Should I go paperless with my medical records?
At Clinco we think this question is well worth considering.If you are a CN head of department, you will have considered going paperless or paper-light. We know of firms that now only work with electronic records.
This change has come about quite fast over the last year or so. We also know of many firms who still work only with hard copies.
Why go paperless?
- Ease of fee earner access to records on screen, any time
- Instant yet secure transfer of records to expert and counsel via email link or disc
- No records clutter or shelves full of multiple hard copy sets
- Tamper-proof and no missing/dog-eared pages
- Identical, clean sets always available for disclosure or printing
- Costs less than you think and saves money on time and storage
- Easy to back up, archive and retrieve
Our own observation is that many firms do not understand how electronic records management will fit into their working practice and don’t have time to engage in the research required to implement the change.
How can Clinco help?
At Clinco, we have many years of experience in working with electronic records and our background in practice means that we understand the issues and concerns involved. If required, we can come to your offices to show you what is possible and advise on the IT aspects and practicalities, then put together a plan to suit your needs.
Like many lawyers, we like our hard copies but we have come to appreciate the benefits of electronic sets – and no one who has made the change has looked back. Even a paper-light system with one hard copy master-set of medical records, plus an electronic set alongside for replication and transfer, would save time and space in most unreformed CN departments.
We work on these logistical projects alongside our main work of collating and analysing medical evidence. Let us know what we can do to assist by emailing sarahwallace@clinco.co.uk
