“This redesigned workflow improves the productivity of people who scan documents at the point of care, and ensures the quality, consistency, and timeliness of scanned documents filed within the electronic medical record,” said Chris Teumer, Rochester General Health System’s Chief Information Officer. 

In 2011, Rochester General implemented the Epic electronic health record system. As a result, their volume of medical records created on paper dropped from 7 million scanned images per year to approximately 4.3 million. Of the types of documents that still exist in paper form, approximately half are required for patient care at the time they are created by the hospital/office or presented by patient. Initially, the health system elected to scan and index that portion of the paper patient chart on the hospital floor and at the healthcare systems’ numerous offices and clinics.  When indexing at the point of care, RGHS found it challenging to consistently select the correct document type, maintain turnaround time, and achieve quality metrics without excessive overtime costs.  The entire process also taxed over 750 acute and ambulatory personnel that were required to scan and index documents to each patient chart individually. The new process creates the ability to batch scan these documents and electronically route to EDCO for indexing, which significantly reduces the time required from RGHS resources for scanning. 

Using EDCO’s batch scanning software, Rochester General trained over 750 users on a simplified process to batch scan the medical records on the floors and at offices and clinics.   The scanned document is routed to EDCO’s centralized indexing staff.  EDCO then leverages the power of Solarity^® technology to automatically index the document, perform a quality check, and return it to Rochester’s Epic electronic medical record system within one hour. For specific document types, an expanded document description is also added to streamline care, which makes it easier for physicians to locate documents within Epic.

“Partnering with EDCO not only provides significant benefits in terms of productivity and quality, but more importantly, it improves patient care and physician satisfaction by making the complete patient record quickly accessible from within the EMR,” said Teumer.

About EDCO Health Information Solutions

Since 1961, EDCO Health Information Solutions has enabled healthcare facilities to maximize efficiencies, reduce costs, and streamline health information to improve patient care.  EDCO provides a combination of software, services, and process knowledge to optimize the health information management department including medical records scanning software and services, physical records storage, and electronic document management software. 

For more information visit www.edcohealthinfosolutions.com.

About Rochester General Health System

Serving the community of Greater Rochester and beyond, Rochester General Health System (RGHS) has earned national recognition for excellence in a variety of clinical specialties. Rochester General Hospital (RGH), the health system’s flagship affiliate, is a 528-bed tertiary care facility that treats more Monroe County patients than any other hospital. RGH, home to the fourth largest cardiac center in New York State, has been recognized nine times as being among the nation’s 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals. According to the 2013 report from CareChex®, a division of The Delta Group, RGH ranks first in New York for Major Cardiac Surgery (#4 in the nation) and Heart Attack Treatment, #2 in New York for Overall Medical Care and #5 statewide for Overall Surgical Care. RGHS also includes Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, a 120-bed facility primarily serving Wayne and Ontario counties; two long-term care facilities, Hill Haven and DeMay Living Center; the Rochester General Medical Group, with more than 40 practices in Monroe and Wayne counties; a Behavioral Health Network, providing adult and pediatric care; Independent Living for Seniors, a program that enables elderly patients to live in their own homes while receiving comprehensive supportive services; and an Ambulatory Care division that provides superior-quality outpatient care with wide community accessibility. Learn more about RGHS at www.rochestergeneral.org.

“Collaboration between EDCO and HealthPort will provide even greater value to our customers,” said Jim Davis, President of EDCO Health Information Solutions.  “We have great respect for HealthPort and believe this partnership better  aligns our organizations to support healthcare facilities release of information and document scanning software and service needs.”

By working together, both organizations will be able to further assist healthcare facilities with goals such as expediting downstream processes for faster billing, eliminating the hybrid medical record environment, and reaching government related mandates.

“The collaboration of our organizations will enable hospitals and large health systems to choose both industry-leading solutions with confidence, knowing that we collectively have the customers’ overarching needs at the forefront,” said Jonathan Arkin, Vice President of Business Development of HealthPort.

The partnership was executed in February and has unearthed numerous areas of collaboration that will prove to be beneficial to many healthcare facilities.

About EDCO Health Information Solutions

Since 1961, EDCO Health Information Solutions has enabled healthcare facilities to maximize efficiencies, reduce cost, and streamline health information to improve patient care.  Today, EDCO provides a combination of medical records  scanning software, services, and process knowledge to optimize the health information management department.

For more information visit www.edcohealthinfosolutions.com.

Media

Contact: Kristin Binford, Director of Marketing

10411 Clayton Road, Suite 211

St. Louis, MO 63131

417.893.3176 l kbinford@edcogroupinc.com

eSummary users will now benefit from a simplified note entry interface, which enables users to easily edit the date of service and document classification, and view the page reference comprehensively in a single screen.  Users will also benefit from enhanced search tools, that allow users to easily view, sort, and navigate to specific documents from a single screen.  The search tool now also provides users with the capability to search documents only, notes only, or both simultaneously for critical information.    Additionally, eSummary users have access to expanded export tools, which allow the user to filter and export specific documents or export an entire summary into Microsoft Excel.

“These enhancements will provide additional usability and efficiency gains for our clients when reviewing and summarizing medical records,” said David Benge, President of ABI Document Support Services.  “ABI is proud to provide our records retrieval clients with innovative technology to meet the growing and changing needs of the marketplace.”

eSummary users have reported greatly improved efficiency when reviewing and summarizing medical records.  These enhancements will enable additional flexibility in the review process and added customization of the summary document.

To learn more about this product update, visit www.abidss.com/enhancements.

About ABI Document Support Services

ABI Document Support Services is a nationwide provider of record retrieval services and technology for the legal and insurance industries. For more than 30  years, ABI has developed innovative technology and processes that enable more efficient record retrieval, online record ordering, and most recently, electronic record review and summarization with eSummary by ABI.

To learn more visit www.abidss.com.

Media Contact: Kristin Binford, Director of Marketing

10411 Clayton Road, Suite 211

St. Louis, MO 63131

417.893.3176 l kbinford@abidss.com

[SAINT LOUIS, M.O., February 7, 2013] – Cogdell Family Clinic in Snyder, Texas is implementing a strategy that will effectively eliminate the onsite, paper-based medical record file room and create a paperless environment.  Approximately three million images will be scanned by EDCO^® Health Information Solutions, a nationwide company that specializes in the management of health information for hospitals and clinics.

The clinic, specializing in family practice, is moving from an off-campus site into Codgell Memorial Hospital, a rural 49-bed hospital. By eliminating the onsite file room the clinic will utilize less space, recover any previously misfiled charts, and improve access to information critical for patient care.  Additional benefits include the ease of locating patient charts by physicians and release of information staff, and accessibility during audits.

“EDCO is proud to assist Cogdell Family Clinic in reaching their goals as they transition to the new location,” said Ken Karriker, Account Executive at EDCO Health Information Solutions.

EDCO began scanning the historical medical records stored at the clinic in February 2013.  The file room elimination strategy is expected to be accomplished by the end of 2013.

About EDCO Health Information Solutions

 Since 1961, EDCO Health Information Solutions has enabled healthcare facilities to maximize efficiencies, reduce costs, and streamline health information to improve patient care.  EDCO provides a combination of software, services, and process knowledge to optimize the health information management department including medical records scanning software and services, physical records storage, and electronic document management software.

For more information visit www.edcohealthinfosolutions.com.

Media Contact:
Kristin Binford, Director of Marketing
10411 Clayton Road, Suite 211
St. Louis, MO 63131
417.893.3176 l kbinford@edcogroupinc.com

Binford leads the corporate marketing strategy, and she has played a major role in the company’s corporate-wide rebranding, website development, and customer-centric communication strategy.

“Kristin has been instrumental in positioning EDCO Group Inc. and its divisions as industry leaders, which is critical to achieving our business objectives,” said Jim Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “She has established herself as a key business partner with senior leadership throughout the company.”

Binford brings eight years of business-to-business marketing experience in results-oriented, high performance cultures to the position. She holds a bachelor of science degree in marketing from Missouri State University and a master’s of business administration degree in strategy from Drury University.

Binford believes marketing strategy should be anchored in listening to the needs of the marketplace and learning from EDCO’s customers.  “This customer-centric focus enables the EDCO Group Inc. divisions to provide valuable solutions and solve the challenges of current and future customers,” said Binford.

Kalispell maintains a rich tradition of providing benefit to the community and was chosen as a Top 100 Hospital by Thomson Reuters in 2012. In their pursuit of continuous innovation, Kalispell determined that EDCO’s scanning and indexing solution powered by Solarity^® technology is an essential tool for the future of their Health Information Management Department. Kalispell’s Health Information Management Director, Stacey Bradley, mentioned that employing EDCO’s scanning solution would save significant time and financial resources and provide the scanning quality assurance the facility requires.

“We are excited to partner with EDCO in our day forward scanning initiatives.  As a facility that is just preparing to scan inpatient records for the first time, we are anxious to learn the latest technology and processes from their team and accelerate our revenue cycle,” said Bradley.  Inpatient medical record scanning will begin in February 2013.

By utilizing EDCO’s supported scanning services model, the hospital will use EDCO’s proprietary scanning technology, Solarity, and processes to accurately scan and index medical records to the document level without bar codes.  In addition to its other benefits, Bradley identified EDCO’s scanning solution to be the ideal option for Kalispell because it doesn’t rely on traditional bar codes for document identification.  Instead, EDCO’s solution utilizes proprietary document identification algorithms and workflow that enable faster, more accurate scanning and indexing of medical records.

About EDCO Health Information Solutions

Since 1961, EDCO Health Information Solutions has enabled healthcare facilities to maximize efficiencies, reduce costs, and streamline health information to improve patient care.  EDCO provides a combination of software, services, and process knowledge to optimize the health information management department including medical records scanning software and services, physical records storage, and electronic document management software.

Media Contact:

Kristin Binford
Director of Marketing
417.893.3176
kbinford@edcogroupinc.com

The AHIMA Virtual Lab allows HIM students to combine theory with practice in an educational environment, increasing their experience with technology in the workplace.  It is currently utilized by more than 10,000 students at 200 colleges across America. 

Originating in 2006, the Virtual Lab features multiple software applications and corresponding lab lessons.  It is designed specifically for use in academic programs.         

“The virtual lab provides an opportunity for HIM students to practice in settings comparable to today’s HIM environment,” said J.T. Wood, AHIMA Director of Product Lines.

EDCO provides its Solcom^® electronic document management system to the Virtual Lab for use by AHIMA students.  Solcom is currently utilized by hospitals throughout the United States and Canada and acts as a single repository and workflow engine for scanned images. 

“We are proud to be a supporter of the AHIMA Virtual Lab and the HIM community,” said Jim Davis, President of EDCO Health Information Solutions.   

Looking toward the future, the Virtual Labs’ goals are to provide access to added users and applications, increase access to additional user types, and offer international access to users.  Additionally, the Lab hopes to provide integration of applications to improve the “real life” applicability of the tools.

About EDCO Health Information Solutions

Since 1961, EDCO Health Information Solutions has enabled healthcare facilities to maximize efficiencies, reduce costs, and streamline health information to improve patient care.  EDCO provides a combination of software, services, and process knowledge to optimize the health information management department including medical records scanning software and services, physical records storage, and electronic document management software.

For more information visit www.edcohealthinfosolutions.com.

Media Contact:
Kristin Binford
Director of Marketing
417.893.3176
kbinford@edcogroupinc.com

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) propelled the healthcare industry into rapid change toward the implementation of electronic health records (EHR).   However, as the industry strives to create a complete electronic patient chart, paper is still a component of the patient record even after the implementation of a leading EHR system.

“As hospitals become more electronic, the paper that remains is more problematic and time consuming to capture electronically.  Finding the right tools to automate this process is critical to creating a complete electronic patient record,” said Rose Devadas, Vice President of Advanced Solutions at EDCO. “Solarity bridges the gap between the paper record and the fully electronic record required for exemplary patient care, the exchange of health information, and expedited downstream billing processes.”

The path to a completely electronic record has many steps and requires the optimization of the entire health record environment.  Solarity software and its defined processes enable the fast, accurate scanning and indexing of paper documents into the electronic chart using a proprietary content recognition engine, document review module, and flexible workflow.  This often overlooked step effects multiple additional processes such as coding and billing in the electronic environment.

Customers utilizing Solarity can easily index and integrate scanned images from the floors, clinics, and the health information management department into the healthcare facility’s existing electronic document management system without the use of bar codes for document recognition.

“Creating Solarity has enabled us to dramatically increase our internal indexing productivity.  We are excited to share this technology with the marketplace so that our customers will be able to realize the same gains in efficiency,” says Chez Tschetter, Chief Information Officer at EDCO.

More information about Solarity can be found online at www.solaritysoftware.com.

After nearly three years of customer site visits, data center reviews, and competitive negotiations, CHA chose EDCO’s Solcom™ electronic document management system to integrate with their Meditech and EPIC electronic health record systems. Additionally, CHA will benefit from eliminating their paper file room and drastically reducing the hybrid record environment by scanning historical patient records with EDCO.  “Managing dual processes in the Health Information Management Department was never a viable option for us,” said Betty Manning, Senior Director of IT Program Management and Education at CHA, “By implementing this technology all-at-once, instead of taking a phased-in approach, HIM is better prepared to manage the paper that will remain in the system in the future.”

To manage paper documentation remaining in the chart and documents not created by CHA, CHA will employ EDCO’s day forward scanning solution powered by Solarity™ technology, which will allow CHA to integrate paper documents into their EHR system without the customary bar code.  Implementation of EDCO’s solutions began in July. “Implementation of these solutions is part of our overall transformation aimed to provide the very best in patient care,” said Manning.

CHA is the second hospital system that is a teaching affiliate of Harvard University to partner with EDCO on their electronic initiatives.

After extensive software development and by leveraging Solarity technology, ABI and EDCO Group Inc. have innovated again and created the powerful tool known as eSummary by ABI.  This web-based tool allows insurance and legal professionals to organize, analyze, and summarize records in a digital format, often in half the time with improved workflow management.  Attorneys, paralegals, and adjusters currently use a variety of methods to summarize records such as Microsoft Excel and Word, but these solutions lack the specific functionality needed efficiently meet growing demands, often with fewer resources.

“We developed eSummary by ABI to allow our user’s to organize, analyze, and summarize records much more effectively than with their traditional method,” said Vice President of Sales, David Benge. “It has been exciting to see the early adoption in the marketplace.”

Record review completed early in the process by associates, paralegals, and adjusters can be critically important to attorneys preparing for deposition or trial later in the lifecycle of a litigated file.  eSummary by ABI provides a lifeline to important information relevant to the case through its OCR search and filtering capabilities. No longer will attorneys rely on thumbing through stacks of medical records with hard-to-read hand-written notes to find information necessary to defend their clients at critical times.  They will have the power of eSummary by ABI™ to assist them.  Best of all, this tool comes free to clients who utilize ABI for record retrieval services.

Records that are placed in chronological order and tabbed by document classification (x-rays, physician notes, billing records, etc.) can greatly expedite record review.  Insurance and legal professionals using eSummary by ABI can electronically perform this task themselves or ABI can provide these services for a nominal fee.   Many clients have mentioned that when records exceed ~350 pages they find ABI’s ability to perform this service extremely valuable as it allows them to review records faster and pinpoint critical information early in the case or claim, often at the click of a button.

“ABI is so excited to be able to offer our clients supported chronological reorganization and document classification services on all records ordered through ABI or on a case by case basis,” said Benge.

For more information on eSummary by ABI please visit www.abidss.com.