New Iron Mountain EMR Enablement Solution combines document scanning,
file archiving, disaster-recovery services and consulting expertise
BOSTON, Jul 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Iron
Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the information management
company, is combining its services for document scanning, file
archiving, data backup and more into one solution for hospitals and
healthcare organizations converting hardcopy patient files into an
electronic medical record (EMR) system. The new Iron
Mountain EMR Enablement Solution offers healthcare organizations a
complete set of tools for digitizing patient records, archiving
electronic files, protecting them from disaster, and then destroying
outdated records.
While EMR systems promise to improve patient care and cut treatment
costs, healthcare organizations are uncertain how to implement digital
records using existing resources and without disrupting patient care.
The Iron Mountain EMR Enablement Solution makes the paper-to-EMR
transition easier and faster for hospitals by helping them identify
which records to digitize and which to destroy. It also helps hospitals
address essential first steps for organizing and digitizing patient
information in advance of adopting an EMR system and positioning
themselves to receive a share of the billions available in federal
incentives for successful implementation
"Adopting an electronic medical record system is critical to providing
the highest standards of patient care," said Lori P. Jayne, director of
Health Information Management and privacy officer for Lahey Clinic. "As
a multi-disciplinary, clinically-focused hospital, our challenge is to
bridge the gap between paper and electronic records and get the right
information to our caregivers when they need it most. Iron Mountain is
enabling that access and successfully preparing the Clinic for an EMR
system. We have already improved patient care quality as a result of
their approach."
Listen
to the podcast from Lahey Clinic Director of Health Information
Management and Privacy Officer Lori P. Jayne discuss her organization's
EMR implementation.
The Challenge of Paper to Digital
Most hospitals have patient records dispersed across their organization
or bottled up in specific departments. These records are often copied so
caregivers can share them across clinical areas. This produces
disconnected inventories of information without a consistent management
process. This is further complicated by the transition to EMR, which can
necessitate maintaining patient information in both paper and electronic
formats.
"Our current paper-based US healthcare system wastes hundreds of
billions of dollars annually," writes Forrester Research Principal
Analyst Craig le Clair in the independent report, Electronic Medical
Records Need More To Support "Meaningful Use" (May 2010).
"Transforming this into a streamlined 21st century electronic system
will require moving though stages of maturity from paper-based to hybrid
environments and ultimately to interoperable EHRs and adoption of online
personal health records (PHRs) for individuals." The report also states,
"[P]roviders have a great opportunity to streamline operational
processes. But this requires understanding the current state limitations
and developing a realistic road map that prioritizes processes that can
be reasonably achieved."
Iron Mountain has extensive expertise in helping hospitals and
healthcare organizations identify which parts of the patient records to
digitize and make accessible for treating patients. Iron Mountain
digitizes these documents, making sure information is captured and
categorized in the right format for easy integration into an EMR system.
Iron Mountain's EMR Enablement Solution includes a suite of document
scanning capabilities for delivering information into an EMR system.
Combining records storage and shredding services with Iron Mountain's
LiveVault(R) and the Iron Mountain Digital Record Center(R) for Medical
Images for the backup and archiving of medical data, Iron Mountain's EMR
Enablement Solution helps ensure patient information is readily
available while also maintaining its security and compliance with
industry and regulatory standards.
"It's no secret that transitioning to an EMR system is the single
biggest priority for the healthcare industry, but the scope of the
transition is overwhelming, especially given the volume of records and
the fact that many organizations retain records forever," said Ken
Rubin, senior vice president and general manager, Healthcare
Services for Iron Mountain. "Our goal is to make the transition more
manageable, while reducing the costs and risks of managing this
information. We can help them get control over their information and
operate efficiently as they tackle this new hybrid world of paper and
electronic medical records. By intelligently scanning new records and
imaging existing information as needed, we help customers reduce their
use of paper in a cost effective way. And, because in many cases we
already store the paper files, we can implement this in a more practical
way.
The Iron Mountain EMR Enablement Solution includes:
-
Day-forward scanning of documents that remain paper-based, even after
conversion to an EMR system;
-
Image on Demand(TM) capabilities for the conversion and delivery of
medical records;
-
Backfile scanning for cost-effective bulk conversion of historical
paper records;
-
Compliant and secure cloud-based archiving and disaster-recovery
capabilities through LiveVault (server-based backup) and the Digital
Record Center for Medical Images (archiving and backup of unstructured
data);
-
Additional records management and secure shredding capabilities for
paper records;
-
Consulting expertise drawn from managing hardcopy and digital
healthcare information for more than 2,000 hospitals, and scanning 10
million pages per month at more than 80 Iron Mountain imaging centers
throughout the U.S.
For more information on the Iron Mountain EMR Enablement Solution, visit www.ironmountain.com/emrenablement.
About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) provides information management
services that help organizations lower the costs, risks and
inefficiencies of managing their physical and digital data. The
company's solutions enable customers to protect and better use their
information--regardless of its format, location or lifecycle stage--so
they can optimize their business and ensure proper recovery, compliance
and discovery. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain manages billions of
information assets, including business records, electronic files,
medical data, emails and more for organizations around the world. Visit www.ironmountain.com
or follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/IronMountainInc
for more information.
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SOURCE: Iron Mountain Incorporated
Iron Mountain
Christian T. Potts, 617-535-8721
christian.potts@ironmountain.com
or
Weber Shandwick
Kristen Georgian, 617-520-7042
kgeorgian@webershandwick.com