NHS Business Services Authority utilises OPEX® Falcon® series of scanners to provide ease of access to patient records.
The background
Dr. Stephenson and Partners is a family practice in Tyne and Wear, England. Since 1999 the practice staff had worked on a ‘paper lite’ principle but still had a large backlog of old paper records occupying a space of around 270 sq. meters – space which could be used for clinical purposes.
The challenge
With a rapidly expanding patient base, the practice jumped at the opportunity to digitise their paper files, free up additional clinical space, and reduce costs associated with record retrieval. Documents in Lloyd George envelopes contain a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The condition of the documents can also vary greatly, as many documents actually pre-date the installation of electronic systems, some documents are more than 50 years old.
The solution
The project was a collaborative effort, with the practice staff collating Lloyd George files and organising batches, ready for collection and scanning by the NHSBSA team. Working alongside Dr. Stephenson’s team, NHSBSA utilised the OPEX® Falcon scanning platform and created an indexing system for the scanned documents to ensure easy upload and accurate retrieval from the digital archive.
The OPEX Falcon scanner is designed in such a way that it enables a single operator to deliver a single touch ‘prep and scan’ solution, quickly transforming unstructured paper files into structured file content alongside images and metadata – ready for onward processing and ingestion into EPR systems. The end result enables the clinical team to make informed decisions about patients based upon the electronic information captured and presented for them.
Key results
- 12,300 easily accessibly Lloyd George notes that were previously stored and filed on site
- 270 square meters of storage space were reclaimed for clinical use
- 1 system now provides access to complete information for GPs
The future
The clinical team is able to quickly and professionally complete their job, safeguard the integrity of information, and provide output options tailored to their customer. With the additional space available, the clinical team is able to use that space to expand patient care services.
“It has been a pleasure working alongside the NHSBSA Scanning Team to deliver a record solution that could help many other practices in the future. The process was quick and efficient and the NHSBSA team were professional throughout – nothing was too much trouble. With plans underway, we are looking forward to welcoming patients to our new waiting area and using our additional consulting room.” June Pace, Practice Manager at Dr. Stephenson and Partners