Data capture: The first step to better patient care
In my first blog post, I discussed the path I took from being a customer to becoming an account manager for Hyland. As the customer, I had many conversations with my colleagues about how I felt automating our admission processes would make our company more efficient and accountable.
Admittedly, early in the evaluation of the solution, I could never answer the question of how the documents we received from our referral sources would get into OnBase to begin the automation. Now, as an account manager, I am hearing the exact same question with our customers.
Let’s try to make this simple.
It all starts with data capture
Depending on how the customer receives the referral and documents, OnBase uses a variety of technologies to capture and ingest the content into the software. In our post-acute care, pre-admission solution, we can capture these medical records sent via fax, email, scan, and print them directly into OnBase. Going further, you can pull data and information right off documents, validate the data, and then update any other business applications, so people have access to real-time information.
Our solutions eliminate the labor-intensive manual scanning and naming of documents to corporate shared drives that are not secure. OnBase automates these processes and mitigates the risks by securely storing all the content electronically.
This saves time and, at this point, there is no need to store any of these documents in paper form. And that’s a good thing. After all, paper is susceptible to fires, floods, and even theft. That’s why data capture is so important.
Let the work begin
Once you electronically capture content like admission forms, x-rays, and referrals, you can take advantage of technology to quickly move them through processes. Or you can utilize electronic forms and skip paper altogether. You can also utilize solutions that automatically separate document types and index the content to further automate these manual processes.
And the content can now be viewed anywhere, from any device, based on user rights. The ability for physicians, nurses, and other staff members to easily find the information they need, when and where they need it, facilitates better care.
Further optimizing your process, workflows and case management solutions can route the content to the appropriate queues to allow the correct people to complete the tasks, tracking these actions at each step. You can easily identify and correct bottlenecks and limited throughput. Reporting dashboards are also available to give the snapshots and overview of your business processes and outcomes.
The success of our businesses revolves around having the correct people making the best decisions in a timely manner. With the right solution, you make sure these people only receive complete and accurate documentation, giving you the kind of speed and accuracy that empowers superior patient care, which is what it’s all about.
