Scanning in documents to the electronic chart is the most time consuming part of a paperless system.
I'm now using a perl script on the scanning computer which communicates directly with the OSCAR database.
This means that the user simply needs to enter the HIN of the patient for each document set and the system will pull up the patient details and ask for a document type and description.
The user then scans the document(s) in - they are then uploaded to the server and the patient record instantly.
There is also the option to have the user manually enter data for certain document types (eg: if they select Hematology they are asked to input the hemoglobin, HbA1C, and ESR results if present). These are then also entered in the patient chart automatically when the document is scanned.
If 'mammogram' or 'pap' is selected as the document type, then the user can be asked if the result is abnormal or normal and to enter the suggested return date which are then entered in the system. A tickler is created for the patient's doctor if the result is abnormal.
This is making our scanning very efficient and is helping us with our chronic disease management / prevention as we are not currently receiving electronic lab results.
You can download a copy of the script - its open source, like OSCAR. There is another simplified version that is designed just for batch 'old chart' scanning called 'oldchartscan.pl'.
(latest script versions Dec 20th 2009 - note the 'delete' function may not work in the current script).
There are instructions at the start of the script on how to use it.
**IMPORTANT SECURITY NOTE**
These scripts involve logging into the MySQL database on your OSCAR server. They do this via an SSH tunnel, but this tunnel could be used to gain access to the MySQL database directly using the password in the script. To prevent unauthorized data access, make sure that (1) the script permissions only allow the script to be run (not viewed), (2) these scripts are only run from machines that are secure from unauthorized physical access when they are running, and (3) that the SSH login key password is only known by trusted members of staff.
