Managing patient, legal and financial documents for a medical facility can be a monumental task. Everything must be classified and stored properly and every instance of access should be recorded. Many healthcare organizations are switching to electronic document management systems as technology improves because it offers unique capabilities.
How Does Healthcare Document Management Work?
Health care documents can come in any medium, such as text, video or pictures. They can be anything from emails to invoices. The traditional document handling process relies on physical paperwork and storage, costing health care facilities up to $210 billion yearly due to inefficiency and hidden expenses. For example, manually filling out, storing and retrieving patient information takes a long time and requires paper and storage space.
The method a facility uses to classify and handle documents is known as document management. While health care professionals have traditionally stored documents in something like a filing cabinet, there are much more efficient digital alternatives. An electronic document management system in health care utilizes technology to process, store and transfer paperwork.
A management system’s primary function is archival — it utilizes complex search and storage functions for enhanced classification. Electronic systems hold value because they’re much more accessible than other methods and streamlines the clerical process for health care professionals.
Applications of a Documentation Management Systems
A document management system in health care can be used in several ways — primarily processing, storage and retrieval. Many health care facilities already rely on digital tools for coordination and collaboration, so it’s essentially just another system they can integrate into their workflow.
There are three primary applications for document management systems in health care:
- Processing: Healthcare workers routinely create and classify documents. With an electronic document management system, they can organize everything digitally and even scan and upload physical paperwork.
- Storage: Instead of storing information in filing cabinets in a room, everything is kept in a database. It is accessible on multiple devices because it’s not bound to a physical location.
- Retrieval: Retrieving paperwork for updates or referencing is common in the health care industry. The applications of a document management system include instant retrieval since its software-based.
Processing, storing and retrieving documents can be a time-consuming process. A management system’s purpose is to overhaul and modernize the traditional method.
The Necessity of Healthcare Document Management
While a document management system is a relatively simple addition to a health care facility, it can provide many benefits. It offers increased scalability, better compliance, efficiency and more accuracy.
1. Scalability
The traditional process relies on physical resources and space. If a health care facility requires additional room whenever it has excess documentation, it could hinder employee productivity and disrupt workflows. A software solution provides seemingly endless storage capabilities because everything can transfer to separate platforms.
Since medical professionals can use an electronic management system to scale their capacity up or down whenever needed, it provides greater scalability. It offers flexibility, resulting in a simplified storage and retrieval process.
2. Compliance
There are many legal considerations health care facilities must make when processing, storing, transferring and accessing documents. For example, HIPAA dictates that health care facilities must retain records for six years at a minimum or face regulatory penalties.
Improper online security can result in noncompliance. In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights received reports of 63 data breaches affecting over 500 documents in March 2023 alone — nearly a 50% increase from the previous month. These breaches were caused by various websites intending to obtain analytics.
A document management system for health care can keep documents behind authorization, two-factor authentication and various security protocols to secure them. Since access can be limited only to individuals who require it, records remain protected from being misplaced, improperly edited or lost.
3. Automation
An electronic document management system in health care goes beyond acting as a storage space for things like financial paperwork and patient records. The software allows for automated workflows, so medical professionals can generate documents or transfer information with little input. Since the task of handling documents can be so time-consuming, especially when considering compliance, automation is often necessary.
Additionally, the management aspect carries value because alternative tools made purely for digital storage are sometimes just as tedious to use as the traditional process. For example, one study found that doctors using some of the most prominent electronic health record platforms on the market had to click up to 42 times when adjusting steroid doses for a patient. An automatic process managed by software can be much more streamlined.
4. Accuracy
Human error is unavoidable. However, mistakes in health care can have significant lasting impacts on patients and workers. For example, a single clerical error from 2022 resulted in a woman receiving medical records, personally identifiable information and attempted debt collection meant for an entirely different person who shared the same name. A minor human error led to a conflict with a collections agency that escalated even after the hospital acknowledged its mistake.
Around 83% of health care organizations state that human-related errors concern them most, citing issues like accidental information disclosure or access interference. The digitization of documents ensures the process is standardized, meaning clerical errors are much less likely.
Managing Healthcare Documents
A healthcare document management system covers every aspect of documentation, from its creation to its eventual deletion. It can automate necessary yet tedious tasks, allowing medical professionals to shift their focus to their patients. Many health care facilities use them for archival and compliance purposes because of their useful applications and unique benefits.
By Shannon Flynn, ReHack
