ENSURING THE WELL-BEING OF NEW YORKERS & THEIR MEDICAL RECORDS
The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is one of the State’s largest agencies with the most expansive set of responsibilities.
The New York State Department of Health’s mission is to protect, improve and promote the health, productivity, and wellbeing of all New Yorkers. NYSDOH also provides a critical service to those needing a copy of a Birth, Death, Dissolution (Divorce), or Marriage Record. In 2019, the Department employed 3,450 people in its central office, three regional offices, three field offices, and nine district health offices across New York State. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the Department’s appropriations totaled $85.6 billion.
The Challenge
Meeting the demand for record requests
Fulfilling vital record copy requests became increasingly difficult and time consuming. Baby boomers, filing for social security, and the mandate for Real ID pushed record requests to an all-time high. The NYSDOH needed a solution to improve its efficiency so it could meet the surge in demand. Some records were stored as paper documents, some as Microfilm, and others were already stored in a digital format. Locating a record and producing a copy was a lengthy and often a multi-step process. Locating misfiled records was nearly impossible. Making matters worse was the gradual decomposition of its microfilm records, known as the Vinegar Syndrome. The NYSDOH wanted to work with a New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID) Corporate Partner to simplify and accelerate the process.
The Solution
Digitize records and index data
In 2015, the NYSDOH turned to eBizDocs to help speed up fulfilling document requests, digitizing records, and augmenting its disaster recovery strategy. The initial engagement resulted in scanning paper documents and producing approximately 3.5 million digital images. Then in 2018, all high demand images were targeted for data collection using a combination of human data entry and a data extraction technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Collected data is encrypted and automatically loaded into a NYSDOH database. Today, a simple search locates the correct document(s) quickly, easy, and reliably. In some cases, misfiled documents became readily available because the extracted data was searchable.
Driven by an increasing demand for document requests, eBizDocs received its next project from the NYSDOH in 2019. This initiative focused on meeting the needs for Federal Real ID requirements. Since 2015, eBizDocs’ handling of documents continuously demonstrated a strong chain of custody. By using its set of proprietary internal processes, eBizDocs is able to secure, protect, and preserve documents. This resulted in the state becoming comfortable knowing eBizDocs was able to protect and secure large volumes of sensitive records. Funding for this project allowed eBizDocs to scan and index over 5,000,000 paper birth certificates. eBizDocs advanced image correction and data collection technologies also produced better than approved results for difficult to scan documents.
The most recent initiative included scanning 425,000 paper Marriage records, and 10,250 rolls of microfilm (~2600 image per roll) containing Marriage, Death, and Dissolution records.
The Results
Improved efficiency and satisfaction
Since 2015, eBizDocs digitized well over 37 million images for the NYSDOH and is proud to be in a collaborative effort that helps fulfill their mission. eBizDocs won the business by being qualified to perform all the tasks, while satisfying the desire of working with a NYSID Corporate Partner. Today, all records are better organized and digitally backed up to provide robust layers of document protection and disaster recovery. NYSDOH’s ability to perform database searches on indexed data improves record retrieval efficiency 10-fold, when compared to manual document retrieval. Employee satisfaction is at a new all-time high because they can focus on serving the customer vs hunting for buried records.
Let’s start a fact finding, no obligation, conversation about your goals and objectives.
About eBizDocs –eBizDocs is a premier digital transformation provider focused on helping you put INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. Offerings include paper and microfilm conversion, content capture and document management solutions, scanner sales and service, and process consultation. eBizDocs is SOC2 Type II certified and serves private and public-sector organizations. The company has been in business for over 20 years and is a preferred source contractor for NYS entities. To learn how eBizDocs can help transform your operation, visit eBizDocs.com
