When you think about digital transformation in healthcare, document rendering isn’t something that pops in your mind. Most people associate digital manufacturing and design innovation in healthcare with IoT, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, intelligent robots, and similar sci-fi concepts.

Even though the current healthcare industry adopts many top-notch innovations, some basic processes often remain outdated. Document management is one of them. Many healthcare organizations still stick to carbon copies and paper documentation, with tons of paper copies stored in filing cabinets still clutter their offices.

This slows down internal operations, spoils doctor-patient relationships, and harms the environment. The healthcare system is responsible for 10% of the nation’s carbon emissions and 9% of non-greenhouse air pollutants.

These and other drawbacks of carbon copies make digital rendering an excellent solution for document management. Learn more about document rendering benefits and implementation in healthcare below.

Why Use Document Rendering Instead of Paper or Carbon Copies

The golden age of carbon paper has ended with the appearance of electronic documents. Even though the lovers of traditional approaches still create carbon copies, most healthcare providers switched to digital records.

The benefits of digital transformation in healthcare are apparent. There are multiple valid reasons to go paperless, including:

• Incentives from the ONC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In 2011, the CMS launched the Promoting Interoperability Programs to encourage hospitals and healthcare professionals to implement electronic health records. Eligible entities were entitled to incentive payments if they met EHR certification requirements and proved “the meaningful use” of electronic records health systems. This made the adoption of digital documentation very popular since electronic documents are an essential part of any EHR system.

• Competitive advantage in the healthcare industry. Over 95% of US hospitals have already implemented electronic medical records, which means they have digital document data management automation. These organizations almost entirely switched from carbon copies and paper documentation to digital transformation in healthcare. If you don’t follow them, you will fall behind. Poor document management and the inability to send electronic copies online harm the quality of patient care and customer relationships.
• Agility in internal processes and better connection between teams. Paper and carbon copies can get lost or destroyed. Besides, they are difficult to share between teams. Anyone with the right level of access can open the required paperless document in a matter of seconds. This allows clinicians, financial departments, insurers, and other teams to coordinate their actions.
• Environmentally-friendly operation. Apart from cost reduction, sustainability is one of the critical goals of digital manufacturing and design innovation in healthcare. By using fewer paper copies, healthcare organizations contribute to global environmental initiatives.
  

Check Out 11 Reasons Why Your Business Needs to Go Paperless

In addition to the listed advantages of digital transformation in healthcare, electronic documentation is more cost-effective than carbon copies. By having all the critical documents digitized and stored in one place, healthcare employees don’t waste their time searching. They work faster, while healthcare organizations win from the increased big data efficiency.

4 Ways in Which Digital Document Rendering Reduces Paper Copies in Healthcare

Digital document rendering covers several processes, from source data processing to document storage. It all starts with HTML to PDF conversion when rendering software generates PDF documents based on HTML data. The PDF format allows healthcare organizations to store documents online and deliver them electronically. It also cuts the use of paper and carbon copies in other meaningful ways. Here are the main four of them:

#1. Healthcare organizations can keep patient records online

Patient records are not only about radiology reports or cardiograms. Healthcare workers need to collect every vital detail about patients and their treatment. They record physical characteristics, treatment history, administration of drugs, therapies, and other information. Whereas years ago, medical history was handwritten, today, these details are stored in databases. Automated HTML to PDF conversion allows healthcare providers to automatically retrieve HTML records and convert them to neat PDF files. PDFs are more convenient to use even without printing. They are also secure and easy to send in emails or share between teams.

This minimizes the need to print patient records and cuts paper consumption.

#2. There is no need to store carbon copies of compliance records

Healthcare compliance with all the HHS regulations, including HIPAA, is challenging. Healthcare organizations have to keep tons of documents proving that their practices meet regulatory requirements. Without document rendering, you will need to store compliance records in filing cabinets. They take a lot of space, pollute the environment, and are difficult to manage.

Fortunately, document rendering software saves you from the need to organize paper compliance records. Such tools are highly secure and store the copies of generated PDF documents in the cloud. Thanks to this, you will be able to retrieve electronic proof of compliance at any request from your patients or regulatory bodies.

Read About Using Address Verification for HIPAA Compliance

#3. Medical billing doesn’t require paper documents

If patients ask you to send them financial documents offline, you must deliver the documentation by mail. Other than that, there is no need to send carbon copies of bills. With document rendering software that automatically generates and delivers bills, you can make this process partially paperless. Those who prefer paper billing will continue to receive their documents by mail, while other patients will get everything online. This will optimize document management for you and help to cut paper copies.

Such digital transformation in healthcare quickly pays off. As document rendering and delivery become automated, you don’t need to waste resources on manual document management. Customer relationships also improve since patients always appreciate having a choice.

#4. Routine patient communications can be delivered online

74% of Millennials would rather choose a digital health visit than an in-person appointment. This means that before and after talking to a doctor, they expect to receive communications, like an appointment confirmation, medical recommendations, or prescriptions. That’s how automated HTML to PDF conversion and digital transformation in healthcare improve patients’ online experience. People automatically get custom PDF documents in real-time to their email addresses. Since the copies of the generated communications are automatically recorded, healthcare organizations can view them anytime.

Without digital rendering software, healthcare organizations would need to handle these communications manually even when patients are served online. This strains the resources and leads to unnecessary carbon copies.

Inkit’s Render Replaces Carbon Copies with Digital Documentation

Inkit is a reach enablement platform with professional document rendering capabilities. With Inkit’s Render, you can fully automate HTML to PDF conversion to generate custom healthcare communications, bills, invoices, and other documents. Render automatically retrieves the necessary HTML data from your database based on triggers and produces a PDF. Once the document is generated, the tool stores its copy in the cloud.

If you want to deliver the generated documents online, you can easily connect Inkit with one of the supported email clients or any third-party software. Inkit also supports automated offline delivery in case you need it.

With Inkit, digital transformation in healthcare is hassle-free. One multifunctional platform replaces multiple services while offering the ultimate security required for personal medical data processing.

Want to start the digital transformation in healthcare with Inkit? Contact us to get the demo.