CaseStudy

From Document Manager Magazine Vol 18 No 03 - June 2010

DM looks at why the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust has opted for an in-house scanning service as opposed to an off-site alternative

Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust was one of the first hospitals to select Kainos as its technology partner to deliver a high profile and ambitious Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) project. The project, which went live in November 2009, is part of a longer-term migration to an electronic patient records strategy at the Trust, one of the largest general hospitals in East Anglia which provides healthcare services to nearly half a million people.

Less than four months since 'go live' and all new case notes are now created electronically, 70%+ of discharge summaries are delivered to GP surgeries within 24 hours and over 8,000 case notes, each 160+ pages have been carefully scanned and captured by medical records staff.

At the outset the Trust opted to create an in-house managed scanning service, manned by its own medical record staff,  to give them greater control and peace of mind as they make the transition to electronic patient records (EPR). Their Evolve Managed Scanning Service improves upon generic off-site 'bureau' type services in a number of ways:

=  Creating an in-house scanning service means the Trust retains ownership of the scanning process. Improvements in the quality, accuracy and usability of scanned patient case notes are delivered using a reduced number of existing medical records library staff

=  Reduced administrative burden and associated costs. Time currently spent by Trust staff on searching, handling and maintaining paper records can now be allocated to more critical tasks

=  Security and cost-efficiency. Because patient records never leave Trust premises, information security is assured and there are no off-site transportation costs

=  Rapid productivity gains. Operational benefits to clinics can be seen within just six weeks of installation, while the digitised patient case note is immediately available for clinical use. As well as supporting file archiving, the solution enables the production of active patient case notes, supporting full integration with PAS and other clinical administration systems

=  Trusts can extend the facility for other uses. Once in place, the scanning service can be used to manage additional content including corporate records. It could also be used to provide a secure scanning service to other local trusts, or to assimilate third-party records in the event of a merger.

 
"We elected to manage our case note scanning in-house rather than use an external bureau", commented Neil Turnbull, IM&T department, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, "And this has paid dividends and has contributed in no small way to the success of the project in its early stages".

More info: www.kainos.com

CaseStudy