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What Is Medical Document Scanning?
Medical document scanning involves converting printed documents such as patient charts, lab reports, and medical imaging films into a digital format so they can be stored on computers and similar devices. Each scanned document is saved as either an image file (i.e. JPG or PNG) or as a document file (i.e. PDF).
The medical document scanning process often uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to make these records searchable and facilitate quick retrieval. This digital transformation allows healthcare providers to efficiently manage, store, and access patient information electronically.
Digital files can also be stored in electronic health record (EHR) systems or other similar electronic document management systems. These are secure locations compliant with HIPAA regulations, ensuring that patient information is protected from unauthorized access.
Benefits of Medical Document Scanning
Medical document scanning has numerous benefits for today’s modern practice. These are:
Enhanced efficiency in medical record management
You never know when you need to retrieve a medical record, especially when you see patients regularly. Digital files are easier to retrieve than physical files. As long as you organize files using a system that works for your institution, your staff can easily retrieve patient information every time you need it.
Furthermore, they don’t require much physical space, such as filing cabinets and drawers. Most scanning services provide storage options where you can keep records in a secure cloud server. This makes it easier to share scanned documents either through email or secure online fax. You can even get delivered and read receipts to ensure the intended recipients received the document.
Improved security and compliance
HIPAA requires medical organizations to keep patient information private and secure. This includes all personal health information (PHI), like patients’ names, addresses, and medical conditions. Keeping printed copies of this information can be prone to numerous risky errors.
Printed copies can be misplaced and lost. It can be accidentally viewed by unauthorized and prying individuals or mistakenly shared with the wrong persons. When you scan medical documents, you prevent these unfortunate accidents.
By converting physical documents to electronic ones, you can safely store them in a secured location protected with passwords and encryption technology. You can shred physical documents to prevent misplacing them. Electronic documents can also be easily traced through robust audit trails, so you’d know who accessed them and can quickly detect any security breach threats.
Cost savings and environmental impact
Finally, transitioning from paper-based records to digital formats is an effective way to reduce your environmental impact. You’re not just saving physical space but also reducing the need for paper production. Eventually, by becoming fully digital, you can store information directly on electronic software without requiring paper documents.
Modern solutions even include a digital signing capability so that an electronic document can be just as legally binding as a signed paper document.
Best Options For Medical Document Scanning Services
If you’re ready to join the digital bandwagon, you can start exploring various medical document scanning options available. There are already tons in the market which can be classified into three types:
1. Specialized medical document scanning companies
If you have a huge volume of paper documents you need to digitize, then engaging the services of a specialized company is your best option. They have a team of professionals who are experts at indexing and scanning large volumes of medical records. Since it’s a specialized service, you can expect that they’ll get the job done promptly and in compliance with the latest regulations.
They can scan records on-site or in secure offsite facilities. These companies also adhere to HIPAA and HITECH regulations, so you know that your patients’ records are safe in their hands.
2. Document management companies
Document management companies offer both physical and digital storage of your most important files. They also offer scanning and digital transformation services so going this route is ideal for those who still need a storage service.
The majority of these companies also give you an integrated information management solution so you’re not just addressing scanning medical records, you’re also building a robust and comprehensive data management program.
3. Online scanning services
If you’re just getting started with digitizing your medical records, you can go directly and use an online scanning service or app. They turn your smartphone into a portable document scanner so you can immediately convert a printed document to a digital format.
These apps cost a fraction of the first two options and are ideal for organizations on a budget or those without a lot of records to digitize. You can also upload and store scanned documents to an online storage service like Google Drive, but ensure that these services are HIPAA-compliant.
Using HIPAA-compliant services will protect your documents from violating privacy and security regulations and ensure these records are protected from unauthorized access.
Securely Scan Medical Documents with Fill
Convert physical documents to digital copies with a secure and efficient document scanner. Fill works with Android or iOS phones to scan your documents and turn them into PDFs. You don’t need a bulk office scanner or an expensive scanning service.
Fill’s free document scanning app gives you high-quality scans along with seamless document management and other productivity features. It’s also HIPAA compliant so you don’t have to worry about breaking any privacy and security regulations. Check out Fill today and start your digital journey.
