Solve Healthcare Compliance Problems with Digital Mailroom

Healthcare regulations continue to grow stricter year over year, turning the stress way up for companies like yours that deal with protected healthcare information (PHI). Adhering to an ever-growing list of tough rules and restrictions forces you and your employees to constantly be on alert, because if you’re not careful to meet compliance standards, you could be looking at hefty fines or other repercussions. That kind of pressure is tough on your employees, and if workload gets out of hand, the overtime expenses could mean even more money out of your pocket.

How Outdated Paper-Based Processes Are Hurting You

Let’s face it: much of the healthcare industry still uses paper documents to keep records and cumbersome snail mail to process requests and grievances. Managing important information on paper is inefficient, time-consuming, lacks security, and can actually be quite expensive.

Here’s an example of where manual paper processes can fail: healthcare insurance companies must respond to appeals and grievances within a 48-hour timeframe. It’s a breach of compliance not to adhere to this strict timeframe, but it’s also nearly impossible to do so and ensure document security when each appeal and grievance must be received by mail, opened, unfolded, sorted, and delivered to the person or department responsible for processing it.

Especially compared to the secure and streamlined methods of document processing services, manual processes like this often mean paper can be misplaced or inadvertently thrown away. And if documents arrive in the wrong inbox, they might not be noticed for weeks. If a document does make it to the right department, it’s likely tossed on top of a stack of other to-dos, and it could be days before someone finally gets to it.

Better Efficiency and Compliance with a Digital Mailroom

So, how can you fix the inefficiencies caused by sluggish paper-based processes? With a digital mailroom, your mail is received at a dedicated PO box, then taken to a secure document processing facility where all documents are digitized, indexed, and digitally routed to you.

That means no more envelopes cluttering up everyone’s desk, and instead of gathering dust in someone’s to-do basket, your digitized documents automatically enter workflows based on business rules that you can set. They’ll flow through approval processes smoothly and in a timely manner, and management can easily track their progress to ensure compliance guidelines are being met. Audits will also be easier and less risky as you will be able to establish reliable proof of delivery dates and times for each request (no more relying on fragile physical stamps). After being processed, documents are stored and managed securely with document management software that makes it easy to retrieve and share them later.

Get Started with a Digital Mailroom and Stop Worrying About Compliance

Digital mailroom services transform traditionally painstaking, inefficient processes into simple, streamlined, digital systems that allow you to stay fully compliant – easily.

So how do you get started? It’s simple: connect with a virtual mailroom partner you can trust.

MetaSource has over 30 years of document management experience and an entirely HIPAA trained staff. We quickly and efficiently receive, digitize, and index your mail at our secure facilities so your company can be more nimble, avoid hefty compliance fines, and stop dealing with paper clutter and all the hassles it can cause.

Want to know what a digital mailroom is like in action? MetaSource client VNS Health simplified their grievance response process with digital mailroom services, enabling them to significantly improve their compliance record. Read the VNS Health case study now.