Different industries and offices handle important documentation. The most important records you come across in healthcare facilities are your patients’ vital health documents. Properly storing and organizing your patients’ sensitive information affects the trust you build with your clients, your HIPAA compliance, and your productivity. Here are four storage tips for vital health documents and the best practices for recordkeeping in a medical workspace.
Make Physical and Electronic Copies
Copies give you a fail-safe for many potential issues, from lost or misplaced records to accidental deletes and markings on paper documentation. Keeping a copy on hand at all times guarantees you always have vital information, no matter what happens to the original.
Making a physical and electronic copy gives you a fail-safe in either medium. It also streamlines document sharing, as it provides you with an extra record ready to share in convenient ways.
Use a Modernized Digital Software
Electronic technology updates many processes, including filing systems. Digital filing software programs provide secure and easy-to-use electronic recordkeeping. They modernize how you store, handle, and navigate records.
Recent 2023 HIPAA regulation updates expand the rights of patients over their health records. The increased access and flexibility to their documentation means a potential increase in patients requesting digital copies of their personal health information. Electronic recordkeeping methods make it easier to share information with clients—through portal systems—along with other modernized benefits, like built-in security properties and customizable organization.
Add Different Security Measures
Handling any sensitive data—banking information, laboratory results, past medical records, home addresses—requires adequate security measures. Keeping a patient’s vital records secured from scammers, identity thieves, and other possible dangers maintains the safety of your clients and further strengthens their trust and relationship with your facility.
Whether you keep things old school or switch to electronic recordkeeping, add different security measures to your storage systems to heighten the safety of your patient’s records. You can amp up security over your records in many ways, such as using padlocks and keypads on filing cabinets or intricate password requirements, pin codes, and two-step-authentification logins.
Organize Documents for Easy Navigation
Organization plays a prominent role in any storage system. It affects how you navigate your stored items, streamlining processes and maintaining productivity. A filing system that sorts your patients’ vital health information in an easily accessible yet secure space greatly improves handling important documentation.
There are many ways to organize records for easy navigation:
- Alphabetized names
- Color coordination
- Years and birthdays
- Categorized information
- Client relationship
- Recently added to oldest
Implementing these four storage tips for vital health documents ensures your medical facility is prepared to handle sensitive information. It strengthens your relationship with clients, protects their safety, maintains your compliance with HIPAA and other legal requirements, and streamlines your recordkeeping processes. Proper documentation systems and storage are important for your business and make a huge difference in the success of your facility.
