Christian Health Care Center

Healthy Admissions Processes

Documents

CHCC manages a variety of documents from different departments. Its focus is on digitally managing the documents in the Admissions and Education Departments.

Each of the Center's programs has its own admission process and set of documents. Regardless, all programs require an application, signed consent forms, billing information, a copy of the insurance card and insurance-verification documentation. CHCC enters this information into its database and creates an internal report called a face sheet which provides basic demographic information and emergency contact information. Other crucial documents needing electronic storage consist of advance directives, living wills, power of attorney, Medicaid and medical certification forms, Medicare and Medicare D claims, and in some cases, diagnosis documents or donor information.

The Education Department needed to store staff certifications and sign-in sheets for clinical and non-clinical programs, as well as other documents such as tests and course outlines.

Work Process

When a patient is admitted to one of the Center's programs, he/she submits handwritten relevant information, which the Center's staff manually enters into its system. Other needed documents are added to the patient's record.

Solution Requirements

CHCC wanted to implement a powerful, modular, document imaging system. It was looking for a vendor that could provide not only a departmental solution, but one that could grow into a workflow system throughout the organization.

Solution

Authorized DocuWare Partner, Atlantic Business Products, implemented CHCC's DocuWare solution. It seamlessly imported six years of admissions documents and index information from an outdated imaging system into the new DocuWare system. Scanning is done at each Admissions office, using either a Kodak I-40 scanner or a Fujitsu or Ricoh multi-function device.

With DocuWare, the organization's work processes have remained basically the same. Demographic information is still manually entered into the Center's system; however, it is only entered once and is used to automatically index scanned documents across the organization. Before scanning, the staff generates a barcoded cover sheet by typing the patient's Social Security number and document type into a MS Word template. The Center’s staff converts this text into two barcodes by simply changing the text to a barcode font. During scanning, DocuWare "reads" the barcodes and fills in a value for the doc type index field, then uses the barcoded SSN as a matchcode to populate the remaining index values, such as last name, first name, medical record number, date of birth, and admission date. Utilizing document imaging streamlined CHCC's registration process and is expanding throughout the facility. The Finance Department uses DocuWare's TIFFMAKER print driver to automatically electronically store statements in DocuWare. The Education Department scans important certification and training documentation daily.

User Benefits

On an individual level, the work load and stress level has been reduced now that information only needs to be manually entered one time. Additionally, information accuracy has improved. Moving to DocuWare for electronic document processing allows employees to work more efficiently by reducing physical contact with paper documents. Questions regarding an admission or transfer to another program can be quickly and easily addressed, benefiting the patient and his/her family, as well as Admissions employees.

Individual Benefits

Individuals being admitted as rehabilitation patients frequently stay or transfer to another program in order to receive long-term care. The Admissions Department can easily transfer documentation and insurance information to the new program, allowing CHCC to avoid delays and keep the billing process flowing smoothly.

Storing the Education Department's documents electronically allows CHCC to quickly do a survey on its employees' training levels. This information is needed for annual state training audits. In order for the Center to be accredited by The Joint Commission for its inpatient program, CHCC must be able to quickly produce accurate training and certification documentation.

Organization Benefits

Automating admissions and education processes has improved patient relations, helping CHCC keep its mission in the forefront: to provide services in a compassionate and loving environment.

"We are so happy with DocuWare. We really wanted to implement a system where we only needed to have one point of data entry, a system that would allow us to connect and utilize the crucial information contained in our main database. With DocuWare, we've done that and are able to efficiently and accurately share information among our different programs, reduce document retrieval times, and give the Finance Department instant access to insurance information to properly bill patients," said Jennifer Vitrano, CHCC Patient Access Manager.