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.
Paper documents must be arranged systematically to be compatible with the electronic medical records software in current use by the health care facility. Protocols for how to name the electronic files and where to save them for later retrieval must be established. These steps are critical to having retrievable medical records.
Health care providers absolutely need a qualified, trusted and secure document scanning service. There are years worth of paper files with paper clips, post its and staples that have to be removed before the documents are scanned. There can also be X rays that need to be converted into electronic images, which requires a special type of scanner.
The health care providers must maintain the chain of command of records in order to be compliant with HIPAA regulations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is referred to as HIPAA. The purpose of HIPAA is to ensure the privacy of health information. Every time records change hands there is a risk of breaching this privacy.
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.
Paper documents must be arranged systematically to be compatible with the electronic medical records software in current use by the health care facility. Protocols for how to name the electronic files and where to save them for later retrieval must be established. These steps are critical to having retrievable medical records.
Health care providers absolutely need a qualified, trusted and secure document scanning service. There are years worth of paper files with paper clips, post its and staples that have to be removed before the documents are scanned. There can also be X rays that need to be converted into electronic images, which requires a special type of scanner.
The health care providers must maintain the chain of command of records in order to be compliant with HIPAA regulations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is referred to as HIPAA. The purpose of HIPAA is to ensure the privacy of health information. Every time records change hands there is a risk of breaching this privacy.
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 Affordable Healthcare paper scanning services he recommends you check out www.docufree.com.
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