We’re [...]]]> There is no arguing that there exists a significant disconnect between the needs of patients and the strategies used in healthcare to engage them. Obviously, a person’s level of illness can severely exacerbate the issue. No one just told they have a brain tumor should have to spend time asking questions about a form.

We’re well aware that the blame for this perpetual schism can be spread wide and far, from legislators to lawyers and every business-savvy middleman in between. In most cases, every law and rule that requires another form and manual signature was enacted and printed with good intentions of helping people.

But today, those intentions are buried deep in the stack, rarely understood by the sick person holding the pen. And that’s where things unravel and our current methods of engagement fail.

Information Week.com’s healthcare section published an essay describing the state of patient engagement within the industry. The outlook is bleak despite more than a decade of resources and government time being committed to electronic health records management. The author writes, “Perhaps patients do not feel engaged in their own care because systems, processes, products and outreach efforts are all poorly designed.”

That should hit home.

Granted, “patient engagement” is also about the patient’s desire to understand why regular medical care is so critical. Like we said, the issue is deep and wide.

LincDoc was built to make it easier to transact information. In its root form, all information is the same, whether the 1s and 0s represent cancer screening data or the numbers of plastic mugs you have on your warehouse in Reno.

So if we could make the experience of going to the doctor easier, wouldn’t that improve engagament? If there were more efficiencies built into the systems that manage patient data, would that not better all areas of the medical practice?

We’d like to think so.

Grab a form or business document of some kind, anything you have laying around on your desk. We’ll wait.

(Don’t kid yourself, your desk is blanketed with them … get on with it.)

Now just look at it. Hold it in front of you and ask, if I had to [...]]]> This is a hands-on blog post.

Grab a form or business document of some kind, anything you have laying around on your desk. We’ll wait.

(Don’t kid yourself, your desk is blanketed with them … get on with it.)

Now just look at it. Hold it in front of you and ask, if I had to get the information on this page to multiple people in the enterprise, what would be my most efficient method?

Scratch that … instead, you need to get the first paragraph to one group, the second to another and then whatever content is next to yet another party. Oh, and they all have to confirm receipt.

So more than likely, you’ll send the whole document to everyone and tell each party what they should regard as relevant to their part of the project. Then, you’ll get three e-mails in return as confirmation. Sound right so far?

Now you have three iterations of the same document spread amongst three disparate project stakeholders. Each team has to capture their content somehow and more than likely will preserve the original.

Their content will then drive a significant number of reactionary efforts as their respective content greases the gears of business. In essence, the form’s makeup has created the process. The cart is preceding the horse, whereas the data is what’s most important. Yet, we have to build so many steps just to put information into the right hands.

Now think about how long your company has been in business, taking into account all the forms and all of their content that has been distributed in the same fashion, cart first. Decades of redundant forms and information is left wallowing in components of the enterprise from which the gears of business receive no lubrication. In fact, the cart is that much more burdened.

We’re not nuts for wanting to change this model, we’re just doing what’s most practical, allowing the information to steer the process. A true eForms model simply uses your existing processes — your business logic — to collect and deliver only relevant content to respective stakeholders. This steadfastly improves the pace at which business can move without adding any risk while creating a domino effect of productivity.

You see, an eForms strategy bypasses the risk of paper, information no longer has to travel over hours and days of sketchy trestles built by scanning and manual data entry to reach the point of becoming usable, profitable data.

The most often response we hear when inquiring about why a specific process is conducted in a certain way is “That’s how we’ve always done it.”

If we did things the way we’ve always done it, where would we be today?

Probably on a horse and buggy. At least our commutes wouldn’t be as treacherous.

And no, that’s not a pothole.

The more you [...]]]> Work gets so caught up in process that we’re no longer employing people for their talents but for their contribution to the system. A cog, if you will. Sure, a tired, Joe six-pack cliche for the malcontents; but it’s becoming ever more evident in this world of increasing regulation and litigious marketplaces.

The more you depend on paper, the more people you hire just for their ability to stamp, sign, scan and send.

Henry Ford knew this a century ago. And even with all of our CRM tools and ability to publish something to the world in literally seconds, we’re still using paper to prepare that content. The send button only takes a moment, but what led to the send took weeks. There’s no reason for that.

The tech is there to all but eliminate those unruly timeframes. What comes before send can take minutes. What your business does with all that time to be saved is up to you.

Create more business? Leverage unseen savings?

Time is indeed money, so quit spending both on paper.

In Dr. Buchen’s explanation of why it’s important for companies to avoid trying too hard to “impress” new staff, he [...]]]> Yesterday, we highlighted an essay on Human Resources IQ about onboarding “blunders” that hiring teams should avoid. Here’s the second part of our take on this topic.

In Dr. Buchen’s explanation of why it’s important for companies to avoid trying too hard to “impress” new staff, he drills down to the essence of onboarding. He writes, “On-boarding is the critical bridge between recruitment and retention; it makes or breaks the talent management system.”

On this we agree completely. This is why we decided to nominate Human Resources as a focus for LincDoc. That bridge not only needs to be constructed on solid ground, it needs to remain in place for the lifespan of every team member within your organization. Paper simply doesn’t provide a sturdy enough foundation. It also takes much too long to construct.

With eForms, Human Resources teams are making an investment in time. They’re able to consolidate and connect disparate steps and forms within the onboarding process to expedite the formation of the bridge Dr. Buchen describes as the only way into an organization.

Think of Human Resources as the gateway for all information powering your organization. In that light, it suddenly seems like a great deal of long-term critical data to trust to manual capture processes.

For more information on onboarding with eForms, check out this brief one-sheet. Give us a call if you have any questions.

Each blunder Dr. Buchen refers to are characteristic of traditional, paper-based onboarding principles.

However, far be it from us to simply let sleeping dogs continue snoring on the floor, dreaming [...]]]> Dr. Irving Buchen, blogging on Human Resources IQ, cited five onboarding blunders Human Resources teams should avoid.

Each blunder Dr. Buchen refers to are characteristic of traditional, paper-based onboarding principles.

However, far be it from us to simply let sleeping dogs continue snoring on the floor, dreaming about dim-witted de-clawed cats with poor peripheral vision, we decided it was important to communicate how eForms can help Human Resources teams avoid the paper-driven blunders mentioned in Buchen’s post.

His first blunder, intimidating the candidate with a hefty and strict policy manual, can easily be avoided by consolidating company policy manuals and the associated acknowledgement forms into e-signature-ready eForms. With LincDoc, you can open and collapse content windows as you go, allowing readers to scroll through a section at their own pace and then sign it using a digital signature.

LincDoc can also feature a tool that allows the reader to simply “sign all” after reading through each section.

The point is, don’t overwhelm the person you’re onboarding, which paper has a reputation of doing. This especially crucial component of your recruitment strategy should be as simple and welcoming as possible. Paper only encumbers employee engagement.

Dr. Buchen’s second salient point is to avoid trying to control your new team member. Traditional onboarding often requires Human Resources teams to supervise and explain forms. Regimented paperwork implies strict adherence to hard-and-fast rules.

By all means, you want people new to the organization to understand its structure. eForms can help you do that without the assumed sense of granular discipline that comes with paperwork and dense stacks of forms.

Using clear language, contextual content and automated formatting prompts and assistance, LincDoc can simply and quickly step your newest hire through the onboarding process. Additionally, the whole process can be launched from an e-mail they receive at home — arm’s length onboarding.

Using eForms to onboard helps build trust, demonstrates organizational innovation and smooths the transition from recruitment to productivity.

Our next post will expand more on Dr. Buchen’s recommendations, found on on HRIQ.com.

Think of managing a hectic day in the human resources department; fitting in the new employee documentation is a lot like herding cats [...]]]> The first day on the job is as awkward for the new employee as it is the human resources professional who has to supervise between two and five hours of manual onboarding.

Think of managing a hectic day in the human resources department; fitting in the new employee documentation is a lot like herding cats – you can’t get everyone on task when you’re having to stop and answer questions about which box to check.

In fact, traditional hard copy methods can result in new employee attrition costs ranging from 30% of the annual salary for non-exempt employees, and as much as 5 times the annual salary for management positions.

Manual, paper-based onboarding is a cost-intensive process that is pleading for modernization. The hard costs are obvious, the soft ones less so. But let us shed some light on them.

For the new team member, there’s the time away from direct interaction with their new job, an obviously valuable need for the company, or else why spend the money on advertising and recruiting for it? Would management be comfortable knowing a tenured employee is spending a couple of hours a day, at least, not performing? Then why do we allow paper-based human resources efforts encourage it?

Time taken to capture the new employee’s onboarding process into the company workflow poses additional cost burdens. Accuracy checking, data entry and disparate department approvals, like security, IT and equipment, also contribute to the onboarding investment. And like any investment, the point is to get a large return for minimal upfront costs.

When it comes to paper onboarding of new employees, the initial commitment has always been cost prohibitive.

Our logic-driven eForms help human resources teams efficiently engage new hires, thus helping them become more productive from the start. The company brand quickly becomes positively engrained when it’s communicated through smart web-based onboarding tools instead of with printers, stapled documents, scanners and signature after signature.

Don’t wait until the first day on the job to get the new staff member acclimated to their position. A successful HR professional helps integrate new employees to the company’s culture, vision, and mission so he or she is leaps and bounds ahead of the learning curve. eForms can make this happen.

But nope, an editorial about how mobile and automated electronic documents can change how the criminal justice system works was in The New York Times.

As It’s almost like one of us wrote this.

But nope, an editorial about how mobile and automated electronic documents can change how the criminal justice system works was in The New York Times.

As LincDoc has done with the Brownsburg, IN police department and in Thurston County, Washington, the writer suggests a number of ways that iPads can use connected, mobile forms to better collect and leverage information when carrying out any number of paper-based legal procedures.

The pictures of inefficiencies he paints are all too visceral; so much so that it becomes hard to believe we’re still using so much paper to capture, charge, prosecute and defend those who end up on the wrong side of our legal system. There is so much delay and verification thanks to the reams of paper that need to be printed, copied, collated, scanned, e-mailed and delivered for even the most minor incidents.

The writer cites a couple of organizations around the country that are using the iPad and automated forms to better manage the legal process. There’s one in Redlands, CA and another in Hastings, Neb.

Oh, and another not far outside of Indianapolis.

In truth, the iPad is only the vehicle. What’s really changing healthcare data management is the software that vehicle carries around waiting rooms, exam rooms [...]]]> We couldn’t help but take notice of the “12 Ways the iPad is Changing Healthcare” article published by Computerworld.com.

In truth, the iPad is only the vehicle. What’s really changing healthcare data management is the software that vehicle carries around waiting rooms, exam rooms and hospital labs. In terms of software payloads, LincDoc is one of the lightest, most powerful eForms tools that the iPad can deliver to the medical industry.

Let’s examine how LincDoc, the iPad and progressive medical professionals can help our healthcare system better engage patients using some of the highlights in the article.

Enough clipboards: LincDoc Mobile eForms can replace any paper medical form and process required to provide care, whether deployed in the lobby or the OR. LincDoc can also be used on the practice or hospital website to engage patients before they arrive, making every facet of patient engagement more efficient.

Connections with PHR: Patient health records have been on paper far too long. LincDoc eForms can connect doctors and nurses directly with the databases and Electronic Medical Records systems that the government is requiring be implemented by 2015. LincDoc can attach imaging scans, charts and videos.

Changing Home Healthcare: LincDoc is already doing this, but as the article points out, the iPad, powered by LincDoc, can collect and connect patient data while in the field. However, LincDoc eForms can be used by remote medical practitioners working with patients over the phone or Internet and automatically synch data to existing EMR systems.

Working with what you got: LincDoc does not require massive overhauls of what you already use to change data collection and processes. It’s stable and flexible enough to connect to legacy systems and typically requires very little training once installed. It has to be simple.

We could go on, but just about everything we need to say is being said by others. We encourage you to read the article referenced here. Literally, it highlights every way LincDoc can be used to improve the way the healthcare industry cares for patients.