One year ago we began the arduous process to become a chartless/paperless office. The task involved scanning all of our charts and documents into our software system (Softdent).
We attempted to scan in the patients for the week, prior to their arrival. We also involved our children, having them scan charts during their summer break. With close to 2,000 charts to scan, the process was slow. However, I am happy to report that our staff and doctors are thankful that we are paperless.
We were fortunate to have had digital radiographs for several years so we did not have to scan radiographs into charts. Also, we are fortunate to have a storage area where we house this plethora of charts.
Today, gone are the piles of charts on my desk at the end of the day – no more “where the heck is that chart or letter from the specialist,” no more hours wasted filing and pulling charts for the day.
Yes, it has been worth every minute!
Of course, you must have a hefty computer server and great backup system to protect all this information. In addition, our front desk scans EOB’s into patients’ charts and shreds the paper – again saving time and space. We can log in from our home and look at progress notes and radiographs if a patient calls us after hours.
I highly recommend you all look into becoming a paperless office. It is only a matter of time before everyone will be.
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