Electronic Medical Records vs. Paper Medical Records

Electronic or Paper Medical Records – Which is Better?

This article refers to using a computer monitor and Adobe Acrobat to review medical records that have been saved as PDFs.

9 Advantages of Reviewing Medical Records Using Adobe Acrobat

1. It’s more cost effective. Consider the costs of a copier, a scanner, toner, paper, postage, and maintenance of a copier machine, compared to the cost of scanning records and recording a disk.
2. Electronic files can be sent or stored on a document sharing site, making them accessible to many people.
3. It is easier to store records that are scanned and saved on a CD.
4. Electronic medical records are much more portable.
5. Electronic records can be searched using Adobe Acrobat.
6. You can bookmark pages using Adobe acrobat as well as add comments.
7. You can combine PDF files using Adobe Acrobat, and then number them using a Bates stamping system such as the one that is part of Case Map
8. You can copy and paste sections of a medical record without having to retype or transcribe them.
9. You can electronically reorganize pages within a file.

 5 Advantages of Reviewing Paper Medical Records

1. Paper is a familiar format that does not require any software.
2. Printed and organized medical records are easily searchable.
3. Voluminous medical records provide a “wow” factor to visually illustrate the extent of the plaintiff’s treatment.
4. Electronic records that are not organized before scanning can be tedious to review. The amount of time needed to reshuffle pages may equal the amount of time needed to organize paper records.
5. CDs of records may be easily lost compared to misplacing a large binder.

This information was prepared by Lee Houston BSN RN and Pat Iyer MSN RN LNCC.

Adobe Acrobat for Legal Professionals: How to Harness its Power

Join us on Thursday, June 28, 2012 when Lee Houston, BSN RN is presenting a one day course on how to harness the power of Adobe Acrobat to review, organize, and edit PDF files. This program is designed for legal nurse consultants and attorneys and any person who reviews medical records using a computer monitor.

Lee Houston is a legal nurse consultant who loves using Adobe Acrobat to review medical records. Pat Iyer is a legal nurse consultant who is President of Patricia Iyer Associates, which provides education on legal nurse consulting.

Lee Houston and Pat Iyer presented a popular one hour multimedia program on working with computerized medical records and Adobe Acrobat and 100% of the people who attended the program wanted more advanced training. Lee loves to use multiple monitors and Adobe Acrobat as he reviews his legal nurse consulting files.

Register now!  Can’t make it on June 28?  That’s okay!  All purchasers of the course will receive access to the schedule, PowerPoint slides, course replays and transcripts, and other learning tools, which can be accessed any time at your convenience (replays and transcripts will become available in early July).

Adobe Acrobat for Legal Professionals: How to Harness its Power will start at 9:00 AM and end at 5:00 PM Eastern time, with breaks for homework and a meal (for those participating in the live program). You will learn how to review records, make comments, reorganize electronic files, create forms, and other handy tips. Learn from the comfort of your home and office, and have the opportunity to practice the skills between sessions.

You will need Adobe Acrobat to take part in the exercises in the live webinar. Sign up now and save. The Early bird pricing of $157 ends June 17, and will increase to $177 on June 18, 2012.

Register now by clicking here.