Posted by Leslie Haywood on Wed, Sep 01, 2010 @ 03:25 PM
No one wants to hear from their boss, CPA or attorney that they need to adhere to industry, state or even federal regulations or risk penalties. It's more red tape. More aggravation. And, let's face it, more work.
But, there are times when making an investment to tighten up your compliance gaps can actually improve the overall efficiency of your business. Especially when it comes to managing your records.
A document management and retention policy that follows best practices in your industry and meets regulatory requirements (HIPAA, SOX, GLB, The Patriot Act and more) has many benefits that translate beyond just compliance, including:
- Avoiding legal landmines. If you are ever called to court, having copies (date and time stamped, even) of important records could be enough to keep you from paying big fines or - worst-case scenario - going to jail.
- Improving customer service. Access to electronic documents, enables you and your staff can quickly and easily answer customer questions. No more digging for files or copies of invoices.
- Increasing employee morale. Not having to dig for files will make your employees MUCH happier. So will clean desks and being able to work from home occasionally.
- Lowering overall cost of doing business. By converting paper documents to digital files as part of your record retention strategy, you'll be able to reduce the need for paper, toner and other office supplies. You can also cut back on postage, couriers and overnight delivery services and reduce or eliminate on and off-site storage.
- Reducing security risk. Digital documents can be password protected and encrypted. It's much harder for files to end up in the dumpster behind your office if they aren't in paper format.
- Creating a disaster-recovery backup. Digital documents stored in the cloud can be accessed any time, anywhere. So, if your office burns to the ground or is inaccessible for a period of time, you can still conduct business. Not so if your file cabinets are six feet under water.
- Reducing need for in-house IT, servers and support. If your digital documents are entrusted to a professional hosted document management provider, you simplify the work for your IT staff, and eliminate the expense of servers or technical support. Someone else will do that for you.
By going paperless, you'll be meeting more of your regulatory requirements AND you'll realize some additional benefits that will make your business run more efficiently and cost-effectively. In this economy, being more nimble and streamlined could be the business advantage you need to be more successful than your competition.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Aug 23, 2010 @ 03:19 PM
Document management streamlines business processes, improves customer service, reduces costs and helps ensure compliance: all things that are extremely important to financial service businesses like investment service firms and wealth management advisors. That's why financial services is our document management industry of the week!
Financial service firms are paper-intensive organizations that need to reduce costs and increase service levels and operational efficiencies while complying with various regulatory laws (think Graham-Leach-Bliley, SEC 17a-3 and 17a-4, The Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, the IRS and many others).
Oftentimes, financial service companies operate in a hub and spoke manner: one main or regional office and many small satellite branches. That is another prime reason many financial service advisors are turning to web-based document management.
Corporate or regional management can place documents into one centralized repository for easy access by any authorized advisor.
Likewise, the advisors can put all of their documents online so corporate (or God forbid, an auditor) can log in and view the documents they need. An audit trail tracks all movement within the system.
"We set our document management system up so that our representatives can use it to view their documents through our system (using our Web Services) regardless of where they are located. We’ve been able to adjust security settings so that they can only see their documents, which is a huge benefit," explained Candy Osborne, JW Cole Administrator.
It is also possible for clients to log into the online document management system and add or review documents. Bringing service to another level!
So, there you have it. Our document management industry of the week. If your financial advisor or wealth manager aren't using document management, maybe you should tell them about it. It could end up saving both of you time AND money!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Fri, Aug 13, 2010 @ 01:52 PM
As you read this, I will be swimming in the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys. I hope. If the weather (and the kids) cooperate.
But, I can write my blog now and schedule it to post in the future while I watch It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia on the couch using my wireless and laptop. And that is technology at its finest.
Technology. The application of practical sciences to industry or commerce. The developers at eBridge Solutions have taken the technical process of turning paper documents into small, encrypted digital files and turned it into a science. Or artform, depending on the way you look at technology.
eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system is simple and powerful. It is a tool businesspeople use to make their lives easier, just like scheduling when a blog will post.
By scanning and storing paper documents online with other electronic documents (like e-mail or e-faxes), you are creating one central repository for all of your records. If you have remote employees or if you need to pull up a file at 2 a.m., the documents will always, always, always be available. Even if someone else is looking at the same document at the same time.
eBridge technology also automatically assigns a date and time stamp to every document entered into the system. The date and time stamp combined with our powerful audit trail are the technologies that will prove in a court of law that your document was scanned at a certain point in time and has NOT been altered since. We also encrypt your documents - in transit and at rest. And you don't even have to think about it. We do it for you.
Ah. Technology. There isn't much it CAN'T do for us. Now, if only there was a software program that could get me back from the Keys in less than six hours...
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Thu, Apr 29, 2010 @ 01:53 PM
HEALTH DATA MANAGEMENT - BREAKING NEWS: A former researcher at the UCLA School of Medicine has been sentenced to four months in federal prison for violations of the HIPAA privacy rule. If the UCLA School of Medicine had been using eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system, this could have been prevented. Here's what happened:
Huping Zhou, a cardiothoracic surgeon in China before immigrating to the United States, was employed at UCLA in 2003. On Oct. 23, 2003, he received a notice of intent to dismiss him for performance reasons that did not include illegal access of medical records. That evening, he accessed medical records of his superior and co-workers, and during three other periods during the next four weeks accessed UCLA patient records, many of them involving celebrities, a total of 323 times, according to the FBI office in Los Angeles.
Charges were filed in 2009 and Zhou pleaded guilty in January 2010 to four misdemeanor counts of illegally reading private and confidential medical records. He faced up to four years in prison.
A FBI spokesperson did not have information on why Zhou was able to frequently access medical records after being terminated in 2003 and why charges were not filed until six years later. There is no evidence Zhou improperly used or attempted to sell the information he accessed, according to the FBI.
A UCLA School of Medicine attorney was not immediately available to comment on the lag in discovering the breaches and filing charges. The school released the following statement:
"The UCLA Health System cooperated fully with the U.S. Attorney's office in its ongoing investigation of violations of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), including with its prosecution of former UCLA employee, Huping Zhou. Mr. Zhou's employment at UCLA was terminated in November 2003.
"After a subsequent internal investigation revealed that he had inappropriately accessed patient files, UCLA provided the U.S. Attorney's office with all relevant information regarding Mr. Zhou.
"During the past two years the UCLA Health System has put in place a number of safeguards to help ensure patient confidentiality including:
- Expanded the auditing capabilities of our information systems and more than doubled the number of individuals who we proactively audit to ensure their privacy is maintained.
- Evaluated and enhanced our clinical information systems to reduce the risk of information security violations.
- Implemented a mandatory and expanded HIPAA training and certification module required for all physicians, staff and students.
"The UCLA Health System is committed to seeking ways to improve and enhance our policies, procedures and infrastructure to ensure the confidentiality of our patients' medical records."
If UCLA had been using eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system, they could have INSTANTLY deleted Zhou's access to their data. In addition, a routine audit of documents would have shown that he continued to access records AFTER he was let go. While Zhou is the one serving time, rest assured that UCLA Health System will have hefty fines to pay when this is over.
Make sure YOUR company isn't next. Sign up for eBridge's SUPER SECURE document management system today!
-- main article written by Joseph Goedert
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Apr 19, 2010 @ 09:39 PM
Many businesses turn to electronic document management because their paper files are getting out of control: taking up too much space and making it too hard to find the records you need. Classic examples include schools or medical offices, but many other businesses can benefit as well, from small one or two-person organizations to Fortune 500 companies.
But, once you've found the perfect document management system, what do you do with all of that paper? Who scans and when? Considering all of your options can make the transition to a paperless office easier.
To convert or not to convert?
It's important to understand that you don't have to start a document management solution with a total conversion of all your old paper files. There are three ways to transition from paper records to electronic: back-file, on-demand or scan-forward method. And you have to decide whether to do the scanning yourself or enlist help. Your budget and available resources will determine which method is best for your business.
Do your own scanning.
If you have the time and space, scanning your own documents is the simplest and most affordable way to convert your paper files. Most companies have someone go through their paper files to remove staples, paperclips and duplicate copies before anyone starts scanning. While you have the file in your hand, why not scan?
"We recommend that our clients do their own scanning, if possible," explains my boss, eBridge CEO, Leslie Haywood. "Only someone involved in their business can tell which paper REALLY needs to be archived. Why spend time and money on duplicate records or documents you are no longer required to keep?"
Back-file. Back-file scanning or batch conversion is the most immediate and most expensive option. It involves scanning large quantities of records at the same time. Businesses eager to start taking advantage of a new document management system sometimes choose to scan their entire archive, feeling that the extra cost is justified by the ability to access all their records through the new system. But, that may not be necessary.
"The summer we started using a document management system, we had our teenage daughters come in and scan two days a week," explained one insurance agent in Raleigh, North Carolina. "It was a great way for them to make some extra money and it allowed us to keep our documents on-site and under our control. They scanned in everything that came in the office on Tuesdays and worked on our old files on Thursdays. It took the entire summer, but it was worth it."
On-demand. The on-demand method is a more gradual, less disruptive approach. Instead of converting all paper records at once, a system is set up where every time a paper file is accessed, it gets scanned into the system. The electronic document replaces the paper record from then on.
This approach is popular in medical applications: every patient who visits gets their record scanned into the computer. You don't have to pay a scanning service to set you up, and it can also help weed out records that can be archived separately or discarded: if some records haven't been accessed after two years, they may be good candidates for long-term storage.
Scan-forward. In a scan-forward implementation (also known as "day forward" or "forward scanning"), a cut-off date is chosen after which all new documents will be scanned. This approach means you can get started much more quickly since there's no delay while a backlog of paper is scanned. Once you feel comfortable with the document management system, you can decide to start scanning older files. The scan forward approach isn't for everyone, though - for some businesses, access to paper files is essential. In those cases, you may want to consider a scanning service.
Hire a scanning service.
To process years worth of old records, you'll probably want to hire a scanning service. You can either ship your records to their facility, or have them come to you with a mobile scanning setup. These services have the best in high-speed, automatic scanners, making it possible to scan hundreds of thousands or millions of records in reasonable amounts of time.
You can ship your documents to the scanning service or you can pay for them to come to you. That can cost more, but if your files contain highly sensitive material, it can be reassuring to keep them on site. Once the documents are scanned, the scanning bureaus can provide CDs of the resulting images or put them directly into your document management system. They'll can also destroy or return your paper documents, as you prefer.
"The paperless office is as likely as the paperless bathroom." While the restroom is definitely someplace I'd like to continue to see paper, going paperless in your business is a real possibility. Getting your paper documents converted can take time and money, but in the long run, it will make your business more efficient and compliant. Take the first step... go paperless with eBridge Solutions today!
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Thu, Feb 11, 2010 @ 09:10 PM
Here I sit. 10 p.m. on a Thursday night. I'm watching the news (so depressing) and working. One of the reasons that I can work late is that all of my marketing documents (trade show applications, proofs of new collateral and more) have been scanned into our web-based document management system.
So, if I need to fill out paperwork or update the web site, it's easy to refer back to the original document I had to hand write.
If you work in a paper-intensive environment like the legal, real estate or collections industry, eBridge Solutions is the perfect way to bring your work home with you. In a few seconds, you can perform a search using the index values you set up OR by keyword.
I think about real estate agents a lot when it comes to this reason in our list of 52 reasons to love eBridge. Realtors often get calls before or after regular business hours. Rather than having to drive into the office, they can pull up client contracts or appraisals in eBridge and then email them off. Better customer service. Nothing added to their to-do list.
If you haven't seen what eBridge Solutions can do for your business, take a 4-minute tour here. Even if you're at home...
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Dec 07, 2009 @ 03:48 PM
One of the biggest obstacles our salespeople have at eBridge Solutions is convincing a prospect that their data will be safe if they store it with us online. Online, web-based or cloud computing is a scary thing. Especially for those of us with limited understanding of technology.
So, it's nice to hear that Google thinks there is a future in cloud computing. :-) (And no, the article doesn't specifically talk about web-based document mangement, but you'll get the point!)
Google's Matt Cutts 'predicts that people will get more comfortable with storing their data in the cloud. He expects more people will migrate their data from their hard drives to different cloud services, and that this will make it easier and better for search, and contribute to the delivery of more relevant results.' See full story here.
As Google goes, so does the world.