Allscripts Enterprise Scan
Pinehurst becomes paperless fast using scanning services from Diversified Information Technologies (Diversified).
Allscripts Enterprise Scan provides the ability to become paperless with immediate electronic access to patient charts. With award-winning document imaging technology as part of the solution, physician practices have an affordable way to view and manage patient information on-line. Allscripts Enterprise Scan further helps physician organizations manage document workflow and it lays the foundation for a comprehensive Electronic Health Record, while offering a path towards a paperless office.
Established in 1947, Pinehurst Surgical provides quality healthcare services to a sixcounty primary care region in Moore County, North Carolina. Specialties range from orthopaedic surgery to obstetrics and gynecology.
Opportunities
In 2000, the group began laying the foundation for a chartless practice by installing an intranet and Citrix. The Practice Management System was implemented in 2003. The final stage came in 2004, when the group was designing a new facility and faced a tough decision about what to do with 100,000 patient charts. According to Chief Information Officer Phyllis Schuck, “It was either build a new chart room or change the way we do business. We knew it was finally time to make the change.”
Solutions
ALLSCRIPTS ENTERPRISE EHR CHOSEN FOR FLEXIBILITY, EASY INTERFACES
Enterprise EHR was chosen partially because of its tight integration with IDX, a combination that offered benefits such as “out of the box” interfaces with registration, scheduling and charge applications. Pinehurst also liked Enterprise EHR’s efficient design and easy configuration features. “Enterprise EHR lets each doctor personalize the system to suit the way they practice,” says Schuck. “When you’re in a multi-specialty environment, that kind of flexibility is very important.”
EFFECTIVE COMBINATION OF IN-HOUSE AND OUTSOURCED SCANNING
The big question was how to convert tens of thousands of paper charts into electronic files. Among the possibilities of answers were using current in-house staff, hiring new staff to support the project, or outsourcing the mass scanning of the charts.
Pinehurst elected a combined solution and chose the Enterprise Scan module for their in-house conversion with approximately 40,000 charts scanned over a one year period. Once the in-house scanning operation was up and running, the remaining charts were outsourced over several months to Pinehurst’s scanning partner, Diversified Information Technologies located in Raleigh, NC. The two companies worked closely together to identify priorities and plan an efficient conversion schedule. The system’s automatic importing capabilities were key to the success of the effort. “We set up automatic daily downloads from Diversified Information Technologies’ website” says Schuck, “and could then handle the data however we wanted on our end.”
During the conversion, 40,000 charts were sent to Diversified Information Technologies for scanning. Practice mergers added another 20,000 charts to the process at the very end of the initiative and these were also handled by Diversified Information Technologies. In all, approximately 100,000 paper charts were eliminated, comprised of 10 million electronic documents.
Outcomes
CREATED TIME-SAVERS AT CONVERSION TIME
Several ingenious approaches to scanning substantially minimized transition costs. Where possible, Pinehurst reduced the chart retention period to five years (from ten originally), lowering initial scanning volume by approximately 25 percent. The group also reduced time and costs by indexing only a subset of historical patient information. The physicians themselves targeted two years worth of office notes, two years of lab results and five years of pathology reports for indexing of historical information.
POST-SCANNING SAVINGS AND EFFICIENCY
At the inception of the scanning initiative, the clinic vowed “No more paper charts” and came up with several creative approaches to eliminating incoming paper as well. Interfaces, e-faxed prescriptions, transcribing directly into Enterprise EHR, and other techniques have resulted in a 75 percent cutback in daily paper (3,000 fewer pieces per day) over just a few months. Today, Pinehurst enjoys being completely digital.
Personnel previously assigned to medical records and transcription have been gradually transferred to other positions or left the clinic without being replaced. About 12 staff positions have been eliminated since the project began prior to the EHR installation. In addition, though the practice mergers ordinarily would have required seven new support staff; no additional personnel were needed.
She also points out that both patients and physicians see improvements in the speed and simplicity of handling medical matters. “With accurate information at their fingertips, most physicians can perform faster and more efficiently,” says Schuck. “In fact, one physician recently told me that he feels he could see ten more patients daily and still provide top-notch care.”
Schuck also believes that Pinehurst’s relationship with Allscripts has been a true business partnership. “That’s why we’ve been so successful,” she says. “Teamwork really makes a difference.”