7 Reasons to Use Electronic Documents in the Long Term Care Industry

Transcription

1 State of Document Management in the Ohio Long Term Care Industry 2011 Research performed by Coleman Data Solutions 1 P a g e

2 January, 2011 This report is the summary of results from a phone survey conducted by Coleman Data Solutions in the last quarter of Over 100 Ohio Long Term Care facilities chose to respond to seven questions that allowed for a snapshot of the current state of affairs of document management in the Long Term Care Industry. Coleman Data Solutions conducts these surveys to improve services to industries that need to move documents to electronic format and store them on servers, online or simply on CD/DVD's to save space and improve access. These findings are shared with businesses in the industry so that each business can assess where they stand compared to their peers and what the current state of the industry is, along with trends for the future. If you have any questions on how this survey was conducted or about the data found in this report, please contact: Debra Prioletti Debra.Prioletti@Coleman-Data.com 2 P a g e

3 Ø Barriers to Implementing a Digital Records Management System The first question asked of each participant was to estimate on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest importance, how important the issue of electronic documents is to the operation of the Long Term Care Facility. As you can see, one-third of the respondents consider electronic documents a critical issue for the organization. And 63% considered it an 8 or higher level of importance. These findings are considerably higher than the number of organizations that are currently using electronic documents and show that it is a very important concern for the continued operation and success of organizations in the Long Term Care Industry. 3 P a g e

4 Ø How far along is your organization on conversion to electronic documents? Each participant was asked to assess their current state of conversion to electronic documents on a scale of Ten represents fully converted to electronic documents with 1 representing conversion and/or adoption not yet started. This data shows that approximately 10% have not begun conversion, with another 10% already fully converted to electronic document systems. The remaining organizations are at different stages of partial electronic document management and/or in the process of implementing a solution. Additional data shows that approximately 14% of respondents reported that they do partial electronic documents and full integration to electronic documents is their highest concern. 4 P a g e

5 Ø Software for Archival and Retrieval Approximately two-thirds of those organizations responding indicated utilizing software for archiving and retrieving documents. This shows a high percentage of organizations that are using some form of electronic documents have ECM systems in place to help them manage the information better. This information, in light of previously mentioned results, clearly shows that a majority of organizations have systems in place. However these systems are either underutilized, or that they have not yet converted older documents to the newer system. While some of those who responded No are not using electronic documents, others are most likely simply storing older files on CD or DVD as an affordable and easy backup solution. 5 P a g e

6 Ø How Do Organizations Store Files? Storing files off-site or electronically off-site is critical for recovering from data loss, such as a fire, flood or tornado. The cost to an organization to recover from such a loss depends on their document strategy and can impact the business significantly should a disaster occur. As shown in the graph above, fewer than half of the respondents reported having a backup of documents in a remote location. Only approximately 30% of respondents had electronic backups off-site for faster, easier recovery from a serious data loss. 6 P a g e

7 Ø Are You Prepared for Disaster Recovery? Not surprisingly, only 31% (primarily those with electronic documents) felt that their organization is prepared to handle a significant disaster. Insurance can pay to rebuild buildings, but documents that are lost cannot easily be recreated if no copies exist. Most notable is that 27% of respondents do not believe that they can recover from a significant data loss. In these cases, a water leak or fire could actually result in the organization failing and the loss of the business. To prevent this, simply imaging the documents and storing them on DVD s off-site could significantly improve the odds of recovering from a disaster and remaining in business. 7 P a g e

8 Ø What Would You Improve With Document Management? This final question was intentionally open ended, and resulted in the identification of several categories where organizations would like to improve document management for their locations. 39% Acquire Electronic Document Management Solution The number one request was to get electronic records for those organizations that either did not have it or only had basic archiving capabilities. 25% Faster and Simpler Data Entry The second issue is the need for staff to either have faster and easier ways to scan and enter data or to hire a company to do portions of the work for the staff. 14% Move to Fully Electronic Many organizations felt that the biggest issue was to finish moving all documents to the electronic format and system to make everything easier and better organized. 14% Improve Software Many organizations felt that the software or access to the software needs to be improved. 8% Convert Archives A significant number of respondents want to have all older documents archived and added to a newer electronic system. This is often better done by an outside firm for conversion of all files at once and does not require additional staff resources. 2% Lower Costs Costs were less frequently an issue from respondents. Once systems are in place, cost seems to be a negligible or non-issue for most organizations in this survey. 8 P a g e

9 Ø An Industry in Flux As the above data illustrates, the Long Term Care Industry in Ohio is in a state of flux. Most organizations realize the importance of moving to electronic documents and many are moving in that direction, but few have fully committed to Electronic Document Management as of the beginning of 2011 and surprising number of organizations run the risk of losing some or all of their important data which can jeopardize their business, employees and patients. Many respondents were surprised to find that a local Ohio Non-Profit company such as Coleman Data Solutions exists to help them quickly and affordably convert documents to electronic files and store them safely off-site, protecting their investment and organization. If you have question about Coleman Data Solutions services or questions regarding this report, please contact us: Debra Prioletti Debra.Prioletti@Coleman-Data.com 9 P a g e