For any medical centre, record management is of prime importance. The medical staff is responsible for providing a safe repository of the medical records and make sure that these documents can be accessed on an urgent basis. Throughout the information lifecycle, medical centers take the help of record management organizations that are experts when it comes to medical records storage in Canada. In the absence of a proper strategy for health record storage, medical care centers might be prone to substantial legal and security issues.

What Services Are Offered By The Record Management Organizations?

There are numerous firms who specialize in providing a safe storage for the patient health records and the main strategy for ensuring safety and security of the medical records is to utilize methods such as document scanning and document shredding from time to time.

Digital Scanning Of Documents

One of the fastest ways to convert documents into digital records is to scan the documents and store them as digital files. This not only helps to save space, but also to keep a tab on the records in a single place. One needs to have the right equipment in order to get the procedure completed as early as possible. With the help of a document scanning device, the procedure for scanning can be handled and the technicians responsible for professional imaging take over the job of converting the paper documents into digital files.

The steps involved in the digital scanning of the paper documents include:

• The documents are readied for scanning and they are indexed according to particular criteria.

• In order to make it easy to search for the digital files, record management firms make use of the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.

• The files are then transferred to a document management application.

For medical care centers, it is necessary to remember that the scanning process need not be done for all types of documents at the medical centre. Along with the appropriate scanning methodology for documents, administrations also need to have a secure document storage solution, which will allow to protect the information contained in the digital files. Having a reliable storage solution helps to protect the vital records that are used on a lesser basis, such as the accounting and tax receipts, the standard operating procedure documents and the contracts and agreements.

Taking the help of a record management organization would be the best way to store all of these records in a secure and well-managed manner. Not only are the records safe in such a facility, but also they are stored in an environment that is free from combustible/flammable items are stored. One of the best things about such record management firms is the strict protocol that ensures that any unauthorized personnel are not allowed entry into the facility. The documents are maintained securely, with the help of:

• Complete surveillance of the area on a 24x7 basis.

• Advanced technology such as access-control for the entire facility.

• Appropriate alarms with proper monitoring of the facility.

With help from advanced technology such as barcode technology helps to track the medical records while these are safeguarded from hazards such as fires, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Shredding Of Paper Documents

Medical records need to be preserved for certain duration of time, after which these records must be destroyed. Retaining copies of the medical files for longer periods leads to increased liability for the organization. Until the documents are destroyed on time, these are prone to reviews and examination from different authorities. For example, the record retention policies could become subject to review under subpoenas. This stresses the need to maintain a secure and routine record destruction procedure in place.

Document shredding can be an effective way of destroying documents that are no longer needed. There are professionals who are well-equipped to perform the document shredding procedure. There are shred collection containers that function according to a schedule and the records are collected and destroyed without fail. This helps to ensure that the documents are maintained appropriately and they are safely destroyed, allowing for a reliable medical record storage solution Canada.