10 Must-Ask Questions For Healthcare

Corodata TeamDec. 01, 2014 | Compliance, Get Organized, Medical Records |
Hurricane Katrina changed the thinking of many medical offices and healthcare facility’s about Record Storage needs. According to the American Health Information Management Association, there are certain medical Record Storage issues that healthcare organizations should take into account to secure paper-based and digital data records:

1.

Developed and Implemented

Have you developed and implemented written policies about who may access patient information? Of course, access should be on a need-to-know basis?

2.

Do you prescreen employees

Who will have access to patient records or health information, and provide security training to all levels of staff? For instance, Corodata records management professionals are screened, monitored and trained. This includes background checks, drug testing, and DMV license report screening.

3.

Are you educating patients

About their right to confidentiality of health information?

4.

Medical records

Do you lock every medical records area in your office?

5.

Archiving

Are you archiving inactive paper records to protect against loss, defacement, or unauthorized exposure?

6.

Files

Have you identified the particular files or groups of files you will need first in the event of a disaster that should be moved to off-site storage? These files should be the most readily accessible.

7.

Organizing

Have you made sure your materials are organized and that each box is labeled and indexed as completely and accurately as possible? A record storage facility’s ability to serve your medical office or healthcare institution quickly after a disaster will depend, in large part, on the quality of information you provide.

8.

Boxes

Have you paid attention to the construction of the boxes you use to store your files? Double-walled boxes, like Corodata uses, are the strongest and can withstand being transported and stacked. Contact Corodata

9.

Storage

Are you using a storage facility that is near enough for your records to be delivered the same day you request them or, at most, within 24 hours? If there were a disaster or business interruption, you are going to want to get up and running again as fast as possible.

10.

Recycled

If paper-based records are recycled when they are no longer needed, are they being double shredded to protect the confidentiality of the information they contain? For your protection, Corodata recommends you do not accept strip shredding.

Taking Control of Inactive Records with Corodata

Properly labeling and tracking inactive files, and moving them safely offsite, can save your company space, time and money; remove the threat of losing documents; providing easy retrieval of files when needed, and set your reputation as a secure company. learn more