The Need For Healthcare Document Management System In 2021
Managing hospital document information such as patient’s medical records, billing statements, insurance, and credentialing details from several sources, whether it may be in an electronic system or paper-based document system, is essential for any practice growth. A document management system tracks manage, stores, and retrieves both paper and electronic documents that can prove immediately beneficial to the operations of your healthcare system.
Having an electronic document management feature in your medical billing software not only benefits the administrators and healthcare providers but also helps patients on managing their health data. It streamlines medical billing processes, allows test results and other form sharing, and improves the overall practice efficiency. Here are the benefits of a document management system in revenue cycle management.
DMS Is A Cost-Saving Approach
As a document management system stores all the important data in one place, it eliminates the usage of materials and equipment for paper-based documentation such as paper, printers, etc. Having a software-based document management solution can free up a large amount of storage space and those documents that need to be kept as hard copies can easily be stored in a less expensive offsite warehouse or vault.
Real-Time Security For Sensitive Data
Without a document management system the security of your documents, especially those containing information such as HIPAA sensitive data, can often put you at risk. By utilizing a document management system you’ll have better control over who has access to and when they have access to, these documents. Access can be controlled at the folder level for various departments and individuals.
Healthcare practices that use an electronic document management system can easily follow compliance regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
DMS Allows Faster Processing With Reduced Errors
Physically retrieve paper documents from archives and delivering them to the departments requesting them is a time-consuming process. An electronic document management system reduces retrieval time to seconds – with no physical effort.
Since everyone has access to the same electronic medical record, any department can access the documents without the need to photocopy. Should your DMS allows file segmentation, your billing department can update payment information, and the healthcare workers can update medical data at the same time.
EHR Integration
With a document management system, you can save lost time and resources through features such as retrieving files by a word or phrase, full-text search, indexing documents by categories, accessing documents remotely, and integrating your document management system with other business applications such as your healthcare Intranet or electronic medical records system.
DMS Improves The Patient Experience
With a document management system in place, you can improve the overall functioning of your hospital and give your patients a positive experience. When properly implemented, a DMS can lower operating costs, as well as significantly reduce errors, processing times, and privacy leaks.
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DMS Allows Greater Compliance
HIPAA compliance requirements can be quite complex and complicated with strict security and privacy guidelines. A document management system reduces the risk of non-compliance with automated features such as recording retention schedules. Having this system in place makes it easier to classify and store your documents.
Additionally, using your system for policy management can help you distribute policies for readership attestation to make sure your employees are aware of important document updates and healthcare protocols so they can administer standardized care to patients.
DMS Is Used To Review Workflow
Most document management systems allow you to store documents and use the system for document workflow, reviews, revisions, and approvals. In a healthcare setting, many policies need updating annually due to regulatory updates. Using a document management system to organize this approval and review workflow can eliminate errors and the automation can reduce errors in file keeping or editing.
Final Thoughts
In the year 2021, increasing focus on the patient experience and patient privacy is a key feature to be concentrated more by healthcare professionals for practice growth. So choosing the best medical billing software with an advanced document management system helps you to drive better health outcomes.
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About the author
With more than 4 years of experience in the dynamic healthcare technology landscape, Sid specializes in crafting compelling content on topics including EHR/EMR, patient portals, healthcare automation, remote patient monitoring, and health information exchange.
His expertise lies in translating cutting-edge innovations and intricate topics into engaging narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.