Solving the interim paper challenge

The Australian health sector offers leading-edge health services to the Australian public and is committed to digital transformation, with most major hospitals either deploying an electronic or digital health record of some sort, or actively planning to.

These health services need no convincing that technological advancements and the application of big data at a macro level will continue to change clinical approaches, public health priorities and patient outcomes. But it is also true that we are in the early stages of this technological revolution and one of the challenges that needs to be overcome is the issue of managing paper records in an EMR system.

Hospitals and other health systems do not operate in a vacuum. Those that deploy an EMR are inevitably faced with the challenge of managing paper records from third parties and may have to do so for the foreseeable future.

It is important that hospitals have a risk-resilient and comprehensive EMR system that can accommodate the realities of everyday healthcare service delivery which might involve the processing of hundreds, if not thousands, of paper documents daily.

The lack of an effective scanning solution poses many challenges. Typically, there is a backlog of patient information being recorded in patient files because it takes longer to process paper records. As with paper-based health services generally, documents are also often filed incorrectly or not moved across when creating a new volume. Limited accessibility is another significant challenge.

"Hospital staff [members]   have embraced Sunrise Document Manager as it makes their job easier and drastically reduces the risk of a mishap that would be much more likely with disparate paper   and electronic administration systems."

Matthew Pinches
EMR and Community Health Project Manager

Introducing Sunrise scanning and document management at GHA

The scanning and document management capability in Sunrise™ enables hospitals to digitise historic paper records as well as incoming paper       records from other health sites and auxiliary services connected with the hospital. This capability is embedded within the Sunrise EMR and enables critical care documentation to be scanned into the system and recorded against patient files, solving the challenge of managing disparate paper and digitised information.

Following the implementation of Sunrise EMR at GHA-beginning with Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH) in 2019-the decision was made to introduce Sunrise™ Document Manager in a similar phased approach. In June 2020, Latrobe's Emergency Department went live with Sunrise Document Manager, followed by the Inpatient departments in September and at Community Mental Health in November of the same year.

The benefits of a scanning and document management capability

The benefits of implementing a scanning and document management capability in Sunrise at GHA have been tangible and include:

• There has been a drastic reduction in the number of physical files/records being sent and returned to HIU/Wards for compiling. Filing of paperwork has been significantly reduced. A reduction in workload means a reduction in operational expense and even risk of injury for staff.
• There is vastly improved availability of reports that can be accessed immediately without having to find the file, e.g., an ECG performed in an inpatient setting. These are now scanned and therefore visible on the system to anyone who has authorised access and a reason to view them. More than one person can view the file at once.
• All scanned files can be accessed by more than one authorised person at a time, potentially expediting service delivery.
• There is no backlog of recent patient information because all paper records are immediately scanned into patient files.
• Clinicians can access most information on the system without having to look in patient's file (unless there is previous history prior to scanning implementation).

"Sunrise Document Manager addresses the inevitable need for the ongoing management of paper records in an EMR system and it achieves this in a risk resilient, seamless and sustainable way. It performs as built-in system capability as opposed to an add-on."

Adrian Shearer
Chief Information Officer