Scanners
A device that can read anything that is printed on a piece of paper and convert it into an electronic file.
This piece of hardware is extremely important to your practice when you are seeking a paperless office. All of the paper charts must be converted into electronic charts and the only way this can be done is through scanning.
There are several third party scanning companies that will be able to do this for you at a cost. Although there is a cost, these scanning companies are able to scan at least 300 pieces of paper per minute. It is obvious that they can save you hours of time.
Speak to EHR vendors if they have a scanning feature or if they have a company that they usually recommend.
Types of scanners:
Larger scanners: You feed sheets of paper. This is good for loose sheets of paper; however, they are not able to handle bound documents.
Flatbed Scanner: Similar to a photocopy machine where you can lay books, magazines and additional documents.
Overhead Scanner: Look similar to an overhead projector, where you place documents face-up and a small overhead tower moves across the document/page.