Welcome back to the 9 Costs of Paper Systems in HCBS!
This week, we’re diving into Cost #4: Time Loss.
Time wasters hurt agencies in at least three ways. First, they obviously waste valuable time. Second, they’re extremely frustrating. Third, they happen over and over again.
When those three things combine, they become a hamster wheel.
So what are these time suckers?
With paper, there are lots. Let’s dive in!
1. Data Entry
Initial Entry: Writing info on paper takes significantly more time than typing or talking into an electronic system.
Duplicating Work: Important info is then typed into a digital system, leading to redundant work.
Handwriting Issues: Illegible handwriting and mistakes cause misinterpretations. More time is spent verifying and correcting.
2. Filing and Organizing
Sorting and Filing: Paper records must be sorted and filed correctly. This takes much more time than clicking the save button in a digital system, and requires attention to detail.
Physical Retrieval: Locating and retrieving records from filing can take a considerable amount of time, especially if the filing system is large or not well-organized.
3. Human Error
Entry Mistakes: Manual data entry is prone to errors. Typos, misspellings and incorrect data are harder to spot and correct in a paper system.
Tracking Changes: Tracking changes and updates in paper records is clunky and time consuming. It can lead to errors or using outdated information.
4. Error Correction
Identifying Errors: Spotting errors in paper records can be challenging and time-consuming, requiring thorough reviews.
Correction Process: Correcting errors involves physically locating the incorrect record, calling in the DSP to fix the error, retraining the DSP, and ensuring the change is reflected in all relevant documents. A process that takes lots of time and often brings lots of frustration.
5. Communication Delays
Receiving Progress Notes: Receiving paper time sheets and progress notes takes DSPs lots of time which leads to delays for the agency.
Internal Communication: Sharing information between team members means looking for and transporting paper records. This means unnecessary delays.
External Communication: Providing information to clients, other agencies, or auditors takes longer when records need to be manually copied or scanned.
6. Compliance and Auditing
Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring paper records meet regulatory standards requires regular manual checks and audits, which are labor-intensive.
Audit Preparation: Preparing for audits involves manually gathering and organizing a large volume of records, consuming lots of staff time.
Lost or Misplaced Documents: Paper records are susceptible to being damaged, misplaced or lost, requiring time to locate or reconstruct the information.
7. Archiving
Archiving old records involves sorting, boxing, and storing them in a way that they can still be accessed if needed, which is time-consuming.
Retrieving archived records can take lots of time and energy to physically locate the records. If they’re in stacked boxes, it then means moving them around just to find the right record.
8. Interruptions
Interruptions bring frustration and wasted time.
Finding Records: Staff may need to interrupt their workflow to search for specific records, leading to frequent disruptions in their daily tasks.
Record Access: Limited access to a single physical copy of a record can cause bottlenecks when multiple staff members need the same document.
9. No Automation
This is a big one!
Filling out paper and storing it can’t be automated. This means the larger an agency grows, the more staff are needed to handle the paperwork. And if there isn’t enough staff, the agency and the team get bogged down.
How much time are you losing?
Thanks for reading & stay tuned for next week’s deep dive into Storage Costs of paper!