AND IMPACT ALL HOSPITAL DEPARTMENTS
Your EHR install is complete. The learning curve was hard, but staff is finally realizing their EHR’s potential. Soon you discover your EHR leaves you with some holes, specifically forms management. Why is staff struggling with paper, printers, toner and scanners when a solution like eForms is available?
Clearly forms are important or they wouldn’t be part of your workflows. However, paper forms are rife with bad or illegible data. Bad data that can impact the speed of care, outcomes and billing efficiency.
Form solutions are often associated with printing patient labels, wristbands and waivers. Today eForms are feature rich and a critical tool in improving data, patient engagement, operational efficiency, safety and compliance.
So, what are your options?
Using the EHR to Generate Forms
Before you jump to this solution consider whether your EHR has tools robust enough for your needs. Do you have internal expertise to manage Forms in the EHR? Will users in AP, HR and administrative departments want their form workflows improved also? Most EHRs can create simple forms for patients, but not for employees, vendors or physicians. If you use the EHR to manage your initial forms needs you may end up managing several different solutions. Clearly this is not a best practice.
Staying the Course with Paper
What about maintaining your current paper-based forms? Besides the cost of paper and the manual steps to manage paper, you still have to scan and index completed forms into the EHR or Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). Scanning can create errors in both the quality of the image and indexing to the proper patient account. Depending on the size of your hospital and the number of forms required, this process can take several man-hours each day. Also, patients will compare your your paper-based processes with more modern solutions provided elsewhere. Not a great first impression!
Forms Management Solutions
The best solution is a Forms Management Solution. Solutions like dbtech’s eForms deliver a ROI in as little as a few months by eliminating the need for paper forms, providing for electronic patient signatures and integrating completed forms with your EHR or EDMS with zero man-hours.
Top Reasons to consider a Forms Management Solution like eForms from dbtech.
- Enterprise vs. EHR-specific Solutions. EHRs are OK for simple patient forms, but not for human resources, accounts payable, finance and more. Compare your EHR’s forms capabilities against Forms Management Solutions like dbtech’s eForms platform.
- EHR & Network Downtime. Dbtech’s provides redundancy when the EHR or hospital network is down. Downtimes are common with EHRs. Eventually your EHR will be down for several hours or days. Hospitals that tie forms creation to the EHR usuallyhave to revert to paper during downtime events. Dbtech provides access to eForms, registration processes and even scanning when your EMR or network are inaccessible.
- Eliminates scanning. Scanning workflows place documents and data at risk for loss or improper indexing. This is not only inefficient but delays access by other staff members, often by hours or days.
- Barcode Efficiencies. If you decide to stay paper-based, Forms Management Solutions provide for ways to print your forms with encounter-specific patient and form barcodes. This ensures your EHR or EDMS indexes completed forms to the appropriate encounter.
- Form Dissemination. In paper-based environments forms are printed centrally and disseminated to all departments. When you need to make form changes it can take a long time to remove old forms from circulation. Forms Management Solutions like eForms from dbtech make forms changes quick and easy.
- Cost Cutting. Forms Management Solutions reduce costs associated with paper, toner, printing, scanning and storage by replacing paper-based manual processes with digital workflows. This can save hospitals thousands of dollars each year.
Whether you decide to stay the course with paper or use your EHR for eForms, you should consider a Forms Management Solution from a vendor with over 25 years experience in healthcare-specific forms and document solutions. Dbtech has the expertise and will guide you through the process in the most cost efficient manner possible.