Electronic Health Reporter

Guest post by Steve Wilson, vice president of product management and marketing, Accusoft. 

It’s no surprise that the healthcare industry is one of the most highly-regulated industries in the United States. Therefore, maintaining compliance is no easy feat. Paperwork and documentation often hinder the productivity of even the most advanced healthcare facilities. Fortunately, with the digital revolution, a majority of these inefficiencies can be solved with document automation.

More healthcare companies are utilizing the software to help ensure compliance, reduce risk and focus on providing better patient care. It does so by providing facilities with the ability to set up digital checklists with due dates, reminders for task completion, and more. Whether it’s used in daily operations or staff and patient-related work, document automation makes the process simple. Here’s how:

Daily Operations

With all that goes on in a single healthcare facility, there are certain details that can often be overlooked or forgotten. Daily operational tasks, such as completing vendor contracts and purchase orders, keep the facility running – yet the Journal of Contract Management report found that more than 70 percent of companies lose or misplace 10 percent or more of signed contracts.

A modern workflow software manages these important recurring documents and contracts with an automated process. Furthermore, with electronic signatures, repeating or bulk documents, such as facilities requests, can also be signed. Easing the burden of daily operations helps to significantly free up valuable time to focus on providing the best patient care.

Staff Operations

Better patient care begins with better staff operations. Document automation provides a centralized location to keep all important templates — from physician agreements and credential documents to time sheets and other organizational forms. Instead of relying on hard copies of documents, which are susceptible to damage or misplacement, everything is digital. No matter the size or complexity of the staff, as healthcare facility staff sizes can range from 42 to more than 11,000, digital processes help maintain compliance by ensuring credentials and certifications are standardized and up-to-date.

Patient Operations

Patient care is the driving force behind the massive growth of the healthcare industry. While nearly all facilities offer good care, the most distinguished are recognized for their outstanding commitment to offering the best care. When facilities and operations are efficient and compliant, health staff can focus their attention on providing that care, instead of managing paperwork and processes. Workflow software can easily set periodic reminders to inspect and maintain emergency generators, eyewash stations and fire extinguishers to ensure they are always in working order in case of emergency.

With document automation, it is possible to create custom, digital forms that patients can quickly fill out. Patients can easily receive notice of privacy practices, authorize record release forms and request prescriptions from anywhere and on any device. And with electronic signatures, healthcare facilities can rest assured that the signature will be legally binding signature and secure.

Workflow software with document automation is the secret ingredient to saving time—all while ensuring compliance. With an effective workflow in place, healthcare providers can spend more energy and resources on providing personalized patient care.