Over the years, we have spoken to many offices that have made the decision to scan their own records – rather than hiring outside assistance -to save time and money. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are actually a number of hidden costs associated with document scanning in-house, which is why we at Desert River Solutions highly suggest hiring a custodian of records to perform these services for you.
In-House Document Scanning Compared to Custodian of Records
Scanning Equipment
If you already have the equipment that necessary to scan a large number of documents you are a step ahead, great! If not, a low-end scanner costs about $1000. Now you do need a scanner going forward and can be a great resource for scanning in the future. Scanning bulk projects with that $1000 scanner is not effective though, very very time-consuming.
A custodian of records will have high-end equipment that can quickly and efficiently scan records in bulk.
Employee Knowledge
We know exactly how hard the employees of medical offices work. They are often overworked as is – do they really need to be coming in on weekends to scan? Do they need to scanning in between their slow periods of the day? Of course, they could, but the extra work may contribute to employee burnout.
On the other hand, some doctors and office managers may feel that it’s easier to hire employees just for the scanning. Although simple in concept, scanning is a very detailed job. These employees will require extensive training, which takes away valuable time.
A custodian of records will understand the details and requirements of document scanning, and get the job done the right way.
Quality Of Scanning
You want to scan your medical records just once. If there is something wrong with the scanned record – which can easily happen without the proper training – you will have to go back, find the document and scan it again, which costs more time and money.
Records custodians have experience and high-quality equipment to ensure that your documents are scanned properly.
Desert River Solutions: A Trusted Custodian of Records
We know that document scanning costs a good chunk of change, but in reality, you will end up paying more on in-house costs than you would by outsourcing the scanning job. If you are still on the fence about hiring a custodian of records, consider how many years worth of charts we are scanning, with the amount of NPs and Doctors. On a per doctor per year basis, the cost of outsourcing is not as much as you think. Contact us at Desert River Solutions to get started with document scanning and custodian services.
