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Tip: Ask yourself several questions before you install an EDMS

EHR Connection, July 30, 2007

Setting up an electronic document management system (EDMS) can be complicated in terms of timing. If you venture too soon, your EDMS won't work efficiently because not enough forms will be electronic. But if you wait too long and install a complex clinical system (e.g., patient care documentation or physician order entry systems) before EDMS, you'll face an uncontrolled paper glut.

Timing an EDMS installation so that your system runs smoothly is extremely important, because your EDMS is the core for the HIM department and clinicians, and it is the only source of the true legal patient medical record from an output perspective.

Darice M. Grzybowski, MA, RHIA, FAHIMA suggests that you answer the following questions to identify the right time to begin looking at EDMS solutions:

  • Are all of your forms assigned to a standardized format (e.g., addressograph in the same location, consistent number/placement of hole punches, ID numbers, etc.)?
  • Do you have an active forms committee in place with strict control of new forms generation? If you are in a multi-hospital facility, do the policies and standardization occur across facilities?
  • What is the current status of your barcodes-are they present or missing-in-action?
  • Are you running out of space? Are you outsourcing record storage or shipping your records off-site?
  • Is your microfilm/fiche budget expanding ordinarily quickly?

Editor's note: Gryzbowski is the president of HIMentors, LLC. Her consulting company focuses on HIM operations, education, best practices, and EHR/EDMS implementation, as well as providing strategic marketing services for physician-owned practices, hospitals, and healthcare technology vendors. She is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and expert in automation in healthcare and data management. For more information, go to www.HIMentorsLLC.com or contact her at info@HIMentors.com.

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