Clarity Through Connections

Government regulation can be tricky, especially in an industry that doesn’t…how do I say this nicely…embrace change very well. As surgical schedulers, you understand the need for efficiency. Hopefully you have put the fax machine out in the dumpster along with the neighbor’s old mattress. But in order for true efficiency to reign, everyone needs to embrace the future.

For whatever reason, hospitals have been wary of electronic innovation in the administration sector. The same place that is home to a particle accelerator is also home to a 1980’s style fax machine used for scheduling. They are stuck in the rut of paper-based scheduling and need help to get out.

But who can help the hospitals out of the dark ages? New online surgical scheduling platforms, like Case-Connect, are paving the way to new efficient procedures. Surgical schedulers everywhere have embraced the idea of a “software as a service” (SaaS) model and have seen its benefits. Hospitals, on the other hand, apparently need more encouragement.

Maybe the government can prove useful in this debate. As a part of the comprehensive HIPAA act, regulators outlined certain privacy requirements in Title II - the Administration Simplification provisions. These standards are meant to “improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation’s health care system by encouraging the widespread use of electronic data interchange in the U.S. health care system.”

In other words, the HIPAA regulations are encouraging surgical offices and hospitals to quickly and efficiently communicate information through computers and to keep records, patient information, and other critical data secure by using SSL encrypted servers, for example. Sounds like a cloud-computing/ SaaS model is just what the doctor…er…government…er…common sense ordered.

So why is the government concerned about changing the old way of transmitting information? Let’s take a look at some of the guidelines that must be used to properly send a fax while following HIPAA guidelines, according to privacyrights.org:

1. Is the fax machine in a supervised area, off limits to unauthorized persons? Is use restricted to authorized personnel only?
2. Is the fax machine used exclusively for sending non-confidential materials?
3. When sending documents, do all users complete a cover sheet which indicates the sender’s and receiver’s names, addresses, and telephone numbers?
4. When confidential materials are sent, is notice of their confidential nature indicated on the cover sheet?
5. Do users always check the receiver’s telephone number before transmitting documents? Do users compare the number displayed with number being called to check for errors? Do users check the transmission report after the fax has been sent?
6. When transmitting confidential materials, is the recipient notified in advance that the document is being sent? Does the sender check with the receiver to make sure the document has been received?

Wow, I’m tired just reading through the checklist. Multiply that times a hundred and you have just outlined a surgical scheduler’s morning routine. Thank goodness HIPAA recognizes the ineptitude (for both efficiency and privacy) of the fax machine. There must be a better way, and even the government has recognized that.

An online platform for surgical scheduling will increase communication, ensure privacy, and take away the need for the cumbersome steps listed above. Maybe HIPAA regulations will spur hospitals to accept the future…before it passes us by.