document capture and management features generally incorporated in EHR and HIM (health information management) systems. Automated workflow — the ability to direct content to the appropriate staff — can help staff work more efficiently. Whether on paper or electronic, intelligently pushing content forward to the appropriate personnel simply speeds processes.”
deCathelineau closed by illustrating how a document management system can benefit a healthcare facility in several departments throughout the enterprise — not just in the HIM department.
“When we talk about how ECM is involved with the EHR and stimulus dollars, the focus is almost solely on one part of the healthcare organization — clinical. This involves departments that primarily deal with patient information. But, there are several more types of information in other departments — from human resources to billing. Because each of these areas has structured paper-driven processes, each has the potential to benefit from ECM.”
For more information on how document management can benefit a variety of healthcare initiatives read the article, ECM’s Role In EHR Meaningful Use.
Ken Congdon is Editor In Chief of Health IT Outcomes. He can be reached at ken.congdon@jamesonpublishing.com.