Document Scanning – A Necessary Step before EMR Conversion Document scanning is an important phase in the EMR transition process, and involves the conversion of paper files into electronically formatted records. These can then be conveniently imported into the EMR system. In a medical practice, patient records need to be scanned, indexed, stored and distributed. Indexing of patient records is a rather detailed process and patient reports need to be identified by name/medical record number, report type and other required fields. This service is helpful for doctors as well as medical institutes as the records created can be used for reference, and for review as well as the ongoing treatment of a patient. Understanding What to Scan Scanning of paper records in a medical practice can be a mammoth project with many years of paper records to scan and index. Either all records can be scanned, or it could be decided to include only portions of patient files in the conversion and maintain and store the paper files separately. This is to be done after careful consideration on a case by case basis. Factors that have a role to play in this decision are the type of specialty, need for access to specific sections of the medical chart, space available, budget, frequency of patient visit and provider preferences.
Apart from patient records, other documents that can be scanned include:
Insurance Bills
Technical Reports
Health Service Provider Notes
Explanation of Benefits (EOBs)
Factors to Consider with Regard to Document Scanning