CHAPTER 9 HCM for Beginners 89
paper-based documents as such. This can be done by using barcodes or separator
pages. However, scanners cannot provide all the metadata required in downstream
processes. But DMS manufacturers or even your HCM system may offer solutions
to support manual classification (indexing terminals).
Archiving and access rights are also more complex to implement for this variant.
Additional effort pays off through the high quality of the digital files and the better
retrievability of the documents, though. And it is only through this approach
that you can fully comply with all laws, regulations and guidelines. Moreover, you
can also provide the documents externally.
In order to make your work a little easier, it is a good idea to create
and keep as many documents for new cases as possible in digital
form from the outset. You can then scan the remaining paper file on
a document-specific basis whilst scanning legacy paper files from the
archive into a single digital document.
Replacement of the DMS
If you want to replace your existing DMS, this is the best time to set up an HCM
system. In many cases, you can simply replace your medical DMS with an HCM
system. This works especially if document management is not represented within
the DMS or if it is possible to shift it to the HIS.
In cases where the DMS to be replaced also contain non-patient-related
documents, such as salary information, you should resist
the temptation to transfer these documents to an HCM system. An
HCM system is not intended and not suitable for non-medical
data.
Start the setup of the HCM system with the integration of patient master data and
case data. If the existing digital filing plan complies with all requirements, simply
adopt it from the DMS. Otherwise, take the time to create a new, future
oriented
digital filing plan. Set up an automated classification system for it. This is a
manageable
task if the existing filing plan is retained and the classification of the
documents
is already supplied by the source systems as metadata.
In any case, it is sensible to fully implement all access authorizations when setting
up the HCM system. This way, the HCM system could compensate for temporary
failures of the HIS. If you initially want to grant access solely via the HIS, you can
also defer the in-depth handling of access authorizations until later. It is essential,
however, that you set up archiving completely.