How to Create a Healthcare Document Management System [A Step-by-Step Guide]

The present-day healthcare environment is data-driven. As we move toward a future where this data is an integral part of many processes, the need for streamlined capture, secure healthcare data storage, and effective management of this data is not only here to stay, but is expected to become more and more critical. And that's bad news for those businesses that avoid thinking about the new healthcare paradigm, where technology is a must. The good news, however, is that all of these data interoperability issues can be solved with health IT solutions, for example, by creating a comprehensive healthcare document management system.

And its creation is all the more justified given that healthcare workers are already overloaded with documentation. Automating this process can bring much-needed relief.

How do you start creating a document management system for the healthcare industry and how will it benefit your organization? Let's take a look at a step-by-step guide from subject matter experts.

We wrote this article to reveal the value of developing a clinical document management system by demonstrating its features, capabilities, and potential business benefits.

What Is a Document Management System in Healthcare?

Simply put, it is a software solution that helps hospitals and clinics run medical records management. With it, patient record-keeping and digital document workflow are seamless, making it easy for doctors and nurses to quickly retrieve the information needed. This means that with a DMS, less time is spent on paperwork and more on patient care.

By the way, improving the quality of patient care is one of the most urgent reasons why DMSs are being introduced. How exactly does it contribute to this? With a DMS, medical staff have quick access to accurate and up-to-date information about each patient, which reduces the likelihood of errors and allows staff to focus on their direct responsibilities.

In addition, DMS is primarily about patient health data security through features such as encryption and access control, meaning that only authorized individuals can access sensitive data. This helps healthcare organizations comply with regulations such as HIPAA.

Speaking of HIPAA, in the healthcare sector, there is an obvious need to be cautious when introducing any changes, especially technological ones. There are strict rules that must be followed unconditionally. One such regulation is HITECH (The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act). This is part of HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), but while HIPAA covers privacy and security for all health records, electronic or not, the HITECH Act focuses on electronic records and their security and data breaches. HIPAA is just as important as the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule. If you don't comply with any part of HIPAA, you could face severe penalties.

Therefore, a state-of-the-art healthcare document management software solution is first and foremost a HITECH- and HIPAA-compliant software solution capable of handling records in multiple formats supported by multiple database vendors.

Expectations for Developing a Document Management System: Market Overview

The global healthcare document management systems market is estimated at $0.66 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $1.15 billion by 2029. COVID-19 has had the greatest impact on the rapid growth of the market, but the widespread digitization of operational processes is still underway.

According to another resource, the market is expected to grow by 11.36% per year during the forecast period of 2024-2032, and by 2032, its value is projected to reach $2.1 billion.

Other facts are worth considering as well. Nearly 25% of the US healthcare system's spending is deemed wasteful, with more money spent on administrative costs and less on long-term care.

What can be classified as wasteful spending in healthcare:

• Services and processes that are either harmful or of no value
• Excessive spending that could be avoided by substituting services or products with cheaper alternatives that offer the same or better benefits.

Despite rising costs, treatment outcomes are getting worse. It is this contradictory trend that is forcing people to rethink the way services are delivered.

The good news is that some of the misuse of money can be brought back through targeted interventions aimed at eliminating such waste. As for the worsening of treatment outcomes, this can also be fixed. Here we are dealing with a catch-all solution: The creation of a healthcare document management system for the healthcare industry.

How to Implement Document Management System in Your Healthcare Organization

Before implementing a document management system in your healthcare organization, you need to decide whether it is better to create a system from scratch with the help of experienced professionals, or to rely on an existing system that can be adapted to the needs of the healthcare industry.

If you decide to do the former, here is a step-by-step guide to getting it done quickly and headache-free.

10 Steps on How to Build a Document Management System

Let's take a look at where to start on your journey to creating a web-based or mobile-accessible document management system for the healthcare industry. Below we have listed 10 key steps.

Step 1. Figure out how you currently deal with clinical document management

Before diving into the development of a medical document management system, you need to understand how you are currently managing your records. To do this, first identify all document types your organization works with, including electronic health records, administrative files, and financial documents. Also, find out how these documents are currently stored and transferred: in paper form, in a database (e.g., a medical document repository), or something in between. At this stage, it's helpful to see the real data security risks in the system you currently have in place. The creation of medical document management software will be aimed at correcting them and ensuring the security of health data.

Step 2. Hire developers

To create a properly functioning and efficient healthcare document management system, you will need web development services and often mobile development services. To avoid reinventing the wheel, we recommend hiring a development team right away using the staff augmentation model.

This is typically a flexible model because the specialists are fully engaged in your project and work according to the Agile project management methodology. Having specialists with the experience you need gives you a lot of advantages: they will help you estimate the software development time correctly, decide on the technologies (you may need GPT-3 and GPT-4), and help you see the benefits of an MVP product if you want to get a ready-made medical document management system as soon as possible.

The best way to get all of this done is to hire an IT outsourcing development team.

Step 3. Get rid of the clutter

To get started with a digital document workflow, you must first organize your existing documents by identifying those that are outdated, unnecessary, or otherwise irrelevant. These should be managed following relevant regulations, such as HIPAA for patient information. By managing the clutter, you not only gain clarity and insight into what you have and don't have, but you also reduce potential liability risks associated with storing confidential or outdated information.

Step 4. Classify your documents

In addition to creating a complete list of all types of documents used in your facility, including EHRs, insurance forms, lab reports, and office records, you need to categorize them. This will help ensure that documents are effectively organized in healthcare document management software so that they can be easily found and accessed. You can have an in-house technician help you with categorization, or you can delegate this task to an IT outsourcing team you are considering hiring.

Step 5. What exactly do you need from your healthcare document management system? Formulate requirements

To define the requirements for a system to be used for document management, healthcare related requirements and gaps should be outlined. At this stage, you should also identify the specific features that an effective healthcare document management system should have. Security, compliance, and integration with existing systems should also be considered. Again, it is best to define the requirements for the future health IT system based on the experience of the engineers you will hire.

Step 6. Think about how you will implement a medical document management system

We have two pieces of news: good and bad. Which one should we start with? Let's start with the bad one. Developing health information management software is not enough. This software solution must also be implemented correctly in your organization. But the good news is that a detailed plan for implementing the new technology can save the day. Here are the things covered by this detailed plan:

• Set a timeframe for the implementation of the healthcare document management software;
• Define and assign roles and responsibilities to your internal and project team members;
• Identify potential risks, followed by mitigation strategies.

And one more thing: To ensure system implementation goes smoothly, it is worth finding out whether all stakeholders are involved in the process, are on the same page, and understand what they are supposed to do.

Step 7. Migrate your documents

This step assumes that you already know exactly which documents need to be digitized, scanned, and imported into the system. The challenge now is to make this process seamless and consistent throughout the entire migration journey. It may be a good idea to test the migration process to see if any gaps can be addressed in advance.

Step 8. Set up your healthcare document management system

Now the hard part is over. But before you celebrate, make sure clinical document management software is configured properly. It's best to have the project team that created the system oversee this process. The DMS setup phase may include:

• Setting up user access control;
• Creating document and form templates;
• Determining the metadata fields and whether they are working correctly;
• Setting up routing;
• Setting up document approval procedures;
• Integration of the DMS with other systems, such as electronic health records, ATS, CRM, or ERP.

Step 9. Train your staff to use the implemented software solution

Your employees are expected to be the main users of healthcare document management software. So you need to ensure they know how to use the system.

To speed up technology adoption, offer staff training materials and resources tailored to the different roles and responsibilities of users in your organization.

Topics to cover:

• Using the DMS interface and navigation;
• Uploading and managing documents;
• Search option;
• Application of security protocols and compliance standards.

Offer your employees ongoing support and opportunities for further training while promoting the ongoing digitalization of your business processes.

Step 10. Go Live, monitor, and use the system

Now it's time to launch the system and start using its features (which ones - more on that later). It is important to keep an eye on how the healthcare document management system works, especially at the initial stage, in order to identify any technical problems, user issues, or bottlenecks in the system in advance. To keep the system running like clockwork, it is useful to perform regular maintenance and system audits, update the software, consider user feedback, and keep up with regulatory requirements, which are known to change.

The Role of Document Management in Healthcare: Trends to Be Aware of

As the healthcare document management system market continues to grow and offer feature-rich solutions for medical institutions, certain trends in the evolution of this tool have already emerged. Let's take a look at how healthcare DMS is evolving and what we can expect to see in the future.

Mobile applications development

Desktop access to the medical document management system is still important because it is convenient and comprehensive. However, keep in mind that healthcare professionals are constantly on the move - moving between departments and medical facilities, attending training sessions, or making emergency visits - all of which create an urgent need for mobile access to documentation and up-to-date patient data. Therefore, mobile development of end-to-end applications is one of the areas that will dominate in the near future.

Security comes first

The transition from paper to digital has eliminated the risk of human error or loss of valuable documents. That's the good news. The bad news is that as paper records have been digitized in healthcare, the risk of data leakage, breaches of patient confidentiality, and more has increased. Hacking, system failures, and other security-related threats are the challenges that a modern healthcare document management system must address now and in the future. So, when choosing medical records management software:

• Pay special attention to how security features are implemented;
• Ask the vendor how cybersecurity measures are applied;
• Train your staff to use the EHR system properly (securely).

On the other hand, developers of such systems will continue to prioritize security through encryption and data archiving, user or more authorized access to the system, etc.

AI-driven document management in the spotlight

The use of artificial intelligence in modern software no longer seems like an exaggeration. Especially as the needs of healthcare organizations grow and need to be met quickly. Adding AI to a DMS helps speed up and automate many of the tasks healthcare organizations face on a daily basis. As a result:

• Document processing is automated;
• Intelligent data collection and structuring, followed by the production of organized documentation, is possible without the need for human intervention;
• Systems are equipped with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) option.

All this together makes it possible to do without mandatory human intervention, which means that the risk of error, loss or leakage of information is virtually eliminated. AI-based document management software solutions are expected to become even more prevalent in the future.

A step towards collaborative work within a single DMS

It should be noted that trends do not appear out of nowhere, they are preceded by a request from users. Today, there is a growing demand for shared access to a system that can:

• Establish continuous cooperation between several medical institutions;
• Provide timely information about important changes in work;
• Allow all employees of a medical organization to stay on the same page and have access to shared folders, discussion chats, etc.

It probably goes without saying that when choosing a document management software for your medical institution, it is important to find out how the issue of system sharing is addressed.

How to Choose Healthcare Document Management Software

Want an off-the-shelf solution? Here's how to choose one.

So, because the key to selecting a health information management system is ensuring that it meets the needs and goals of your healthcare organization, you should choose carefully. We recommend that you consider the following factors.

What can a healthcare DMS do?

This means that you should evaluate the system's functionality and find out if it can handle tasks such as medical records storage, document scanning, general clinical document management, and more. It's important to choose not just a feature-rich DMS, but a system that can solve all the complexities of document management in your organization.

Can it connect with other systems for a seamless workflow?

It is great if your DMS has the ability to integrate with third-party platforms and tools, such as electronic health records, CRM, recruiting software, if any, and others. This will help you to take a comprehensive approach to managing your institution's affairs, covering the most important areas such as document management, finance, HR, etc. So, when choosing which document management system for the healthcare industry to create, consider its integration capabilities.

How is data security handled?

This is too important to ignore. First, find out if the DMS is compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, and other industry regulations. Keep in mind that the system you choose should include options to protect sensitive patient information, such as encryption, access control, visit logs, etc.

Is the DMS easy to use and scalable for growth?

Since the main users of the medical record management software are the staff of the medical facility, the system should be understandable to them first and foremost. The interface, document exchange, access to patient data, and other system features should be staff-friendly and not overwhelm your already overworked professionals. In addition, as your organization expands and grows, the DMS should be able to expand with extra modules or features. Make sure this is possible and that scaling the system does not make it too difficult for users to use.

These are the key aspects to consider when creating an MVP for a healthcare EHR system or when selecting an off-the-shelf DMS from the systems available on the market. Having the things described above is critical because they will help you improve patient care and ensure the efficiency of your institution.

Also, you can read: How We Built Patient Management Software from Scratch

8 Key Features of Healthcare Document Management Systems

If you are still unsure of how the system can benefit your organization, it makes sense to continue our guide with a list of key features commonly found in healthcare document management systems that make them effective.

• Streamlined document flow: This feature ensures an uninterrupted flow of medical records, resulting in reduced delays and improved coordination of patient care.
• Secure digital signatures: This option enables healthcare professionals to securely sign electronic documents (such as consent forms or healthcare orders).
• Customizable forms: This feature allows you to create customized electronic forms for patient intake, history, or clinical assessments. This simplifies data collection and helps make medical records more accurate.
• Quick search and retrieval: When there is an urgent need to find a specific document or information (such as medical histories or lab reports), this feature is a must-have. Now, healthcare professionals can act faster, including quickly providing medical care to those who need it.
• Sharing and collaboration: With this feature, secure sharing and collaborative editing of medical records across healthcare professionals becomes a reality. It facilitates seamless communication and collaboration and thus improves patient care practices in general.
• Electronic health records (EHRs): They are digital versions of paper medical records. With the right DMS, you can create, store, and retrieve data you need, reducing the risk of losing sensitive patient information. With an EHR, you have instant access to a patient's medical history, allowing you to make more accurate diagnoses and create more comprehensive treatment plans.
• Notifications: Real-time alerts allow caregivers to be notified on time of incomplete tasks or document updates. This is especially helpful when ordering medications or making changes to a patient's treatment plan.
• Robust security measures: These include role-based access control, encryption, and auditing, which together protect sensitive medical data from unauthorized access or breaches. As a result, the healthcare organization complies with privacy regulations such as HIPAA and protects patient privacy.

Many other features can be added to a document management system in healthcare. However, before expanding your system's capabilities, consider whether you need these features, because the more you add, the heavier the system becomes. In addition, these extra features are not always in use.

Types of Document Management Systems in Healthcare

Typically, healthcare document management systems are divided into types based on the purposes for which they are used and the functionality they include. Let's outline a few classic types.

Clinical Document Management Systems (CDMS)

This is software designed to centralize and organize various clinical documents and data, such as electronic health records (EHRs) and medical reports, to streamline workflows in healthcare facilities.

Document Collaboration Platforms

They enable collaboration and communication among healthcare professionals, patients, and third-party stakeholders by providing tools for securely sharing, editing, and viewing related documents.

Administrative Document Management Systems

These types of systems manage administrative documents and administrative processes in healthcare organizations (patient intake, billing, scheduling, compliance, etc.).

Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS)

They are designed to manage and store medical images such as X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds. Their role is clear: they enable healthcare professionals to capture, store, view, and digitally distribute medical images and patient-related information.

Key Benefits of a Document Management System for the Healthcare Industry

So why should you look into creating a DMS? There are dozens of benefits such a system can bring to the table, but let's take a look at the most compelling ones.

Hassle-free access to medical records

Healthcare document management systems provide clinicians with 24/7 access to medical records. The system is available on a desktop computer and mobile devices, allowing healthcare professionals to stay connected while moving from one unit to another or caring for patients.

Instant information retrieval

With the ability to quickly search and identify documents (e.g., by type or keyword), healthcare workers can efficiently find the information they need, whether it's a medical report or a patient questionnaire.

Cost savings and resource optimization

Healthcare document management software is primarily concerned with converting paper documents into digital records, which means you can save money on paper-based processes at the very least.

Documents and patient data are safe

With a healthcare-specific DMS, it's possible to securely share patient care-related files with clinics, laboratories, or off-site contacts to facilitate effective communication about test results, medical information, or care requests. What's more, you can protect sensitive data by restricting employees' access to certain files based on their job functions (depending on system settings).

Increased staff efficiency and productivity

DMS in healthcare streamlines the overall workflow and automates processes, providing quick access to patient records and reducing administrative tasks.

Better patient care

Patient information is in one place, making it much easier to find the data you need and leading to better coordination of patient care.

Regulatory compliance

By using a healthcare document management system, you can rest assured that you comply with regulatory standards such as HIPAA due to the system's stringent data security measures (such as role-based access control, encryption, audit trails, etc.).

Case Study: How to Build Your Own Healthcare DMS

The client approached us with a request to create a form-based document management system for a nursing home in the USA.

What was the problem to be solved?

At that time, the client was well aware of how such facilities were organized and saw the problems the staff usually faced:

• A mess of documents;
• Medical personnel had a hard time organizing the completion of forms by all participants;
• Healthcare workers spend too much time on paperwork instead of taking care of the patients, etc.

What was the task given to the development team?

So the basic idea behind the form-based DMS we were tasked with was to:

Build the simplest, easiest-to-use, mobile-accessible system possible that could be used by non-tech-savvy people - everyone in a nursing home, from nurses to housekeepers and couriers - to create and manage forms.

The client didn't just come to our team with an idea. He described the functionality of the soon-to-be system in detail and was fully involved in the healthcare document management software development process, providing extensive feedback and participating in test demos after each sprint.

What's the result?

The result is not just a nursing home DMS, but a flexible and customizable form management system designed for more than just the needs of the healthcare industry. Thanks to the customizable form builder at its core, this DMS can be applied to a wide range of other industries, such as e-learning or sales.

Currently, the system fulfills its tasks by providing a full cycle of services to users - from adding a company to the system to creating, filling, and managing forms. All this is complemented by the ability to generate full reports on completed forms. The next step will be to equip the system with additional functionality at the request of the customer or users.

Where to find out more about it?

For more details on how to get started with DMS development, what features should be added, and how this system can improve organizational efficiency, please read the full version of our case study.

Healthcare Document Management System Project Documentation

What is it about? In short, it is a detailed guide on how to plan, implement, and maintain a healthcare document management system.

What project documentation usually covers:

• The goals and scope of the system: This is about what the healthcare document management system should do and what the scope of the project is.
• Requirements: Specific needs that the system must meet, including functionality and compliance with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA.
• Stakeholder roles: Who is involved in the project and what exactly are they supposed to do?
• System design: How the system is to be structured and integrated with existing tools.
• Implementation plan: The steps, timelines, and resources needed to get the system up and running.
• Training and support: How employees will be trained and supported in using the system.
• Testing: How the system will be tested to ensure it is working properly.
• Risk management: Potential issues and how they will be addressed (if needed).
• Compliance and security: This includes security measures for patient information and regulatory compliance.
• Maintenance: Ongoing updates and adjustments to keep the system running smoothly.

When done correctly, project documentation keeps everyone on the same page, ensures regulatory compliance, assigns clear roles, manages risk, and ensures that the DMS is used and maintained as intended.

Now let's take a look at the key reasons why companies in healthcare decide to build a DMS.

Why Companies Need to Develop a Document Management System

The need to build a document management system does not come out of nowhere, but is dictated by the need to have a trusted medical document repository where you can conduct error-free patient data management while staying compliant.

So, listed below are the main drivers that are pushing companies to build document management systems.

Risk of losing files and sensitive patient data

In the healthcare industry, the cost of a mistake can be too high. When it comes to healthcare data management, security measures cannot be overlooked. Technical failure, human error, and a cyberattack on the facility - all put sensitive patient information and more at risk. Are you ready to take on the responsibility?

As a result, healthcare organizations are implementing reliable DMS to ensure that they have:

• Secure Electronic Health Records (EHR)
• Automated backups
• Rigorous data auditing
• Force majeure recovery
• Reliable system access solutions (biometric access control).

Need to be compliant

For healthcare companies, it's crucial to get the most out of document digitization services while complying with industry regulations. HIPAA-compliant software ensures compliance with legal requirements and standards, thereby protecting the business from troubles such as reputational damage and fines.

Need to reduce the paperwork burden on staff

One of the industry's challenges is an outdated approach to data processing. As you know, electronic medical records are the key to effective patient care in today's data-driven healthcare environment. And yet - think about it - nearly 43% of rural hospitals in the U.S. still rely on fax and snail mail to send and receive patient records, even though there are user-friendly patient information systems, EHR software solutions, and more on the market.

Without healthcare information technology in place, an organization can get stuck in the backlog. Tasks such as patient accounting, medical document scanning, prescription management, medical background checks, etc. - make up the lion's share of a healthcare provider's daily workload, distracting them from providing quality care.

Conversely, a health information management system automates the flow of documents, digitizing what was formerly done by hand, reducing cycle times, speeding up all key processes, and lowering operating costs.

Need to cut costs and go green

Widespread use of automation can lead to cost savings of at least 3-4%, as there is no need to print documents and store them somewhere. That's why it's worth rethinking costs and switching to digital health record management with a DMS. However, a document management system in healthcare is not just about digitizing paper documents. Implementation of this system also contributes to environmentally friendly business practices, which aligns well with corporate social responsibility goals.

Need to access documents remotely

What about when employees work remotely or you need to access critical files when you're out of the office? So, a medical document management system is a really effective solution when companies need to establish uninterrupted remote access to important health records.

Bottom Line

As we've discussed, implementing a healthcare document management system (DMS) can bring significant benefits to healthcare providers. These systems streamline document flow, enhance data security, and ensure regulatory compliance while allowing healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care. In addition, automating administrative tasks not only reduces costs, but also frees up resources to improve the quality of care. While there are challenges in ensuring the system has the necessary features and meets compliance standards, they are manageable with expert help.

Well, as the healthcare industry evolves, implementing a robust DMS seems to be a critical step toward achieving higher standards of care and operational efficiency.

Do you want to know how to create a DMS for your organization's needs, even if you don't work in the healthcare industry? Don't hesitate to contact our managers to get all the information you need.

FAQ

What is a Healthcare Document Management System?

It is software to store all documents in one place, making it easier to access, manage, and share files efficiently and securely.

Why do healthcare organizations continue to need Document Management Systems?

There are many reasons for this, including the most pressing ones: protecting confidential patient information, ensuring the healthcare organization complies with industry-specific regulations, improving patient care, digitizing paper documents, and increasing staff productivity.

How the healthcare industry benefits from Document Management Systems?

In the healthcare sector, a DMS offers benefits such as increased patient data security, improved care delivery, operational efficiency, more organized record keeping, cost saving, and compliance with industry requirements.

What is the difference between a DMS and an EHR?

A healthcare DMS is used to store, manage, and retrieve various medical facility-related documents, whereas an electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient's full medical and treatment history.

How does a Document Management System improve healthcare efficiency?

This system saves medical staff time by digitizing all paper documents and automating manual processes, so staff spend less time on documentation and more time on patient care, thereby improving healthcare efficiency.

How do I start creating a healthcare Document Management System?

Find out what kind of problems healthcare facilities face, and who the intended users of the system are, analyze the capabilities of existing systems on the market and whether they solve challenges healthcare facilities face, and write a detailed description of the functions of the system you want to create. Then hire a development team with relevant experience and work together to develop a detailed specification of the upcoming software.