Challenge

The Records Management team at North West Private Hospital (NWPH) faced several significant issues around file retrievals. They had been dealing with unreliable service providers unable to service their file retrieval requests in a timely manner, resulting in inconsistency and uncertainty around when requested files would arrive back onsite.

The team at TIMG Brisbane sat down with the NWPH team and identified the following key areas needing to be addressed:

• Inefficient retrieval process using online software.
• Online software was difficult to use resulting in delays in delivery of files, particularly in urgent cases.
• Unnecessary cataloguing fees where NWPH was repeatedly charged for cataloguing services that were not requested.
• Double handling and cataloguing by both NWPH and storage company.
• NWPH had received delivery of another hospital’s medical records unbeknownst to the storage company.
• There was a backlog of items to be culled to offsite with no support provided by the storage company.
• Retention dates and destruction were difficult to manage on a box level.

NWPH had had enough and, when talking to TIMG, were keeping a series of spreadsheets with manual entry to try and manage destruction dates and keep a record of the contents of each box. This was highly frustrating for them as the process was inefficient, labour-intensive, and often resulted in inaccuracies due to human error.

Solution

Once formerly engaged by NWPH, the TIMG document storage team established a revised storage model that saw a ‘files-in-boxes’ storage plan move to a ‘loose file’ (active file) storage solution. This strategy was achieved by culling files from boxes, attaching a unique barcode to each file, and then storing them in an open or ‘loose file’ system, making each file accessible as a separate entity rather than a box item. This allowed for a full audit of files to be done during the initial setup and transition process.

The key benefits of the new file storage strategy:

• Individual files tracked and traced.
• No more requirement for the purchase of boxes.
• Cheaper file retrieval fees.
• Our DMS software allows barcodes to be scanned ‘on the fly’ during a pickup or delivery.
• Use of the culling function in TIMG DMS software allows NWPH and TIMG to cull files to offsite storage accurately.
• Minimal manual data entry required.
• Use of ‘Site barcodes’’ to eliminate errors around handling. NWPH knows where all files are located at any given time.

In consultation with the team at NWPH, we worked on establishing proper SLAs for Urgent Deliveries. We also agreed that if an SLA was missed, the visit charge would be refunded, and a full report explaining what transpired from TIMG’s end.

Results

The team at NWPH has not only remedied their issues around managing their medical and patient files but has since implemented a system for all administrative documents across the hospital to be archived using the TIMG service and software solution.