Hôpital Psychiatrique du Beau Vallon is one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in Belgium’s Wallonia region. With nearly 500 beds and 600 employees, the hospital specializes in the fields of psycho-geriatrics, neuropsychiatry and treatment of addictions. The hospital has been working with iGuana (formerly Allgeier DMS Solutions) for almost a decade to scan, digitize and archive paper invoices and patient medical records.

A Better Way to Manage Invoices and Patient Records

The hospital’s long-term relationship with iGuana dates back to 2008, following their visit to another hospital that uses Medical Viewer to archive patient medical records. “We wanted to see how our fellow colleagues work and what we can do to improve our own processes,” explains Mr. Jean-Philippe Rottiers, Responsible for Analysis and Development at the hospital’s Information Services department. “We were looking for a better way to archive, organize and manage our own documents.”

Automating Invoice Processing

The first priority for the hospital was to automate the processing of incoming and outgoing invoices, statements of account, etc. This goal was achieved following the successful implementation of iGuana’s digital invoice processing solution. Today, all invoices are barcoded, scanned, automatically indexed and archived electronically in a logical and user friendly manner.

Through integration with the hospital’s accounting and inventory management systems, archived invoices become part of a workflow. Authorized staff are able to view all relevant invoices, their status as well as any related information. They can do this at any point in time using the familiar interface of their existing applications without having to log into iGuana’s system.

Digitizing Patient Medical Records

Doctors have always found it difficult to work with paper files of their patients. Locating, retrieving and sifting through all the patient data contained in paper records was not an easy task. In addition, maintaining the hospital’s expanding archive organized required a considerable amount of time and effort.

According to Mr. Rottiers, Medical Viewer helped them address these issues. Patient medical records can now be scanned and archived electronically, in a structured, legally compliant manner. Physicians can access these records on demand without having to log into Medical Viewer. The system is also integrated with the hospital’s Oazis HIS, making working with Medical Viewer a seamless experience.

The Future with iGuana – A Global Solution

In 2016, Hôpital Psychiatrique du Beau Vallon plans to migrate to the latest iGuana software platform – the iGuana iDM Document Management Solution for Healthcare. It combines digital archiving and electronic document management tools for both, the hospital’s administrative and medical staff, into one complete solution.

Mr. Rottiers indicates that the reason they wish to migrate is because iGuana offers “a complete, fully web-based document management solution that will be able to provide a global view of the hospital.” He also emphasizes that “the system’s infrastructure makes it very easy to integrate with other software applications without service interruption”.

About Hôpital Psychiatrique du Beau Vallon

One of the largest employers in the Wallonia region, Hôpital Psychiatrique du Beau Vallon has 423 beds (90 beds in Psychiatric Care Homes) and treats in- and out-patients with a wide variety of psychiatric illnesses. The hospital works in close collaboration with Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc (UCL, Brussels). This collaboration serves multiple purposes: provision of best possible patient care, especially after acute hospitalization at UCL, and creation of opportunities to conduct far-reaching clinical research.