A critical yardstick defining the standard of any healthcare facility is its patient outcomes. And better patient outcomes require high-quality patient care.
Primary care providers must have easy access to patient health records to find the best approach to treatment. Data accuracy is crucial to both medical professional teams and their administrative counterparts to deliver comprehensive medical care.
Electronic medical records: A boon to healthcare providers
Research shows that electronic health records (EMRs) have a positive effect on patient care. 56% of primary care physicians in Canada already use EMRs since 2012. The use of EMRs has been steadily increasing in the last few years.
Electronic medical records (EMRs) refer to scanned or digitized copies of patients' health records. The EMR consolidates a patient's medical history, including past diagnoses, prescribed medicines, test results, allergies, and treatment plans.
EMRs make it easy for physicians to review history, decide on treatment protocols, and set alerts or reminders for follow-up visits or further test dates. Digitization means faster access to lab test results, so treatment proceeds quicker and leads to better disease outcomes.
EMR technology gives health care providers information in formats that were not possible with paper records. Physicians view and print graphs of health parameters such as weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure. The visual representation makes tracking changes over time much easier and faster. Studies have shown that healthcare facilities that use EMRs manage diseases better and even prevent complications by providing timely screening and intervention.
Benefits of scanning medical records
Most healthcare providers now use professional-grade scanning technology to digitize their existing medical records.
Electronic medical records improve quality of care, patient outcomes, and safety. Accurate and readily available digital records reduce medication errors, prevent unnecessary investigations, and improve communication and interactions among healthcare providers, patients, and others involved in their care.
Here's a detailed look at some of the benefits of scanned medical records:
Scanned medical documents are easier to retrieve
A physician must have access to the patient's complete medical data to provide the most appropriate treatment and advice. If documents are meticulously scanned and stored, the physician gets easy access to various aspects of the patient's health, such as family history, insurance details, daily medications, past medical history, surgeries, and lifestyle and can coordinate medical events sequentially. The result is comprehensive medical care. Digital records are faster to retrieve than paper documents - so digitization also raises the physician's efficiency levels, saving them time and the effort of retrieving paper records.
Keep an eye on drug interactions and allergies
Drug allergy is an important consideration before making a treatment plan. Some allergies have a lasting effect and impact a patient's future life adversely. Easily accessible scanned records keep the healthcare giver well informed. Drug interactions are another essential consideration before the physician prescribes treatment. Digitization allows physicians to access numerous digital tools and resources quickly. Scanned documents about various aspects like drug interactions, how to take medicines safely, etc., keep both physicians and patients better informed about potential adverse effects of drugs.
Digitized records make it easy to share patient data
It is common for different medical specialists to collaborate for diagnosis or multi-specialty treatment of advanced diseases. Scanned medical records make it less cumbersome and time-consuming for multi-specialty groups to work collaboratively. Take, for example, a diabetic patient with fluctuating blood sugar levels and a consistently high HBA1C. Diabetes is a disease affecting all systems. Various medical specialists must access the patient's records and add their notes to the medical history. Properly scanned data is a boon for collaborative management.
Better patient communication and compliance
A patient must understand his condition and relate to the treatment provided. Digitized medical records are more accessible for the patient—either on the healthcare provider's web portal or via mobile apps. A well-informed patient complies better with the prescribed medicines, especially in conditions that require lifestyle changes, e.g. heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, and neurological disorders.
HIPPA regulations compliance
Healthcare providers deal with massive amounts of paper documents. From sensitive patient information to lab test reports and prescription plans, they must maintain these records meticulously to deliver positive patient outcomes. They must also comply with strict HIPPA regulations around storing and handling patient data. Choose a reputed scanning and document management service provider to make sure your digitization project complies with regulations.
Turn to MES for medical record scanning
Scanning old medical records requires a professional scanning company. MES helps healthcare companies go paperless in days and reap the benefits of digital medical records.
Digitization saves document storage space and provides an efficient system to store and retrieve patient data.
Whether you are a hospital, a small clinic or a single healthcare provider, MES will implement an electronic medical records system, converting your medical records to digital files.
In medical emergencies, a few seconds dictate the difference between life and death. Timely access to a patient's medical history is crucial.
We offer a Scan to Zero service, in which we store your paper records and scan a set amount of them per month until your healthcare facility is entirely paperless.
From start to finish, our staff take on complete responsibility for scanning sensitive records and routing the digitized files into your existing IT systems or provide you with a document management solution to suit your organization's specific needs.
Get in touch with MES today for a free quote.