Running a private medical practice is a challenging, but rewarding, business endeavor. Other than staff, patient documents are the most valuable parts of any medical practice. They serve an important role in ongoing patient relationships and require incredible care in order to protect patient privacy. Unfortunately, managing these documents in traditional ways can prove to be time consuming and costly. For a small, private practice; document management is even more challenging thank to limited staff resources and space for storing documents.
Thankfully, document management platforms offer private practice physicians world class storage and management of important patient documents without compromising on security and confidentiality.
Compliance Comes First
When handling information about patient medical information, physicians have an ethical and legal responsibility to protect patient privacy above all. All physicians are acutely aware of HIPAA and the rules regarding compliant storage and sharing of patient medical information. All management of documents falls under this national standard.
When considering document management, HIPAA is always top of mind. With the leading document management platforms, physicians can remain compliant with HIPAA while enjoying all of the other benefits the platform offers. There is no room to compromise on patient confidentiality and private practices can be confident their patient’s data is stored to meet compliance standards.
With digital logging of document activity, it’s easy to see who has accessed documents, modified them, and if documents have been shared. In addition, access rules can be put in place to ensure only approved staff members have access to view patient files.
Accessibility and Productivity
Every member of a private practice must take on a number of roles to ensure the practice runs smoothly. Physical storage and sorting of documents is a time-consuming task that takes staff away from other important tasks that can directly benefit the overall patient experience. With a digital document management system in place, physicians and approved staff can access documents from any approved device easily and securely.
This greatly reduces the time needed to file, store, and recall patient documents before and after each visit. Ultimately, this means more time is spent focusing on the patient and delivering the best medical care possible from the moment they walk in the door until the moment they leave.
Save Money and Floorspace
With digital document management, private practices can say goodbye to massive filing systems that consume floorspace in their office. This also eliminates the need for a dedicated filing room. For existing practices, this opens up the potential to reimagine the space to make it more functional for staff and patients. Things like expanding the waiting area or adding an additional exam room become possible when paper files aren’t taking up a considerable amount of space.
Plus, private practices can save on their annual office supply costs by significantly reducing their printing needs. Patient files are stored digitally which means less reloading the printer paper, fewer toner replacements, less money spent on files and labels, and reduced maintenance costs of printing equipment. With the cost savings, practices can direct the money into other areas of need that will further improve the actual patient experience.
Protect Against a Worst-Case Scenario
Perhaps one of the most devastating things that could happen to a private practice would be a fire or flood. This could potentially destroy patient files that represent years of hard work and relationship building. Once a paper file is lost, it is lost. With backup solutions for digital document management, patient files are protected even if the unthinkable happens.
In the event of a major disaster like a fire or flood, patient files are securely backed up and stored offsite to allow for immediate recovery of data. Of course, Mother Nature isn’t the only cause of a disaster. Hacking and cyber crime is on the rise in recent years. Ransomware can bring any business grinding to a halt. However, with proper disaster recovery preparedness, a hacker’s ability to do damage is greatly reduced.
Enabling Private Practices to Do More
Document management is one of the biggest concerns in any business and it’s only heightened in a medical practice. With the right tools and solutions in place, private practice physicians can improve their document management, free up space in their office, enhance patient care, and reduce the costs associated with traditional document management systems.
To learn more about the range of leading document management platforms available, contact the experts at Doing Better Business today.