5 Important Advantages to Centralized Document Access

February 28, 2017

In 2017, the word "silo" is a bad word in the business economy. Collaboration and transparency are critical ingredients in a modern, efficient operation. The fundamental key to improved efficiency and productivity in the healthcare industry lies in finding ways to offer centralized document access to all of your team members. The more readily available patient or client information is for key stakeholders, the smoother the process for all involved.

Centralization is a vital component if you want to keep your customers happy and healthy while facilitating a smooth workflow for employees with minimal errors and manual entry. Here are a few advantages to consider:

Everything's In One Place

This benefit speaks for itself. With physical paper, it can seem impossible to track down pertinent information. It may be on someone else’s desk, misfiled, or simply lost among the stacks of paper. With centralized document access, everyone goes to one place to obtain the information they need. In a nutshell, a centralizing filing system allows for increased efficiency while reducing slip-through-the-crack mistakes.

Of course, technology offers wonderful things for all stakeholders. Solid software offers varying levels of accessibility based on role. Different team members can have certain rights, permissions, and levels of access that may be restricted to other departments, all while keeping the entirety of the information stored in a single, secure place. And audit trails and the ability to make annotations helps keep track of updates with minimal effort.

Easy Organization

Filing cabinets that are filled to the brim should be no more! The same goes for home-grown systems of folders that require specific file-naming conventions and strict process adherence if you want any hope of being able to easily retrieve information. Great file management software eliminates the need for physical filing and cluttered storage situations that are susceptible to human error. Electronic filing software not only is a space-saving solution, it provides the organization you need to retrieve the documents as quickly as possible. Filing shouldn’t be just about getting documents in, it’s about getting them out, too.

Efficient Audit Preparation

Audits are unavoidable in the healthcare industry. You're going to get an audit notice more times than you care to count, and scrambling to compile all of the requested information can be a cumbersome and trying burden for your already-allocated staff. If you're not using a centralized document access system, audits can, quite simply, be a nightmare. It can take hours -- or even days -- to compile the requested information.

Technology removes the burden of hide-and-go-seek when the auditors come around. Thanks to centralized document access, you can easily afford the appropriate team members authorization to give the auditors the information they need quickly and efficiently. This causes less stress on the organization, responsible team members, and auditors, and speeds up the process between the audit and the resolution.

Reduces Missing Items

Lost files are an unfortunate reality in the paper-trail healthcare world. Looking for lost files can cost a lost of money (and cause a lot of frustration.) If your files are housed electronically in an organized hub, they're not going anywhere! Finding misfiled documents can feel like a needle in a haystack without technological tools such as full text search or even the simple ability to flip through many files quickly. An organized document access system can reduce the time spent dealing with lost or misfiled documents, thus enhancing productivity and efficiency when team members are performing tasks where their time is better spent.

Increased Organizational Transparency

For healthcare providers, It's not always easy to track down the history of a patient's case when you're using paper. Handwritten notes and requests of billing and claims staff can easily slip past the photocopier. With centralized document access, everyone has the ability to enter notes and review patients' history when needed. Questions can be answered and inquiries can be research far more easily when everyone has access to the same information.

Centralized document access offers a world of opportunities in the healthcare industry. From efficient employees who can easily grab the information they need to loyal customers who appreciate rapid responses to their questions and quicker processes, technology is doing amazing things for the healthcare industry. Are you up to speed?