Upgrading our nations health IT infrastructure and preparing practitioners to embrace electronic medical records (EMRs) makes national headlines daily. On TV, radio, and countless talk shows, the buzz about healthcare reform seems endless. Although changes have been considered for years and repeatedly delayed, EMRs now hold a top spot in our countrys strategic move to improve quality care while allaying ballooning costs. We have to tackle the bucking bull if we are to manage healthcare costs effectively and provide the quality of care our citizens need and deserve, because the bull will no longer wait.

The first step in revamping the healthcare system is getting rid of paper files and manual processes and moving toward full-blown EMRs. Digital accessibility to information is critical to providing continuity of care and top-quality patient services. Federal mandates for adoption are approaching, and significant financial incentives for timely adoption will help to ease the transition. Comprehensive information must be securely accessible in one place to those who need it, whenever they need it, and wherever they are.

The challenge: Fearof cost, making wrong choices, and change

Everywhere you turn you read about EMR, EHR, President Obamas healthcare plans, and more. Its a problem thats clearly on everyones mind, and everyone has an opinion. Its easy for everyone on the outside to tell the medical community they have to turn their business processes upside down (oh yeah, and pay for it themselves, too, because we all know how much money the doctors make).

But lets step back for a moment. When most of us look for a doctor, were not really looking for the most technologically capable physician. Were looking for the person who is the most medically competent. Why should we expect doctors to make technology choices and implement changes any better than the rest of us

PMS systems: your whole IT world

Currently, IT for many doctors is wrapped exclusively around practice management software (PMS) systems. They serve as the core technology (and often the only one) for many practitioners, and are a vital source of information. Some practices have gone a step beyond, bolting on basic scanning capabilities, but their access to information is still limited.

From a ten-thousand foot view, this picture is no different than a university and its student information systems, or an insurance company and its policy administration system. All three scenarios give you a solution with all the data about a client (patient, student, or an insured), but none of them include all of the other data that is locked up in paper documents, emails, faxes, voice files, and so on. This is where ECM enters the picture.

One-stop records: easy, affordable, and moving you in the right direction

As doctors and medical practitioners, you carry out one of the oldest and most important professions of allcaring for people (rather than being expected to be an IT or EMR expert). What you need is a system to get you the information you needefficiently, easily, on time, and affordablyso you can continue to use your time and expertise to heal people. You dont have time for software that involves risk, is challenging and time consuming to learn, or is still being refined.

There are some amazing EMRs on the market, but many cater to little to documents and focus entirely on data. In contrast, ECM is a technology that has been around for more than 30 years, is proven and mature, and understands how to securely deliver patient records. It can be purchased with confidence, and trusted to deliver what it promises. ECM may just seem like another fancy acronym and concept. Yet it delivers exactly what you need for a much more affordable price than EMR solutions, many of which are relatively new and are still being perfected. Best of all, it gives you the tools you need to access documents and work more efficiently at a price even small practices can afford.

Why risk implementing a solution before its fully proven and market ready Is it worth paying big bucks for something before youre confident it will deliver, and risking failure Doesnt it make sense to walk steadily with confidence before we try to run

Connecting the dots: the power of ECM

With browser-based enterprise content management (ECM) software, you can have confidence that youll be connected to all of your information, wherever it resides. Once everything is stored digitally, you are steps away from process automation; rules-based processing ensures your standards for consistent, timely, high-quality service are met. Processes such as informing your patients of medical test results are never overlooked again: once your rules are established, data drives standard processes forward to completion, 100 percent of the time.

With the automation and integration powers inherent in ECM, one-stop records are a reality. All of your information is gathered and presented centrally, whether it happens via integration with your PMS or straight through the ECM interface. You can experience the power of digital patient records, with seamless and efficient delivery of information.

Digital patient records solve a serious challenge for doctors and their staff by placing all available information into their hands at their desktops or at the patients bedside. By leveraging an ECM solution to access information, you can help your staff adjust to working with records digitally. When true EMRs become reality for your office, you will not only have the right tools and complete access to all of your patient data; you will have already transitioned your staff into the world of virtual care. The challenges of change will lie behind you.

ECM is a cost-effective stepping stone to seamless information access. A proven and advanced technology, the marketplace today offers solutions that have a low total cost of ownership (TCO) and are easy to manage. Scalable solutions create an environment that adapts to your needs and grows with you. The benefits are many. ECM:

Helps you to manage the transition to EMRs gradually, easily, and affordably;

Gets staff accustomed to managing patient care and services electronically;

Helps staff gradually end their reliance on paper and cumbersome paper-related processes;

Prepares you and your staff to make the leap to fully automated systems and processing with confidence;

Integrates with PMS systems so that when you view patient data stored in your PMS, you can bring up the supporting medical records for that patient with a single mouse click.

You also have the assurance of knowing it will integrate with your EMR system whenever you are ready for it.

Realizing the benefits: 21st-century care

There are many proven benefits of transitioning to an ECM solution:

Electronic forms that let you capture more data at the sourcefrom your staff and from patient self-services;

Document imaging and desktop scanning that captures and indexes paper forms, documents, and images;

Email, fax, and voice mail capture accompanied by thorough indexing, making information that is difficult to access searchable and usable;

Thorough integration with your PMS and other systems, giving you browser-based access to all of the digital content you have stored;

Seamless integration with your website and portal, facilitating patient self-service.

ECM readies your staff for the eventuality of EMRs by enabling:

Seamless communication between diverse electronic systems (resulting in better access);

A holistic view of all patient-related data;

Better patient treatment based on timely, complete information;

Elimination of duplicate tests, reports, files, and fewer errors;

Cost-effective care by eliminating paper shuffling;

Improved security over paper-based and mixed media record storage;

Easier compliance and audits.

With everything you need at your fingertips via a click or two of a mouseand an investment that wont break the bankthe benefits of data-driven healthcare can be yours.

Investing in your future: why-and why now

While making the move to a paperless office is not a new concept, its still a major change. It means getting used to a different way of working, and there are costs involved. Yet as you move toward the world of virtual care, ECM technology offers an affordable starting point. In addition to helping you be productive and proactive, it saves money on paper, printing, postage, shipping, file management, and more, supporting business practices that are ecologically sustainable.

Much has been written about President Barack Obamas American Recovery and Reinvestment Act HITECH economic stimulus funds, which are anticipated as early as 2011. Practices that are positioned to make the leap early in the funding cycle will benefit the most, seeing improved care as well as significant reductions in administrative costs. The time to move forward Now. It makes senseeconomically, ecologically, and medically.

Getting started: overcoming your fears

Change tends to be accompanied by fear. Transitioning to ECM from paper- and mixed-media record storage is no exception. Common misconceptions that lead to delayed adoption include concerns about:

Up-front costs, particularly for small physician practices.

Tip: Make sure your vendor offers flexible pricing or payment options and the ability to start small and add functionality as your practice grows and changes. ECM is a cost-effective way to move toward EMRs, for a fraction of the cost. A vendor that is committed to your success will work with you to create an affordable solution.

Lack of knowledge regarding what kind of system to buy, and from whom.

Tip: Talk with your peers. Find out what they are using, and whether theyre satisfied. A high sales volume might be an indicator of success, but it may just be a result of clever marketing. Make sure the vendors you are considering consistently deliver results. If you do careful research, you can strike the fear of failure from your list.

Security and privacy concerns, in light of several highprofile security breaches.

Tip: Make sure your ECM solution lets you lock down access to information (and the ability to act on it) by department, job role, document type, etc., so access can be controlled.

Lack of financial incentive to make the leap in the short term.

Tip: Dont procrastinate. With federal funding an arms length away, now is the time to get your ducks in order so you can take full advantage of federal funding. Although it takes time to achieve a return on investment, its typically less than a year, and sometimes a matter of months.

Fear that the system wont offer the interoperability thats needed to communicate with EMRs.

Tip: Make sure you choose a vendor with a web-based solution built on a cross-platform framework that will enable seamless communication with other systems, now and in the future.

The cost of scanning existing and old patient records can be overwhelming for small practices.

Tip: Start with your current and recent patient records. Archived records can be added later. Moving forward, scan every piece of paper as its received, and capture as much as possible electronically. If you gain control over the flow of information, the savings are immense.

Leap forward with confidence

Ready to bring your practice to a whole new level Eager to experience more Aha! moments in preventive and curative medicine as you view patient records and challenges in ways that were previously impossible Anxious to experience greater efficiency in patient care and to benefit from better cost control, using proven technologies that you can trust

If so, its time to embrace ECM and travel the path to the world of digital care. By doing so now, you will be ready to soar when our nation embraces a new system of healthcare that promises to revolutionize quality care. Leap forward with confidencenow!