In 2009 the Federal government passed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act also known as HITECH. This law mandates that health care records must be kept electronically. This created a tremendous burden on the health care industry, with hospitals and physicians having many past years of paper records. To be compliant with this law health care providers must convert all paper documents into electronic files. Companies that provide medical document scanning services were formed to fill this need.
Doctors, hospitals and clinics literally have rooms of paper records that need to be scanned and converted into electronic records. Careful planning and structure are needed for the process. Otherwise health care providers can end up with electronic garbage rather than electronic medical records.
The process involves organizing the paper documents systematically before scanning them. As documents are scanned the must be named and saved in keeping with protocols established that will make the electronic files easy to access and retrieve. If electronic files are not retrievable, they are virtually useless.
The companies that provide these services must be qualified and trusted to securely perform the job. Someone has to take the time to remove staples and paper clips and organize the paper documents before they can be scanned. The patient records may include X rays, which also need to be converted to electronic.
In addition to these challenges, health care providers must be able to prove that the chain of custody of the records during the scanning process has been completely HIPAA compliant. HIPAA is the acronym for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. You would not know it from the name or the acronym, but HIPAA is all about keeping patient health care information private.
After the hard copies have been converted to electronic files, the question of how to dispose of the paper documents still remains. Some physicians choose to store the paper documents, but that does present an ongoing expense. If the records are to be disposed of, this too must be in accordance with HIPAA. Secure shredding is another service offered by these companies.
The companies that provide scanning services are indispensable. Hospitals and other facilities are smart to outsource the work. The scanning companies will have employees trained to do the job correctly and in keeping with HIPAA and HITECH regulations.
Doctors, hospitals and clinics literally have rooms of paper records that need to be scanned and converted into electronic records. Careful planning and structure are needed for the process. Otherwise health care providers can end up with electronic garbage rather than electronic medical records.
The process involves organizing the paper documents systematically before scanning them. As documents are scanned the must be named and saved in keeping with protocols established that will make the electronic files easy to access and retrieve. If electronic files are not retrievable, they are virtually useless.
The companies that provide these services must be qualified and trusted to securely perform the job. Someone has to take the time to remove staples and paper clips and organize the paper documents before they can be scanned. The patient records may include X rays, which also need to be converted to electronic.
In addition to these challenges, health care providers must be able to prove that the chain of custody of the records during the scanning process has been completely HIPAA compliant. HIPAA is the acronym for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. You would not know it from the name or the acronym, but HIPAA is all about keeping patient health care information private.
After the hard copies have been converted to electronic files, the question of how to dispose of the paper documents still remains. Some physicians choose to store the paper documents, but that does present an ongoing expense. If the records are to be disposed of, this too must be in accordance with HIPAA. Secure shredding is another service offered by these companies.
The companies that provide scanning services are indispensable. Hospitals and other facilities are smart to outsource the work. The scanning companies will have employees trained to do the job correctly and in keeping with HIPAA and HITECH regulations.
About the Author:
Loris F. Anders is an office management specialist focused on optimizing workflow processes in document management. If you would like to learn more about HIPAA compliant cloud paper management he recommends you check out www.docufree.com.
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