Everyone is familiar with the phrase “the devil is in the details” — and we’re going to stop you mid-eyeroll to remind you the reason everyone has heard this phrase is because it really is true.
Professional athletes, for example, train tirelessly to hit just the right angle with a ball or to shave a 100th of a second off their time. In law, the details of a contract, even down to the placement of a bit of punctuation, can change the terms drastically, possibly costing a client an actual truckload of money. On a more personal scale, when you get your morning coffee, you probably have a favorite place to go, maybe even a preferred staffer there to make your life-giving beverage. Why? They get it just the way you like it. They pay attention to the details. The details are where the devil of failure or the miracle of success can be found.
When you outsource or streamline a process through a service provider, your hope is to shift some of that detail orientation somewhere else. Depending on the service, that may be the case, but for some services – record retrieval and management in particular – you’ll find better outcomes when you approach the detail orientation more as a partnership. We can do a lot to save you time and resources, yes, but we need to have all the right material in place before we can work our magic.
Orienting your team to our processes and procedures is one step you can take to ensure a strong partnership that yields accurate results with fast turnaround times for medical and other records. In the words of our Director of Business Development, Danielle Butler, “Staff must be educated on the information they need to provide in the record retrieval process portal and understand that if one piece of information is incorrect, everything comes apart.” Here are some areas where attention to details can keep your request on the rails and moving forward quickly.
Proofreading
When we’re seeking out records, our search and retrieval process is only as good as the information we have. A misspelled name, for example, can add days or even weeks to your turnaround time or affect the accuracy of what we return to you. Train your team to double-check those details – the names of clients, physicians, other providers – and you’ll cut out delays and resubmission headaches. A few minutes of attention to details at the front end can save you weeks on the back, and that translates to faster settlement of cases and happier clients for you.
Fact-Checking
If you’ve ever tried to work on a jigsaw puzzle that’s missing pieces, you can begin to appreciate the importance of supplying your record retrieval experts with correct and complete information. You have names, dates, and institutions in your own records, and you need us to use those small facts to put together the bigger picture. Any errors or gaps we have to fill in on our own are pieces of the puzzle we don’t have, so instead of getting your request rolling, we’re spending time finding those puzzle pieces that are metaphorically on the floor or possibly eaten by the dog. You won’t regret spending a few extra moments to be sure you’re sending us all the pieces we need.
Release Forms
As a third-party record retrieval service, we require permission from the patient or the patient’s designee to retrieve medical records. Our secure online portal makes a lot of the request process straightforward, but without the attachment of that release form, we can’t begin the process. Our client specialists can help you learn which release forms you need (they vary by type of record and by record provider) and how to get them completed and attached to your request. Just ask us!
While we can handle all the details once your request is submitted, remember the results are only as good as the effort your team puts into the initial request forms. You want to avoid those little mistakes that are just waiting to bedevil your whole enterprise. Training, attention to detail, and even pre-submission checklists are your best bet for making your partnership with The Records Company productive, efficient, and satisfying.