10 Benefits of a Document Management System in Healthcare

Let's face it. The health care industry utilises a lot of forms and paperwork. Patient forms, doctor notes, payment receipts, insurance cards, diagnosis codes, lab results - all from just one patient!  Plus, there are guidelines for patient privacy and document security. Physicians are required to retain patient medical records and recordings, including deceased patients, for a minimum of 10 years from the date of the patient’s last visit.

So why should healthcare businesses bother implementing a document management system? Below are 10 reasons why it’s a good idea to switch from a paper-based process to electronic form.

1. Easy to implement and manage

The process of a DMS is simple: Paper documents are generated or come into the office, clinic or hospital, and are scanned into the system. Each scanned document is indexed and attached to either an existing electronic patient record or a new one can be created.

2. Increased productivity

With a DMS, you can reduce the time to access patient files by simply keying in a search term. Each document that is converted to electronic form is given a unique identifier (usually an index number) and can be searched for through various search terms. Physicians and administrators can search a patient’s name and retrieve their medical record in mere seconds, leaving them more time to spend on value-added activities.

3. Eliminates human error

Mistakes are unavoidable when dealing with vast amounts of paper documents. Too much paper causes clutter, and clutter increases the occurrence of lost or misplaced files and pertinent documents. Therefore, a Document Management System aids in reducing adverse drug events, such as improper dosage of medications. If files or documents are misplaced, physicians are not able to know what medications a patient may have adverse reactions to. This increases patient safety and protects physicians from potential regulatory and legal sanctions.

4. Reduces costs

There are many cost-saving benefits of a DMS:

• Reduce the cost of physical storage space – A hospital, can spend large amounts of money each year on storage for patient files. In addition to the cost of the physical storage, most medical storage facilities charge a fee every time an employee handles a document. This means there is a charge for retrieval of the required document, delivery of the document and yet another charge for the document’s return to the storage facility. This process can often take several days to complete and physicians may be forced to see patients without their full medical record on hand (this is where the earlier point of human error comes in).

• Reduce the cost of paper – photocopying, faxing, printing, etc.

• Reduce the need for additional staff – Extremely busy offices, like those of high-demand specialists, in particular, staff more office administrators in order to deal with the large amounts of paperwork coming into and generated by the office. A DMS can reduce the needs for extra staff, in turn, reducing operation costs.

• Document management systems are relatively inexpensive compared to that of more sophisticated EMR systems. A document management system can be used as a transitional or alternative system to an EMR for physicians who are not ready to dive into an expensive, more sophisticated system, or for those who don’t feel they need the level of sophistication an EMR provides.

5. Improves patient care and satisfaction

Converting paper documents to electronic forms gives physicians and administrators more time to devote to patient care and value-added activities. Less search and faster retrieval times result in more time tending to patient needs. This, in turn, increases patient satisfaction.

6. Increases security through audit trails

An audit trail shows the date, time and username for each activity that takes place on a record. This allows administrators to monitor record activity and ensures security and compliance. A DMS can also be equipped with “rights management” which allows administrators to input who can do what with each document. This ensures that the proper business practices are followed and that content is properly captured, stored, managed, and disposed of at the appropriate and legal time in its lifecycle.

7. Maintains regulatory compliance

Security control is a critical regulatory requirement. A Document Management System offers seamless conversion of paper documents into electronic files to control information access and increase confidentiality. Security features, disaster recovery and enhanced auditing ensure regulatory compliance.

8. Easily integrates with existing systems

A DMS can be easily integrated into most office systems. This means that doctors and administrators don’t need to spend valuable time on training for a new system.

9. Reduces the risk of damage

Storing paper documents and patient medical records on-site can be risky business. Documents can be destroyed by fire, flood, and natural disasters such as severe storms.

10. Enhances collaboration

Documents can be retrieved and modified by a user while access is denied to others while that particular document is being used. This reduces duplicates and old versions of content to be kept in the system. Collaboration features can also allow multiple users to view and alter a document at the same time. Whether or not a document is available to only one user or many users at the same time will be specified by the administrator, depending on office needs.

Given all of these reasons, it makes sense for doctors of private practice, health clinics, and hospitals to start implementing a document management system to manage their medical records. 

And if those 10 benefits aren’t reason enough, here’s a bonus: Document management systems are environmentally friendly. By reducing the use of paper, medical offices can do their part to help save our forests and those animals that depend on them for survival. Just one more reason why switching to a DMS system makes good sense!

Well, you don't have to look any further when seeking a document management solution that will keep your organisation's medical records safe, secure and organised. call Julius/Fidelis on 08020619478/08062539412 or Visit www.tecres.com.ng

Benefits of Enterprise Content Management for Financial Institutions

Competition, mergers, and regulation within the financial services industry have led to dramatic changes in the way that banks and credit unions conduct business. Historically, transactions were the main priority of lending institutions. Now, banks, brokers, mortgage companies, and credit unions find themselves responding to constantly changing customer needs. Institutions are likely to concentrate on activities that strengthen the customer relationship.
To be successful in a competitive marketplace, lending institutions require tools that enable them to gain a complete overview of their customer transactions. Organisations with paper-based processes are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to efficiency and productivity. Fortunately, enterprise content management (ECM) software has evolved to serve the needs of banking and finance organisations in their efforts to optimise customer service, address regulatory responsibilities, and improve accessibility to information. Here are some of the benefits of Enterprise content management for banks.

1. Eliminate Loan Processing Bottlenecks
* Capture new client data in electronic forms that can be digitally routed through origination, closing and funding.
* Use document versioning to ensure that loan officers, branch managers and underwriters are working with the most accurate loan documents.
* Reduce manual data entry by automatically pulling information from existing databases, records and forms.

2. Improve Back-Office Productivity
* Centralise customer records and make information available to all authorised branch employees on demand.
* Retrieve documents instantly based on loan number, CIF number, SSN, EID or document type.
* Eliminate time wasted tracking down physical documents.

3. Create More Responsive Client Service
* Enable simultaneous access to documents to allow customer service reps to efficiently answer customer questions.
* Create workflows that automate suitability approval and exception handling.
* Create online portals where customers can securely access and submit forms and review agreements and supporting documents.

4. Reduce The Cost and Complexity of Compliance
* Provide auditors with instant digital access to records.
* Reduce the cost of storing and transferring paper records.
* Automate document retention to eliminate lost documents and associated fines.
* Constantly monitor document access and retrieval to maintain the highest standards of security.


For more information on Enterprise Content Management Solution ECM, Electronic Document Management Solutions, Business Process Management Solutions call Julius/Fidelis on 08020619478/08062539412 or Visit www.tecres.com.ng

Starter Guide Tips On Document Management

Have you ever stopped to consider how much time you spend looking for a particular document? Could your file-managing habits be one of the reasons you are not productive? Do you think your filing habit needs improvements?

If you work on a computer every other day, it is very easy to drown in a pool of digital formats. You create presentations, write essays, analyse spreadsheets and edit images and at one point all these gets stored and saved. This goes a long way to prove that document management is behind almost everything we do electronically.  We have an understanding that document management can be one of the most tedious and time-consuming tasks of an individual life so we have put together a guide on some basics to keep in mind that can help you improve any digital documentation routine.

1.      Organise Email Attachments and Documents

Organising email attachment is a great place to start. Your email is a powerful tool which is unintentionally used as a document management tool. You use your email to send and receive emails on a daily basis all of which is easily but digging them up on the other hand isn’t. For a situation like this, it is best you download your attachment in bulk with a tool. Doing so can help you transfer and organise file attachments into your document system smoothly. With this, you can extract and download email attachment from all your emailing platforms, filter the files types and specify download location and other specifics.

2.      Integrate Cloud Storage Into Your Routine: The Web has grown into a cloud computing platform that makes everything accessible online.  Yet this approach can create more stress than they are worth if you don’t plan how you will be using them. Upload files wisely by integrating them with your working habits. Here are a few methods to consider:

·   For mobile work, automate your apps to upload files from your device straight to the cloud.

·   Use dedicated services for different formats of documents.

·   Create a designated cloud folder to download things you won’t need permanently. It will keep your local folders free from junks.

3.      Create A Nested Folder System: 

A structured system is reflective of how you remember information. It can literally point you in the right direction with every level you click through. All you need to do is make sure that your folders have a logical hierarchy. Start off with the main folder and then create subfolders to filter out files. The major thing is to remember to label folders according to your work process.

4.      Use A Standard Naming Convention: 

Use a consistent and logical naming process. Make sure your files include things like date, document status, names, and other details that can pinpoint and categorise the file’s contents. File names should be scannable, naturally ordered and highly descriptive. Remember to decide on the formats you would use for the d i.e. DD-MM-YY or first names.

5.      Separate Your Files By Format:

 Sometimes file names won’t come to mind easily as the format will. If this is the case with you, you might want to organise your files by format. If you use this method along with nested folders, it can be a faster way to find a file. You don’t have to resort through a folder full of different file formats.

6.      Archive and Delete Files Regularly: 

The worst part of creating documents is the fact that they can quickly get outdated or obsolete especially with files created with ad hoc. Set up a time frame to delete files regularly to keep them from piling up. 

With the way file management and creation is constantly evolving, knowing just a few of your habits can go a long way in creating a document management system that works for you. 

How to Know The Best Electronic Document Management Solution

You are likely considering an EDM/ECM/BPM solution that will suit your organisation or you are probably thinking about it as a future undertaking. The truth is that if your organization still receives, generates physical documents frequently or your staff still spend considerable time trying to get those documents, or your auditors, customers/clients, workers still have to depend on business processes that are manual routines for service delivery, you are wasting resources and time running your business.
Whether you are considering it now or in the future, EDM/ECM/BPM solution creates a smarter way to be more efficient and effective in a cruelly competitive business era. Let me warn you that not all EDM/ECM/BPM solutions can meet your need; hence you need, at worst, a suitable one or at best a custom-built/flexible suit.
At worst, an EDM/ECM/BPM solution should be an easy-to-use yet extremely powerful integrated document and workflow management system. It should be able to capture, organise, and share any type of digital or paper-based document within a secure, central repository. Usage should be easy, document retrieval instant, integration with existing applications seamless, with an ability to support as few or as many enterprise users as your firm requires.
The solution should enable your privileged staff gain instant access to critical documents and files 24/7, regardless of their physical location. Documents scanned should be made available to secured, authorised staff via an EDM/ECM/BPM solution with highly secure electronic versioning capabilities.
Not only should an EDM/ECM/BPM solution be able to easily track and control client-sensitive information but also stores all of your firm's most critical content in a highly secure repository and provides comprehensive audit trail capabilities, including date/time stamps, task originators/descriptions, and related document activities such as who worked on or reviewed the document. Ability to manage privileges such as viewing (read-only), printing, editing, deleting, storing should be basic functionalities. This would virtually eliminate any possibility that the documents stored in your system will be altered without detection, ensuring the undisputed authenticity of records.
At best, an EDM/ECM/BPM solution should be custom-built or has the flexibility for such. Good EDM/ECM/BPM solution comes with Software Development Kits (SDK) which would enable your IT department (if you have one) adjust the solution and build on it to suit your firm or integrate it to the most ‘stubborn’ applications ever developed. Integration with existing applications as well as support is very important. Some EDM/ECM/BPM solutions come with web-based forms that enable firms capture and work with information. These forms could also be used to automate basic business processes using Business Process Model and Notation, and enable participation to users beyond your organisation

Central to all these, if not the deciding factor, is the cost of purchase and maintenance thereafter. No good EDM/ECM/BPM solution comes cheap – nothing good comes cheap after all. Continuous usage should not be contingent on supports from the developer as this can be financially draining at the long run. You should have the option to choose when to pay for supports.
Requests for a Proof of Concept (PoC) and visits to existing users of the solutions would enable you to conduct comprehensive comparative analyses.

How paper-light practices can help your legal firm win more cases

Few professions are as ‘docu-centric’ as law firms. Documents are important to law firms as evidence is important in a legal proceeding. In fact, documents are evidence, documents have become a unique feature of the legal profession.  A usual law firm generates or receives myriads of physical documents every year, ranging from pleadings to evidence files which are archived in shelves domiciled in a certain dark room. Emails received or generated are either printed out and physically archived or left in one’s email and on many occasions in different folders in several persons’ emails; hence central location is lacking.

Managing physical documents is crucially important to lawyers and on several occasions overwhelming, frustrating, costly and time-consuming. Of serious concern to every solicitor is taking care of any document entrusted to them. Many dream of a day when they would be able to access whatever documents, whenever they need them, wherever they are within seconds.

A Paper-light office makes it possible for you rely less on a physical document, ensures quick retrieval irrespective of your location, and provides secured storage among other benefits. Paper-light Office converts all physical documents into digitized format(s) with solution(s) that would ensure proper management of these documents. The simple goal is to turn your paper documents (physical archive) into a digital archive which can be securely stored more efficiently (in the cloud) and quickly be accessed anywhere, anytime, hence eliminating time wasting in searching for documents and the fear of losing the document.

The cost of Paper-light Office pales into insignificant when compared with the costs of maintaining an archive room, the man-hour lost in searching and retrieving documents which in some cases are never found, the actual  cost of losing the documents, and other mental distresses and inconveniences experienced as a result of depending on physical documents.     
   
From our experience in dealing with legal firms, Paper-light Office helps to:

1. Increase billable hours and improve client service quality.
2. Streamline the process of retrieving and distributing essential information.
3. Provide simultaneous access to client information.
4. Improve operational efficiency with minimal disruption.
5. Improve information security and document integrity.
6. Enable productivity tracking and accountability, ensuring turnaround requirements are always met.
7. Streamline compliance-driven documentation requirements.
8. Reduce paper, paper storage, photocopying, and faxing costs.

Migration to Paper-light Office is gradual, systematic and custom-built, hence we suggest that you first consider digitization of the most important, frequently consulted or searched documents. Depending on the volumes, cloud storage could be free. To increase your confidence in Paper-light Office, we offer, for a start, to digitize for free 1.5 % of the estimated number of pages of your documents. You determine the most important documents for this test.

We at Tecres Technologies help Legal firms realize that dream with Paper-light Office. Why not allow us to help you make your work easier and more efficient!

10 Mistakes to Avoid When Picking a Document Management Software (DMS)

1. Not buying enough scanning capacity. Too often, organisations use their average document processing volumes when determining scanning capacity.
2. Not including all stakeholders – both business and IT – in the requirements definition. In some cases, the IT department will unilaterally choose the organisation’s scanners, in turn, saddling operations with scanners that don’t meet their requirements or are not easy for operators to use.
3. Buying a solution without conducting a proof of concept. Organizations should never purchase a scanner without first seeing how it processes their documents.
4. Making decisions on front-end and back-end systems separately. An organization’s front-end scanning and capture solution must work in concert with its back-end workflow technology.
5. Not coordinating software and hardware vendors during system deployment. No one wins in this scenario. A lack of coordination typically results in wasted effort, finger pointing, and delayed implementations.
6. Not using a phased implementation approach. In their drive for fast results, too many organisations bite off more than they can chew when implementing a scanning solution.
7. Letting “fear of change” take over. Too many organisations are close minded when it comes to re-engineering their processes, falling back on the way they’ve done things for the past five or 10 years.
8. Not thinking LEAN. Organisations should always be looking for ways to do more with less.
9. Not cutting the paper cord. Many organisations use unique transaction separator sheets for each type of work that they process, creating an enormous breadth and volume of paper.
10. Not sharing – as in shared services. With the economy still struggling, and capital budgets tight, organisations should look to consolidate multiple scanning functions on a single platform.

For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our ECM solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

4 Creative Ways You Can Archive your Documents for Enhanced Productivity

Document management software comes in different types. There are the web-based document management system, Client Server based, Database and the most recent one which is the Cloud-based document management system.

How do you decide which of this software is the right approach for you? This might be one of the toughest decisions to make because each document management vendor will give you their personal reasons as to why you should buy the software they are offering you. However, your final decision should be based on how you want to use your document management system and how your It infrastructure is designed.

Here are some of the key features of each document Management System that can help you in your decision-making process.

1. Web Based Document Management System: One of the strengths of this platform is that it doesn’t need the deployment of a client software package. The internet browser on each workstation is the access point for the document management. Most Web-based packages lend themselves to supporting multiple branch operations right out of the box.

2. Client Server Based Document Management System: This type of DM is based upon a system where a server-based software package is linked to a client software package which resides on each user's workstation.  The principal behind this type of system is that the server software does the heavy lifting like database searches, managing capture systems, file conversions from scanned paper and security management.  The client software handles the user interface, document viewing and some of the data processes.  These types of systems are often found in legacy document management packages since the computing horsepower to deal with large document sizes was not generally available a few years ago.

3. Database Document Management System:These types of packages are usually integrated with the underlying data based structure like Oracle or SQL (Structured Query Language). By storing all of the information of the document management in the same database, they have the opportunity to have a more robust and sophisticated linkage between image and date. The downside is often in licensing model of the date and the additional horsepower they may require.

4.  Cloud Based Document Management System: This type of document management was originally called “Hosted Document Management”. Cloud-based packages make use of software that is run on the host’s system and permits the users to operate using a link over the internet. They are similar to the Web-based packages except that  in the cloud scenario, the user date is stored on the host’s server rather than on a server located in the user’s office. The benefit, is that there is no software to acquire but a monthly subscription is used to pay for the services.

Every one of these types of document management system has their uses, benefits, attractions and their challenges. In most scenarios, it is not the platform decision that will dictate a choice of software but the key features that each platform provides. These features include;

• Level of document security
• Ability to easily integrate other devices
• Need for remote or local access
• Types of files being stored
• The amount of data to be handled
• Price
• Licensing provision
• Support plan
• Software operating system etc.

For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our ECM solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478

What is Enterprise Content Management (ECM)?

Enterprise content management (ECM) is a set of defined processes that allow a corporation, agency or organisation to obtain, organise, store and deliver information crucial to its operation in the most effective manner possible.

A primary goal of ECM is to eliminate ad hoc processes that can expose an organisation to regulatory compliance risks and other potential problems. Full-function ECM systems include features such as document and records management, content taxonomies, auditing capabilities, check-in/check-out and other workflow controls and security mechanisms.

An effective ECM can streamline access, eliminate bottlenecks, optimise security, maintain corporate integrity and minimise overhead. The first step is to document all the types of content that the organisation deals with, the business processes it's part of and who handles it. ECM software tools can be used to identify duplicate and near-duplicate content, allowing the organisation to keep a few copies of a particular piece of content instead of hundreds.

ECM has become increasingly important and complex in recent years for a number of reasons. Financial fraud and data breaches, and regulations designed to prevent them have made effective information governance essential not only for compliance reasons but also to help protect the organisation's reputation. Enterprises also need to manage content effectively for integration with business intelligence/business analytics applications that help them to use the available information to guide business decisions.


For free analysis of your Document Management System and a look at our ECM solution, you can contact us via our website at www.tecres.com.ng or send an email to enquiries@tecres.com.ng or call on (+234) 013427176, 08020619478