Cintas Document Management Releases Best Practices For Transitioning To An Electronic Medical Record System

-Visit Cintas at the 2010 AHIMA Convention and Exhibit, booth 938, to learn more about deploying an EMR system -

In conjunction with the AHIMA Convention and Exhibition theme "Prosper Through Change," Cintas recently released best practices for adopting an electronic medical record (EMR) system. As the recent winner of the 2010 ECM Connection ACE Award for the Records Management and Compliance category, Cintas' best practices for implementing a comprehensive EMR system will enable physicians, clinicians and staff to be more efficient and spend more time with patients. It will also enable organizations to provide better healthcare by providing real-time access to a patient's entire medical history. An effective EMR system also ensures healthcare organizations have the necessary tools to protect the privacy and security of health information in order to remain compliant with government standards.

Cintas' best practices for adopting an EMR system include:

• Take inventory of all medical records. When migrating to an EMR system, healthcare organizations should take an inventory of all their files to see what they are actually storing. This will enable an organization to have complete visibility regarding its records to make informed decisions based on financial and clinical needs. In addition, it will provide the foundation to develop a comprehensive program that will meet the entire organization's clinical needs.
• Set retention schedules. Once the inventory is complete, each department must review and set retention schedules for every type of medical record based on clinical and government regulations. To maximize the efficiency of an EMR system, it is critical that only the most relevant, up-to-date patient information resides in the system. Organizations often hold on to records that are no longer needed. These records take up unnecessary physical storage space and cost money that could otherwise be saved if imaged. By setting retention schedules and policies by department, organizations will remain compliant with government regulations and can expedite the destruction of out-dated medical records to ensure a clutter-free system.
• Select the right document management vendor. The right document management provider should have an advanced system with the ability to quickly and accurately retrieve records to help ensure patients receive the best care possible. It should have the capability to deliver physical records in an electronic format that can be easily ingested by the facility's EMR software platform and be equipped to perform data conversion from legacy systems and complex proprietary systems. It's also critical to select a secure document management provider that provides a complete service offering which includes imaging, storage and shredding services. This ensures that all electronic and physical medical records will live in a secure environment and can be properly destroyed if required.
• Don't wait to begin imaging. There is a misconception that organizations have to wait until its vendor's EMR system is live before imaging medical records. If partnering with the right provider, organizations can begin imaging 12-16 months prior to going live. By completing the preparation work in advance, the document management provider can perform a data merge to move the repository library into the new system when ready. In turn, when the system is turned on, organizations will be ready to operate in a digital environment immediately.
• Evaluate other areas of your organization. Medical records are not the only type of records that can benefit from imaging. Other paper-intensive departments such as accounts payable, accounts receivable and human resources will benefit from an imaging solution. Utilizing an imaging solution in these departments will enable staff to streamline business processes to be more productive. It also ensures compliance and frees up storage space.

"An effective EMR system will enable healthcare organizations to have immediate access to all information in one central resource," said Tom Griga, Global Healthcare Manager, Cintas Document Management. "It's important to partner with a vendor that can support large-scale projects to provide a complete document management solution that meets the needs of the entire enterprise."

Cintas offers personalized document management consultation, as well as secure document shredding, storage and imaging programs. Its services are designed to provide businesses with data privacy and security, compliance with regulatory requirements and more efficient control and access to information. Cintas is the first North American AAA NAID-certified and PCI DSS compliant document management provider.

For more information, visit www.cintas.com/documentmanagement.

About Cintas Corporation
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services and document management services to approximately 800,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CTAS, and is a Nasdaq-100 company and component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

SOURCE: Cintas Corporation