Problem: "Changing from manual documentation to computer based documentation will cost time, money, and effort. Is it worth it?"
Solution: There is a cost in time, money, and effort involved - no question about it. The question of changing from a manual or dictation/transcription system to an automated system of documentation should be approached as a business decision and the gains (quality, efficiency, and return on investment) should be carefully weighed against the costs. Approached as a business decision, the first question one should ask is not whether it is worth the cost to change, but rather whether it is simply worth the time to explore and evaluate the change. In almost every case, it is worth the investment of an hour or two. Once you commit the time to simply explore, evaluate, and analyze the gains and costs of this transition, you can gather the more detailed and quantified information necessary to help in your decision. Once analyzed carefully and objectively, the decision becomes more self-evident. If the gains don't offset the costs, then don't proceed. For those that do choose to proceed, it's common to actually experience an increase in effort during the adoption curve, with the decreases in effort and workflow efficiencies coming after all training and integration is complete.
The most common scenario goes something like this;
Phase I (Status Quo): "I'm spending too much time on documentation. Our documentation isn't consistent or comprehensive from therapist to therapist, or even from patient to patient when seen by the same therapist, and I'm worried about our next inspection. Claims are being rejected too often, and the last time we were audited by a payer, they found several cases where the documentation didn't exactly reflect what was billed in the claim. There has to be a better way."
Phase II (Exploration): "My ReDoc sales rep showed me how the time savings on daily notes alone will let each therapist see at least one additional patient a day. The return on investment looks compelling. Transcription from visit to visit would be almost non-existent, which would eliminate a source of human error. A rework of our billing process will equate in less time spent in posting claims, and will also eliminate a source of human error. In the balance, it looks like the financial benefits (seeing more patients and billing more effectively and efficiently), along with the quality benefits (easier compliance with oversight inspectors, lower risk profile, fewer sources for human error) out way the expense, time, and effort."
Phase III (Implementation): "Now I'm paying the price! I'm learning ReDoc, but I also have to manually document some of my existing patients. It's like having to do two systems at the same time!"
Phase IV (Post Implementation): "This is more like it. With all my patients documented in ReDoc, I'm now feeling the relief. I haven't saved any time on initial evals, but all my documentation requirements later in the episode of care are much faster, much more comprehensive, and much more consistent. My billing department is having better success in getting paid, especially on claims that require copies of the clinical documentation."
Nashville TN, 37203 
