The Bone and Joint Clinic
Industry/Solution
Orthopaedics
Challenge
The Bone and Joint Clinic, P.C., a nine-physician Orthopaedic practice in Franklin Tennessee, was searching for a better solution to store and access patient information. Creating new patient charts was very time-consuming and robbing the clinic of precious floor space. With Cabinet NG's shared access filing environment, The Bone & Joint Clinic eliminated enough filing cabinets to add three new patient exam rooms!
Background
As in many practices, there is an underlying resistance to change. However, the success of scanning insurance cards made the Bone & Joint Clinic staff enthusiastic about improving efficiency in other areas, including the move to paperless charts. By replacing the hard copy chart with an electronic chart (E-Chart), clinic staff could instantly and securely access patient information using Cabinet NG.
The scanning of patient files was implemented using a day-forward process versus an A-Z approach. Patient charts are now scanned in advance of a scheduled visit. Walk-in charts are scanned after the visit is transcribed. This model was selected because it is the quickest way to bring the benefits of using the new E-Chart to active patients. Other patient records are scanned into Cabinet NG as time permits or as part of the day-forward process when a new visit is scheduled.
The scanning process begins two to three days in advance of a scheduled visit. Charts are pulled and prepared for scanning. The preparation of the chart is the first step in the process. Charts are organized for easy file naming/storing using categories (tabs within Cabinet NG) that match the practice's current system. A bar code label is affixed to the first page of a category, which the scanner reads. Once the scan is complete, the scanning staff reviews the documents and confirms the file names for each document within a category. The completed batch is merged into Cabinet NG and the "scanned record" cross-reference file is updated. This lets the administrative staff keep track of what charts are in a scanned or paper format. Scanned patient charts are kept current on a daily basis by simply using the computer mouse and keyboard to file any electronic-based document (i.e. filing faxes from the fax server or any other software-based document, Word, Excel, etc.). Paper documents are scanned and added as an image in the patient's E-Chart.
Solution
Originating as a project to scan insurance cards for The Bone & Joint Clinic, Cabinet NG went on to eliminate the need for filing cabinets and improve the overall practice by addressing four critical areas:
- Patient charts
- Accounts payable
- Contracts
- Human resource
Benefits
| Integrated support for TWAIN scanning |
Speeds the registration process by allowing direct scanning of insurance cards to the patient's chart. Eliminates making multiple copies. |
| Open connectivity to external programs |
Integrates with existing Practice Management System to automate the creation of patient charts. Eliminates duplicate data entry. |
| Cabinet NG file and print modules |
Provides printing and drag/drop capabilities of external documents for simplified filing. These include radiology reports, transcriptions, and hospital reports. |
| Automated processing modules |
Allows the clinic to store reports such as bone density results in PDF format immediately upon completion of the study. |
| Integration with fax servers |
Eliminates paper faxes by importing the fax directly into the patient chart. No more printing/scanning of faxes and exposed information sitting on the fax machine. |
| Cabinet NG forms module |
Allows clinical and hospital forms to be completed from within the patient chart. Eliminates costly paper forms and speeds the form filling process. Form data can also be used for reporting purposes. |
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