The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) manages New York’s public mental health system from multiple psychiatric facilities located across the state. Collectively, these facilities work in conjunction with a variety of local governments and non-profit agencies to offer more than 2,500 programs and initiatives that serve over 500,000 individuals yearly. In order to maintain adequate health care to such a significant number of people, it is important that patient records be easily accessible to medical staff while simultaneously maintaining strict confidentially and security.

The Challenge

An inefficient, obsolete record keeping system and a displaced workforce

OMH recognized the difficulty of maintaining efficient and effective control over a large (and rapidly growing) volume of medical information in the form of paper records. The burden of thousands of paper documents was mounting as OMH began running out of storage space in locations around the state – 78,000 boxes worth of patient records, spanning over 80 years of health cases. The need for an across-the-board efficient and standardized record management system was apparent – not simply for convenience, but more importantly, for patient health and safety.

OMH was also concerned about fulfilling their goal to help find gainful employment for potentially hundreds of otherwise displaced New York State OMH consumers. As an important recovery element, employment can provide consumers with “personal satisfaction” as well as “increased personal independence and a meaningful role in society.”

“Gainful employment is an important element of recover, and as on recipient of mental health services recently told me, it is the best stigma buster of all time.”

 – Sharon Carpinello, Former OMH Commissioner

The Solution

Paperless record-keeping, file compression

eBizDocs’ objective was to convert OMH’s inefficient paper records into electronic documents which can maintained in a single, centralized, and secure Electronic Record Management (ERM) system. An effective, well managed paperless system greatly reduces the risk of medical errors and improves the quality of medical care and treatment. When OMH expressed a concern for server space, eBizDocs introduced them to electronic file compression. Using Luratech’s PDF compression software, OMH’s 300 DPI color PDFs are compressed to 10% the original size while maintaining exceptional quality.

Equal in its commitment to superior quality service and cutting-edge electronic record management is eBizDocs’ passion for serving the needs of the community. As a New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID) partner, the company also provides gainful employment to many New Yorkers with disabilities, including U.S. military veterans. eBizDocs immediately recognized an exciting opportunity to team with OMH and provide jobs for those with a history of mental illness.

The Results

Instant access to records, reclaimed storage space, and gainful employment opportunities

Digitizing OMH’s paper into electronic records effectively eliminated the risk of misfiling or even losing important information. Storage space was reclaimed at multiple facilities. And rather than spending time searching for a patient’s record, staff can now access medical information instantly. There is also minimal file storage and load time thanks to PDF compression. Besides going paperless, OMH was also able to fulfill their mission. Traditionally displaced workers found meaningful jobs. And many of them participated in the OMH record conversion project.

Let’s start a fact finding, no obligation, conversation about your goals and objectives.