CASE STUDY: FileXX speeds care and
patient service in healthcare

None of the employees wanted to go to The Barn—and who could blame them. The blistering-in-the-summer, frigid-in-the-winter metal building held 80,000 patient records for Childress Regional Medical Center, the 60-bed general hospital in Childress, Texas.

“It seemed like there were millions and millions of pieces of paper there, but you could never find the one you needed,” said Kathy McLain, business office manager for Childress Regional.

The hospital needed to save money, time and space on critical business and medical record retrieval. That’s why Childress turned to FileX.

In the first two months after installing FileX, McLain said, “It saved my life twice,” explaining how she needed important historical records on short notice. A year after installation, McLain and her staff had all business office records archived on FileX—and cost savings came faster than she first expected. “I’ve saved at least $35,000 in paper, ink, wear and tear on printers and personnel time,” McLain said.

“I just finished doing payroll. To do payroll, we used to fill up about three books a year-each of them of two feet high. Now, we only print check stubs (the hospital uses direct deposit for paychecks). Everything else goes into the FileX Reports System,” McLain noted.

The FileX Reports System gives users the ability to review reports on the screen and eliminate the need to print the reports to paper. Both the report and the information in it become fully indexed and searchable. “We put all dailies [daily transaction reports] on the FileX system. We print one piece of paper a day—a balance sheet!” McLain notes.

“Now, we print very few reports. Most everything is going to FileX,” she said. “I do a lot of accounting in [Microsoft] Excel and file memos with Word. I don’t have to print anything out!” FileX took hold quickly at Childress Regional since the system integrates with the STARLAB healthcare management system from Custom Software Solutions.

When McLain’s staff began scanning medical records, she invited a group of nurses and physicians to see FileX in action. “They were very impressed,” McLain said, and immediately saw applications within their area. They predicted a 30-minute reduction in the admissions process. “Say someone came in with a trauma situation and they needed special medication, but were allergic to some medications. FileX would allow nurses to retrieve the old medical records while pharmacists pulled up drug records and the doctors reviewed former EKG tests. McLain is impressed with FileX’ security capabilities and its flexibility. Passwords allow staff members to access only the information they need to do their jobs. “We feel like our security is above and beyond” what even HIPAA (Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) is requiring,” McLain noted. “Nurses can’t get to financial information and housekeepers can’t get into medical records. Also, nurses can’t write on physician notes and physicians can’t write on nurses’ notes.