Document Management for Healthcare

Achieving excellence in patient care, Surgical Care Specialists is a renowned Pennsylvania surgical practice dedicated to providing comprehensive, state of the art surgical service to patients. Surgical Care Specialists is a multi-specialty surgical practice with board certified surgeons concentrated in general surgery, critical surgical care, breast surgery, oncological surgery and providing care to those with vascular trauma.

With three locations across Pennsylvania, storage became an issue for the healthcare provider. It quickly became difficult to find a document when it was needed, especially if it was at one of their offsite locations. This would then require a staff member to take time out of their busy day to physically deliver documents to each location. Their paper-based challenges led Surgical Care Specialists to look for a digital content management solution that would enable staff, doctors, and professionals to locate files quickly across multiple desktops.

On their list of “gotta have them” features, Surgical Care Specialist was interested in a browser-based document management software that would provide advanced search capabilities, as well as the ability for documents to be pulled up universally on any computer, by anybody with the appropriate permissions. With that ability, user-based document security was also an important feature for Surgical Care Specialists, as they needed to pinpoint who has access to view or edit different items. That’s when Surgical Care Specialists found GlobalSearch document management software from Square 9 Softworks.

Before GlobalSearch, every departmental process was paper-based. Today, the award-winning GlobalSearch solution has ignited paperless initiatives across Accounts Payable, Human Resources, and Legal departments. Since going digital, the processes at Surgical Care Specialists have really changed. The organization is running like a well-oiled machine, with much more efficient collaboration across locations. Staff members can instantly pull files as soon as they need to be referenced, in order to give that person an answer right away. If an employee needs to cross reference data, it’s an easy and immediate search across the database. Instead of trying to figure out what box a document is in or where it is stored, team members can simple locate files from the comfort of their desks.

With automated document retention workflows, Surgical Care Specialists can effortlessly track expiration dates of legal documents, including contracts. Now Surgical Care Specialists are able to stay on top of of documentation to keep business organized with improved visibility into contract data.

Thanks to GlobalSearch, 100% of the paperwork is gone in the Accounts Payable and Human Resources departments. For every bill that comes in, once they are paid the document is shredded or sent back to the company. No more storage woes! All documentation is immediately scanned and stored into the computer.

With their new digital document processes, data entry is much more accurate and accessibility is streamlined as information can be pulled right away, regardless of how old a document may be. Surgical Care Specialists is seeing huge savings in terms of document retrieval and overall organization. Staff is more focused and productive with GlobalSearch, which is saving them up to 20 minutes every day!

Being able to better utilize their existing storage space has been incredibly meaningful to Surgical Care Specialists. GlobalSearch has made finding files a breeze, across multiple computers, and locations, so that the professionals at Surgical Care Specialists can focus on what matters most – providing the highest quality of care to their patients.

To learn more about Surgical Care Specialists, please visit www.scsdoctors.com.

Interview: Kathie Allen, Practice Administrator, Surgical Care Specialists

Q. What criteria did you have in mind when searching for a Document Management solution?

Kathie Allen: Well, we are a multi-specialty surgical practice with general surgery, vascular trauma, surgical critical care, breast surgery, and oncological surgery. With three locations, our main frustration was document storage and the ability to locate items quickly across multiple desktops. It was very frustrating not to be able to find certain documents the moment you needed them. Especially if they were located at an off site location – then someone would have to physically bring them over. When we discovered GlobalSearch, it’s advanced search functionality was very important to us. We were drawn to the ability to access documents universally on any computer by anybody with the appropriate privileges in the organization. In addition, GlobalSearch’s security features enabled us to elect who has access to different items, which is extremely beneficial when you’re dealing with sensitive files.

Q. How is your company leveraging GlobalSearch and which departments are using it daily?

Allen:Currently, we are mainly using GlobalSearch in our Accounts Payable, Human Resources, and Legal departments. Our processes have been so much more efficient, since implementing GlobalSearch. We are now able to immediately pull the necessary files, and if we need to cross reference something, it’s an easy database search. Instead of trying to figure out what box a file is in or where I have it stored, I can easily just go right to my computer and pull it up in order to give somebody an answer right away. For legal documents, GlobalSearch has helped manage our document retention policies. I’m easily able to keep track of when contracts expire, so I can stay on top of all legal documents to ensure nothing expires unknowingly.

Q. How has GlobalSearch document management software positively made an impact on your business?

Allen: We still have paperwork to manage, but with GlobalSearch, we no longer have to save it. I’d say in Accounts Payable, 100% of the paperwork is gone. Once I pay the bills that come in, they are immediately shredded, or sent back to the company. 100% of the Payroll and Legal paperwork is also gone. Once my document tasks are completed, I’m able to store the work directly into my computer. We’re not keeping paper copies of anything anymore! We are seeing huge benefits in document retrieval and organization. We are much more productive and efficient, because we can find documents right away. We save around 20 minutes a day, and collaboration has along improved. When you’re asked for something you’re not left wondering, “Oh, where is it?” With GlobalSearch you can instantly pull that document up and discuss it. GlobalSearch provides a more professional way of being able to run your job.

Q. Would you recommend Square 9’s solutions and why?

Allen: Yes, I would definitely recommend Square 9! Being able to better utilize the storage space we have has been incredibly meaningful. The ease of finding things, as well. I am much more organized and more efficient when accessing stored data. Another main reason why we like GlobalSearch is it’s use across multiple computers and devices. I can easily restrict who has access to what documents or what folders, so employees can self-serve, finding documents themselves without taking away from another person’s productivity. Even if I am not in the office, we can still access and take time to look over a contract. Between GlobalSearch’s major features, accessibility, user restrictions, and the ease of use – we are very happy with our document management solution.