Survey: Paper records will linger at some hospitals
Seventy percent of hospitals expect to claim federal subsidies for meeting Stage 1 meaningful use of EHR requirements, according to survey results from information management company Iron Mountain. However, 78 percent of respondents expect to continue using paper records for up to five more years, the company stated.
Paper can be a hard habit to kick for a variety of reasons. Many organizations are digitizing (scanning) voluminous paper records as part of the transition to EHRs. With no clear regulatory guidelines for scanning patient records, the process can be slow going, according to the Boston-based company.
From April 7-18, Iron Mountain surveyed 201 health information professionals involved in digitizing records and transitioning to EHRs. Forty-nine percent of respondents said they had finished scanning, and 23 percent reported having a backlog of records to scan, Iron Mountain stated.
Seventy-two percent said their facilities rely on full-time employees and 6 percent said they use part-time staff for scanning. Only 9 percent reported outsourcing to third parties. Thirty-five percent are prioritizing the records of recently discharged patients. Others are adopting a "day forward" method: scanning paper records as they are created for patients. Twenty-eight percent of respondents are scanning all patient records, the survey found.
“Once scanning is complete, 58 percent will shred their paper records, while 38 percent plan to store the paper in their onsite records room or in an offsite facility,” the company added.
Paper can be a hard habit to kick for a variety of reasons. Many organizations are digitizing (scanning) voluminous paper records as part of the transition to EHRs. With no clear regulatory guidelines for scanning patient records, the process can be slow going, according to the Boston-based company.
From April 7-18, Iron Mountain surveyed 201 health information professionals involved in digitizing records and transitioning to EHRs. Forty-nine percent of respondents said they had finished scanning, and 23 percent reported having a backlog of records to scan, Iron Mountain stated.
Seventy-two percent said their facilities rely on full-time employees and 6 percent said they use part-time staff for scanning. Only 9 percent reported outsourcing to third parties. Thirty-five percent are prioritizing the records of recently discharged patients. Others are adopting a "day forward" method: scanning paper records as they are created for patients. Twenty-eight percent of respondents are scanning all patient records, the survey found.
“Once scanning is complete, 58 percent will shred their paper records, while 38 percent plan to store the paper in their onsite records room or in an offsite facility,” the company added.