InFormFast

Earlier this year, the actor, Bill Murray, was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the surprise hit, "Lost in Translation." While the film made for great entertainment, living with the problem of documents "lost in translation" is not.

Providers today face a great deal of regulatory and financial pressure to utilize technologies that will enhance patient safety and improve efficiency. There’s growing interest in converting documents to standard formats which can be used for archiving for workflows, for use on the web or for presentation of data from HIS systems. But converting hundreds of existing documents isn’t easy, especially since these documents may have been created using a wide variety of software, such as Word, Quark, PageMaker, Acrobat, HTML, and other programs. Adding to the complexity, most forms automation software is proprietary; as are HIS formats. The situation gets bleaker when businesses decide to convert preprinted forms to electronic, only to discover that their contracts with forms vendors don’t allow access to electronic originals. The result? Islands of "lost" documents and some unexpected costs.

Documents whether Preprinted, Printed On Demand, Form-Filled on the Web, blank, filled with data, archived or emailed all require conversion to multiple electronic formats in their lifetime. This can only be accomplished if they are developed or converted in an open source design program. Thus the true cost of moving your documents forward to the next environment may not be the cost of the software; it’s the cost of converting hundreds of documents that already exist in various formats. We have seen many providers buy document software only to discover that the cost of using it is prohibitive. It gets mothballed. Before you convert even the first document, you must have a system in place to address the "what" and "how" of the documents already circulating in your system. Otherwise, you’ve simply added a new format, and have done nothing to actually improve the processes within your system.

How do you move forward in Document Management 2004. This essential step won’t come from forms vendors whose priority and whose cash flow supports management of only preprinted documents: most of these firms have dropped away from global document management. What your business needs is an approach—such as the one offered by Xerox—or other document management vendors—that will offer a total program for controlling all document types. And that will work with your internal staff. Stated simply, you must get a full and complete accounting of all the forms being used in your facility and a plan before you convert them to electronic versions.

So what does your future look like? Don’t give up in the face of ‘unbearable’ challenges and costs. Just look globally at document management today.

Rob Harding, President
FormFast, Inc.

Does this scenario sound familiar? You’d like to convert your current forms to electronic versions for greater use and management, but your forms are a hodgepodge: You have forms on multiple servers, using XL spreadsheets, document files, in your print shop (created in Quark, Pagemaker or other programs), and provided through outside vendors. You don’t always have electronic versions of your forms…and if you do, you don’t have a standardized vocabulary (different applications cannot talk to each other).

Is the situation hopelessly overwhelming? Actually, it isn’t. But it requires that you think globally…and that you ask some very pointed questions of prospective software vendors.

For example, standardization is a key step and should take center stage as your facility considers IT strategies. In order to avoid costly and inefficient "work-arounds" later on, you should ask prospective vendors if their HIS formats are proprietary, and whether you will be able to convert them. If the answer to these key questions is "YES," you’ll find yourself with islands of documents that get lost and must be redrawn. Thinking about what you need today—and in the future—will help insure that that the IT decisions you make today are worth the investment.

You may have noticed that your users want forms on demand. However, your HIS company isn’t providing this. Should you expect this capability in the next version? It probably won’t happen. The solution? A standardized document automation software.

FormFast can be your solution. We’re ready with a universal presentation tool that can be attached to your database.
And we’re the only company that does this.

To help you think about the many issues surrounding forms conversion, take a look at the following Q&A.

Q: If I did want to standardize, what are issues I have to take into account?

A: To achieve standardized formats, they’ll have to work with your HIS platform. The most important question to consider when choosing any HIS vendor is whether they understand and support your long-range goals. Ask yourself: is this vendor going to be partner in our process? That means achieving a partnership with your overall goals (i.e., improving efficiencies, enhancing patient safety and reducing costs) as well as the organizational culture that permeates your unique day-to-day operations.

Q: People are getting more serious about web utilization, but I don’t know how to approach this.

A: Successful implementation of intranet and Internet applications can offer tremendous workflow advantages to your facility and its employees, and offer an important tool for patients as well. However, it requires a careful analysis of your current processes. Unless you address this key step, you’ll simply layer another technology over what may be inefficient systems already in place. The next two sentences may be the most important pieces of advice we can give you.

In order to look critically at your culture and systems, you’ll need representation from all the potential user groups: physicians, nurses, pharmacy, etc. These individuals not only can give you first-hand reports "from the trenches" but they also will become your stakeholders in helping achieve a successful implementation.

Q: Who should be responsible for forms, CIOs, Materials Managers, CFOs?

A: All of the above. You need CIOs who have done their homework and the "professional buyers" from materials management who can strike a good balance for your facility. The person/department that makes the initial inquiry to vendors will depend on your facility’s structure and usual way of doing business. Usually, though, Materials Management staff should make initial inquiries and bring in the CIO as information is collected. The CFO must bridge the funding from capital and operational budgets so that all parties can win.

With the goal of moving toward the electronic medical record (EMR), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has advocated the use of bar codes in healthcare. Moreover, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has also proposed regulations that impact this issue. Much has been written regarding the benefits bar codes can offer in supply logistics and billing, document management and point of care patient safety. And although few would dispute that bar codes can be very useful in reducing errors, streamlining processes and enhancing patient safety, many issues still loom large. Bar codes remain technically very challenging— from their symbology to the scanners that must read them. What are the key considerations? Symbology is the "language" of a bar code, and it’s what the scanner must read. The bar code is a collection of white spaces and lines that represent an item, and that your computer uses to look up the record of information about that item.

In the area of materials management, bar codes can help in receiving, shipping, inventory and proper routing of supplies. Retailers already use bar codes to identify, charge, automatically inventory and (if necessary) reorder items: critical functions that happen at the register and translate to stores receiving and vendor shipping amounts and schedules.

However, the really tremendous advantages of bar codes may, in fact, prove to be in the clinical area. The use of "bar code enabled point of care" (BCPC) helps capture data electronically at the point of service. This includes identifying the caregiver, patient and (for example) medication being administered, all with instrumentation at the bedside. In the medication example, bar code technology can also be used to automatically "chart" the delivery of medications (or other procedures). This helps caregivers spend more real time in patient care, not in paperwork.

But even though bar codes offer tremendous plusses, there is no standard symbology at present. Numerous symbologies have been created within healthcare (and beyond)—mostly in response to specific challenges. But all scanners won’t read all bar codes. Scanners that "read" the bar codes differ widely in their advantages and limitations. Bar codes such as those on wristbands may need to be shared by several applications which require different numbers, number formats or barcode types.

Still, bar code technology at the point-of-care can, in theory, improve the safety and accuracy of medication administration, transfusions, laboratory work, specimen collection and other procedures. But while patient safety is a paramount concern for healthcare providers, the costs of bar coding and other technologies must be weighed against a number of competing "wants" for scarce healthcare dollars. Bar code technology in the clinical setting is a serious investment. For hospitals considering the move to bar code technology at the point of care, healthcare providers must first get a global grasp of the uses for bar codes in their facilities. This will require the input (and again, the buy in) of all members of the clinical team who will use this technology). If you first consider your culture and workflow, you’ll understand better the opportunities (and challenges) of implementing this technology. Organizations must also assess their readiness (as an organization and in terms of their IT infrastructure) to take advantage of this opportunity.

And finally, choosing a vendor to assist your facility move toward the many applications of bar code technology should include pointed conversation about your facilities goals—short term and long range—and your prospective vendor’s abilities and willingness to help you achieve them.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 has been the subject an awful lot of study—and no small amount of confusion—regarding mandated privacy and security requirements. But if we look at the literature on what HIPAA is really asking hospitals to do, we see the bottom line: Patient protection. But how hospitals interpret that protection can lead to some very confusing and inefficient work practices. Take for example the issue of access to data. Patient data must be secure. It should only be viewed when it has relevance to patient care, and then, only by individuals who need access to that particular information. But creating a passworded system at the computer may, in fact, do nothing to secure data; so much as it creates another time-consuming step for caregivers who need access to data. Take the example of a nurse who must use multiple programs to obtain pertinent information on her patient. Conceivably, each database might require a separate access code or password. That’s not only inefficient, it doesn’t begin to address the issues of who is actually printing the data and who might see that data once it’s sitting in a printer tray.

At FormFast, we’re often asked, "Do you have a HIPAA compliant log?" We do. But that’s only part of the answer. We emphasize process—the whole process, in helping clients ensure HIPAA compliance. For more information on how we can help your facility address the complexities of becoming HIPAA compliant, contact us at www.formfast.com .

Alliance with XEROX

Document conversion is daunting enough. But document management is the cornerstone of creating an effective and efficient future for your facility.

FormFast is pleased to announce that we have entered into a marketing alliance with Xerox Corporation. Under the agreement, Xerox Consulting and Services interfaces their on-demand software with FormFast software to output all documents using one control system. It’s a winning combination providing benefits for providers coast to coast. To learn about how FormFast and Xerox can work for you, contact us at info@formfast.com

We have received numerous requests for addition of patient photo capture to our "Swiss army knife" of automation tools to assist in the registration process. Current capabilities are

1) Scanning of patient insurance cards and IDs
2) Electronic patient signature for consent forms
3) Barcoded wristbands
4) Automated preregistration modules for the web
5) On demand distributive printing of documents according to workflow scripts

The addition of photo capture will add a whole new dimension of positive patient ID to insure that the right patient is treated and the right patient insurance is billed. We will shortly do a full press release and product announcement on this exciting new capability, but contact us at info@formfast.com if you have a current project requiring this capability.

Come see how the process improvement solutions at FormFast can work for you. Mark your calendars and join us at these upcoming events:

kTrade Show Title	Dates	Location
mmMUSE INTL./ mmMEDITECH	May 18 - 21	Miami, FL
mmKEANE mmUser Group	May 23 - 26	Orlando, FL
mmHFMA	June 27 - July 1	Nashville, TN
mmQUADRAMED mmUser Group	September 18 - 22	Orlando, FL
mmCAHAM	September 19 - 22	Las Vegas, NV
mmAHIMA	October 9 - 14	Washington, DC
mmMcKessonInsight mmUser Group	October 28 - 30	Atlanta, GA

We hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of InFormFast.

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Please contact info@formfast.com
or call 1-800-218-3512
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