And, How You Can Minimize the Toll
Inbound document management affects the bottom line for hospitals and healthcare systems both directly and indirectly. Directly, assigning an already overburdened, lean staff with manual tasks, like fax and scan filing, is a detriment to employee satisfaction, leading to more distractions and errors. Indirectly, the financial cost to replace high-turnover medical records staff runs high and the cost to patient care is immeasurable.
These are just two examples of how inbound document management affects the bottom line. Minimizing the toll could be as simple as outsourcing health information management processes, like inbound document management, which then gives staff more time to focus on patient care.
Inbound Document Management is Manual-Process Heavy
Automation and digitalization have simplified and streamlined health information management, which has been good for providers and patients alike. However, much of inbound document management is still manual-process heavy. The University of Las Vegas published a study showing that entering six varying types of data on 30 data sheets led to an average of 10 errors. Overall, the more manual processes a health organization has, the more likely it is that errors may occur.
Medical records and front desk staff are expected to check patients in and out, verify insurance information, fulfill medical records upon request and schedule imaging or labs. While it’s possible to multitask, it is not ideal since multitasking leads to errors and reduced productivity.
Outsourcing health information management processes, like inbound document management, to ScanSTAT gives your organization a dedicated team focused solely on completing manual tasks. Without the need to multitask, accuracy rates are unparalleled. Plus, the liability of risk transfers to us, making it in everyone’s best interest to be committed to detail and accuracy.
Reliance on In-House Staff for Manual Inbound Document Management Processes Can Hinder Growth and Fail During Crunch Times
Healthcare organizations are not immune to busy periods or opportunities for growth and expansion. For example, the pandemic brought on an influx of patients and thus higher than usual volumes of inbound document management at a time when staff is scarce and stressed. Another example being the shift to value-based reimbursements, and in response, healthcare providers merging with others to create larger practices.
When an organization relies on manual tasks, scaling up during busy or peak times is extremely difficult to manage from resource and cost perspectives. When repetitive tasks depend on in-house staff for completion, inflexibility hinders the ability to scale to meet growth opportunities.
With ScanSTAT handling the administrative tasks for in-house staff, your organization can take opportunities to improve efficiency and streamline workflows. Ultimately, this allows your organization to grow or expand at a faster pace and focus on clinical operations and advancements in care while our team manages the day-to-day administrative activities. And, when that growth and expansion happens, we can quickly grow alongside you with the resources you need.
Manual Activities, Like Fax and Scan Filing, are a Day-to-Day Reality
While many activities, such as fax and scan filing, are part of everyday reality in healthcare, it doesn’t have to be your staff’s reality. With the right outsourced health information management partner, you can minimize or eliminate countless complications, such as:
- Document filing backlogs that cause gaps in patient charts and scheduling delays
- Delayed incentive payments tied to patient care
- Low patient ratings
- Provider dissatisfaction
- Burn out and attrition in medical records staff
- Missed opportunities for growth and expansion
With ScanSTAT’s Filing Solutions, You’re Assured of Five Things:
- Your documents are filed consistently into your EHR, ensuring your providers have the results and data they need.
- Cost savings. You can reduce overtime pay, and save costs associated with hiring and training additional medical records staff to file incoming documents.
- Our workflows and internal audit procedures enable an unparalleled accuracy rate.
- Your documents will be easily viewable in your patients’ charts, as they are entered the same way every time.
- Liability transfer. You transfer the compliance burden to us as your trusted business associate and rely on our compliance team to handle HIPAA liability issues.
Inbound Document Management Affects Your Bottom Line, and Outsourcing Minimizes the Toll
Your outsourced inbound document management could be up and running within a few weeks. Request a demo to see how we make HIM easier for everyone.