Rochester General and EDCO Take a New Approach to Point of Care Medical Record Scanning

St. Louis, MO, May 08, 2013 -- In March, Rochester General Health System (RGHS) implemented EDCO® Health Information Solutions' point of care batch medical record scanning solution to create a completely electronic medical record for improved patient care. This partnership enables RGHS to scan documents on the hospital floors, in clinics, and in physician offices, and enables EDCO to index (file to the patient’s chart) all documents centrally in one hour or less. Using this model, RGHS is able to scan documents faster at the point of care, while maintaining the quality control achieved when records are indexed using a centralized approach.

“This redesigned workflow improves the productivity of people who scan documents at the point of care, and ensures the quality, consistency, and timeliness of scanned documents filed within the electronic medical record,” said Chris Teumer, Rochester General Health System’s Chief Information Officer.

In 2011, Rochester General implemented the Epic electronic health record system. As a result, their volume of medical records created on paper dropped from 7 million scanned images per year to approximately 4.3 million. Of the types of documents that still exist in paper form, approximately half are required for patient care at the time they are created by the hospital/office or presented by patient. Initially, the health system elected to scan and index that portion of the paper patient chart on the hospital floor and at the healthcare systems’ numerous offices and clinics. When indexing at the point of care, RGHS found it challenging to consistently select the correct document type, maintain turnaround time, and achieve quality metrics without excessive overtime costs. The entire process also taxed over 750 acute and ambulatory personnel that were required to scan and index documents to each patient chart individually. The new process creates the ability to batch scan these documents and electronically route to EDCO for indexing, which significantly reduces the time required from RGHS resources for scanning.

Using EDCO’s batch scanning software, Rochester General trained over 750 users on a simplified process to batch scan the medical records on the floors and at offices and clinics. The scanned document is routed to EDCO’s centralized indexing staff. EDCO then leverages the power of Solarity® technology to automatically index the document, perform a quality check, and return it to Rochester’s Epic electronic medical record system within one hour. For specific document types, an expanded document description is also added to streamline care, which makes it easier for physicians to locate documents within Epic.

“Partnering with EDCO not only provides significant benefits in terms of productivity and quality, but more importantly, it improves patient care and physician satisfaction by making the complete patient record quickly accessible from within the EMR,” said Teumer.

About EDCO Health Information Solutions
Since 1961, EDCO Health Information Solutions has enabled healthcare facilities to maximize efficiencies, reduce costs, and streamline health information to improve patient care. EDCO provides a combination of software, services, and process knowledge to optimize the health information management department including medical records scanning software and services, physical records storage, and electronic document management software.

For more information visit http://www.edcohealthinfosolutions.com.

About Rochester General Health System
Serving the community of Greater Rochester and beyond, Rochester General Health System (RGHS) has earned national recognition for excellence in a variety of clinical specialties. Rochester General Hospital (RGH), the health system’s flagship affiliate, is a 528-bed tertiary care facility that treats more Monroe County patients than any other hospital. RGH, home to the fourth largest cardiac center in New York State, has been recognized nine times as being among the nation’s 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals. According to the 2013 report from CareChex®, a division of The Delta Group, RGH ranks first in New York for Major Cardiac Surgery (#4 in the nation) and Heart Attack Treatment, #2 in New York for Overall Medical Care and #5 statewide for Overall Surgical Care. RGHS also includes Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, a 120-bed facility primarily serving Wayne and Ontario counties; two long-term care facilities, Hill Haven and DeMay Living Center; the Rochester General Medical Group, with more than 40 practices in Monroe and Wayne counties; a Behavioral Health Network, providing adult and pediatric care; Independent Living for Seniors, a program that enables elderly patients to live in their own homes while receiving comprehensive supportive services; and an Ambulatory Care division that provides superior-quality outpatient care with wide community accessibility. Learn more about RGHS at http://www.rochestergeneral.org.