Paper medical records have been the go-to form of documentation for medical practices for decades. While new technology for digital medical services is on the rise, many medical offices are still stuck in the past using paper medical records. Continuing to use paper documents can put offices behind the curve, hurt efficiency, and create security risks. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the problems with paper medical records.
Limited Storage Space
As more patients visit, you’ll need more and more space to store medical records. Scaling storage space in your medical office can be a challenge. Digital cloud storage can accommodate thousands of patient medical records and scales easily without taking up any physical office space.
Lack of Security
Protecting private patient data is of the utmost importance in the medical field. Paper medical records are always at risk of falling into the wrong hands, getting lost, or sustaining damage. Electronic storage offers backups to protect data. You can also password-protect files to keep private information fully confidential.
Sharing Complications
Portability is a significant problem with paper medical records. Sharing information among multiple doctors, specialists, and insurance companies is a time-consuming challenge. Sending paper records via fax or mail can also be costly and can delay treatment for the patient. Allowing access online or sharing digital records can happen safely and instantaneously.
Paper Is Ineffective
Paper records are notoriously unorganized, hard to read, and difficult to locate. Taking the time to sort, understand, and find information is a significant waste of time in a medical professional’s day. Using a digital document system keeps all records organized and offers the ability to search within documents for the information people need.
Paper processes in the medical field are becoming outdated, unsafe, and a waste of time. Making the switch to medical document scanning can help eliminate these problems associated with paper medical records.