Backlog – Old Medical Records Scanning

With iGuana iDM you can go paperless on Day 1.

Scanning hundreds of thousands of patient files requires a degree of planning. It can also take ages if you do not plan properly. Archiving medical records from A to Z is an example of improper planning that can cost you time and money. To address this issue, iGuana iDM has been designed to integrate with your appointment scheduling system (for example, UltraGenda) and to inform you which patient files should be scanned first. This means that regardless of the backlog, from a day-to-day operations perspective you are essentially paperless.

At a glance, the process looks like this:

Step 1: Intake

• iGuana iDM integrates with the appointment scheduling system and generates a report on patient records that need to be scanned first
• The responsible individual(s) retrieves patient records from their physical storage location and registers them as “In Process” in iGuana iDM

Step 2: Preparation

• iGuana iDM generates separation sheets with a barcode for each medical record (barcoded separation sheets will be used to automatically classify records within a logical file structure in iGuana iDM upon scanning)
• Staples and paper clips are removed from each medical record and barcoded separation sheets are inserted in patient records in preparation for scanning

Step 3: Scanning

• Medical records are scanned into iGuana iDM (depending on your needs, we can provide scanners with a scanning capacity of up to 50,000 pages per day each)
• The barcode recognition technology embedded in iGuana iDM recognizes barcodes on separation sheets in each scanned file, as well as its contents, allowing iGuana iDM to classify it within the software and create a logical tree structure for each record

Step 4: Quality Control

• Once scanning is complete, iGuana iDM thoroughly analyses the quality of indexation / classification and flags any potential errors
• The individual(s) responsible reviews these errors in iGuana iDM for quality control purposes and make corrections, if necessary

Step 5: Outtake

• Paper files are stored away in your on-site or off-site storage location or securely destroyed
• iGuana iDM maintains information about the location of paper records in your on-site or off-site storage facility so that they can be easily retrieved upon request through iGuana iDM

Daily Scanning – New Medical Documents

In addition to a backlog of already existing medical records that need to be scanned and archived, you may have new patient related documents that need to be scanned on a daily basis. For example, these could be documents associated with newly admitted patients. These new documents can be scanned directly into iGuana iDM and automatically classified within the patient medical record in question.

At a glance, the process looks like this:

• Once a patient is admitted, a patient admission number is generated in your HIS
• Through integration with the HIS, iGuana iDM issues a barcode sticker associated with the patient admission number
• The sticker is provided to the patient or directly to the healthcare professional prior to the start of appointment
• The healthcare professional places the sticker on any document produced during the appointment
• The documents are scanned into iGuana iDM, sticker barcode is recognized and the scanned document is classified within the patient file structure

Integration with HIS

iGuana iDM is designed to integrate with your HIS.

The main purpose of iGuana iDM – HIS integration is to provide your organization and, more specifically, your medical staff with a unified view of each patient’s medical record from one central access point – your HIS. This means that any given medical record archived in iGuana iDM is available for viewing by healthcare professionals as part of one, unified patient EMR maintained in your HIS. In addition, integration makes what we referred to above as “going paperless on Day 1” possible without any disruption to your day-to-day operations.

iGuana iDM communicates with your HIS using an embedded HL7 communication protocol, providing a comprehensive framework and related standards for the exchange, integration, sharing and retrieval of electronic health information.

iGuana iDM had been successfully integrated with the following HIS solutions: Epic, McKesson, SAP, ChipSoft, iSOFT, Infohos, ORBIS

Download our Solution Brochure here.