Keane Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Edina, MN
September 19th, 2006 Comment on this articleThe Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, better known as HIPAA, goes into effect this April. That prospect is leaving many-but not all-in the health care industry scurrying to make the deadline.
Dr. Thomas M. Keane, a board certified oral surgeon and head of Keane Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery P.A. in Edina, MN, is already HIPAA compliant-with an assist from Laserfiche.
Keane had been hoping to get all of his patient records digitized for quite a while. The HIPAA deadline became the impetus to do it. “We’re trying to be a totally digital office,” Keane said.
The staff at Keane Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery scan all patient records, files and forms into a central database managed by Laserfiche where they are available instantly through a keyword or phrase search.
As soon as all the back files are scanned into the system, Keane plans to make patient charts accessible online from any room of his practice.
The measures enable Keane to be HIPAA compliant with room to spare. HIPAA fundamentally requires healthcare professionals who handle patient records and information digitally to have safeguards set up to keep those records safe from loss or unauthorized
access.
Larry Phelps of EDP Computer Systems, a Laserfiche Value Added Reseller based in Plymouth, MN, provides Dr. Keane with technical support and continuing advice on HIPAA compliance.
Tags: Healthcare, HIPAA, surgery centers, Surgical Center