For any business, paperwork is an unavoidable reality. Companies big and small generate a lot of it day after day. From invoices to inventory tracking sheets to internal memos, paperwork flows through business just like electricity through a wire. With the current pandemic and healthcare concerns at the top of everyone’s minds, paperwork is becoming a hot topic. Companies that are still operating right now need to find a way to distribute and handle paperwork efficiently without increasing the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Nowhere is that a bigger concern than the healthcare industry. Clinics and hospitals are the front lines in the battle against COVID-19, and they are exposed to it daily. They generate a ton of paperwork that’s handled by many people as it passes from office to office.
Types of Medical Records
Most medical facilities will generate similar kinds of paperwork. They all perform similar functions, so it only stands to reason that they will have similar forms and docs. Documents like patient charts, physician notes, and lab results are passed around often between doctors, nurses, and technicians. Billing forms, insurance forms, imaging records, and prescriptions tend to stay in the administrative offices among those workers. All paperwork within a clinic runs the risk of contamination, though.
The Dangers of Paperwork
Now more than ever the importance of scanning healthcare documents can’t be understated. People in the healthcare industry are exposed to all manner of infectious disease and illnesses. Even though they are up-to-date on vaccines and immunizations, they are still at risk of contracting a virus or communicable disease. As healthcare professionals go through their days, they handle all kinds of forms and documents. Illness is in the body before symptoms begin to show. A doctor or nurse could have an illness and not know it. Then they handle documents, hand them off to the next person, and then the illness spreads and no one knows until it’s too late.
Why Scanning of Docs Is Important
Scanning healthcare documents is important for a few reasons. First, scanning reducing the risk of spreading viruses and illnesses among staff and patients. All it takes is for one affected person to handle a form and pass it along to another, and the illness spreads like a wildfire. Once the pandemic passes, it’s a good idea to take all the paperwork generated during this time and scan it, then destroy it. Viruses have a shelf life and can’t live forever outside a host, but now isn’t the time to take chances. Second, medical paperwork is loaded with personal and sensitive information. Keeping that information safe and secure is much easier in a digital format. A reputable medical document scanning service will scan those documents and provide a certificate of destruction upon completion of the job.