Bringing Mobility to Document Access: The SCOOTER Store Simplifies Records Retrieval

Health care provider implements electronic document management system to provide staff with immediate access to customer records, improving operational efficiencies and helping with HIPM compliance requirements.

Based on a core ideology, "Always Do the Right Thing," The SCOOTER Store was founded

as the result of an unwavering desire to help people with limited mobility regain freedom and independence with the use of scooters and power wheelchairs. Launched in 1991, the business has grown into a highly successful national enterprise and America's leading supplier of scooters and power chairs, with more than 1,100 employee-owners. The SCOOTER Store has retail locations, local account managers, distribution centers and a network of service specialists located in over 125 locations across the U.S.

"Our average customer is 73 years old and has advanced to the point where mobility assistive equipment is now a requirement for them," explains Jay Greene, Senior Vice President of Information Technology at The SCOOTER Store. "We help them through the process of getting the aid that they need. We think we add important value to our customer's lives everyday."

As a health care provider, The SCOOTER Store has tremendous documentation requirements. "The types of records that we manage include information and documentation collected from the customer, their caregivers and their physician," says Greene.

Records management at The SCOOTER Store was a labor-intensive and paper-intensive environment. Requests for documents contained in customer files were fulfilled manually and many times requests for files could not be immediately met. The delays in receiving requested files resulted in delays in billing and cash flow.

Replacing a Paper-Based, Manual Process

When the company purchased the Hummingbird Enterprise(TM) document management system, Greene and his team knew they were making a smart business decision. Expected benefits included saving money, improving processes, reducing man-hours expended on tedious manual filing and records management tasks, and moving the organization closer to the goal of electronic records management.

"We had very specific business challenges that we were trying to address with an electronic document management system," says Greene. "We had identified some targets that we felt would improve the business in terms of reduced manpower, improved efficiencies, and improved quality of the documentation. In addition, from a disaster recovery standpoint, having electronic back up was a priority for the Records Department."

The SCOOTER Store conducted a formal Request For Proposal process and investigated several document management vendors before selecting Hummingbird.

"The thing about Hummingbird that really stood out for us was that it had an easy to understand, really intuitive user interface," says Larry Abel, Lead Systems Analyst of Application Development at The SCOOTER Store. "Also, from an IT perspective, what really made it attractive was its open database. Hummingbird shared the data model with us and delivered development tools that really help to modify the application for our unique needs. We were pleased to find a solution that was inexpensive to implement and also integrates with our core home grown applications."

Records Access on Demand: Immediate Benefits and Savings

With the document management system deployed, The SCOOTER Store now has one central repository for managing all customer documents, significantly simplifying the search and retrieval process. Documents are scanned on location and saved into the document repository enabling the billing department to access them immediately. The paper copies are collected and shipped to the head office in bulk from the various locations, resulting in an annual savings of approximately $100,000 in courier costs.

Since all documentation associated with the customers is captured electronically, anyone in the business who needs it can now easily conduct a search in the Hummingbird repository and call up the record. The document management solution is helping The SCOOTER Store in a number of ways.

"If I'm working in our billing and collections group, I can look at the proof of delivery slip prior to billing and make sure things are in order. If I'm working on a case where a claim has been denied by Medicare or a private insurance company, and I'm following up in one of the re-determinations or fair hearings to make our case for payment, I now have immediate access to the records that were collected during the sale. For service events, I can go into the document management repository and see when the chair was delivered and what special needs the customer may have had," explains Greene.

A key benefit for The SCOOTER Store since implementing Hummingbird Enterprise has been the reduction in the amount of paper it keeps in its filing cabinets. Prior to rolling out the system, each customer folder contained an average of 35 pieces of paper. To date, The SCOOTER Store has managed to reduce that number by 80% with the ultimate goal of reaching 100% reduction. More importantly, the company has been able to shorten its billing cycle since the remote offices across the country can now file key documents, such as proofs of delivery, into the central content repository, electronically.

Additionally, Hummingbird Enterprise also assists The SCOOTER Store with its HIPAA compliance requirements. "Our disaster recovery position has truly benefited from the Hummingbird implementation. We back up our electronic images every night, and the back up tape is stored in a secure off-site facility. We no longer have to worry about the safe-keeping of physical documents," says Greene.

Less than a year after the rollout of its document management system in several departments, the company has posted some very impressive ROI numbers. For the year preceding the rollout, over 2,800 file requests could not be serviced in a timely manner because the files were either checked out or not yet located within the file room. This often resulted in significant time and effort to manually track down the necessary files. Since the rollout and some key business process changes, virtually 100% of all files requested have been located in the file room and everyone can complete their duties without having to wait for the paper folder.

"Our frequent users in sales and billing, as well as our Medicare Response Development Team, now have access to documents as soon as they are scanned into the Hummingbird Enterprise repository. This is one of our primary benefits," says Greene. "Users no longer have to wait an average of five business days for requested files as was the case with our previous manual filing system. Feedback from our end-users has been very positive."

Judicial support is also realizing great gains in accessibility and efficiency. This department usually receives a court docket on a Friday and has to be prepared for a hearing before an adjudicator by the next Thursday or Friday. Some dockets have as many as 300 beneficiaries attached. Previously, all the documents pertaining to those beneficiaries had to be manually collated. "Today all they do is go to the Hummingbird repository, find the relevant documents, print them off, and they're ready to walk out the door and go to court," says Haynie.

The SCOOTER Store has been able to repurpose nine full-time employees that formerly handled the manual filing and retrieval of customer records and subsequent documentation. This has resulted in significant annual savings in manpower costs associated with the reduction in physically handling the paperwork.

The SCOOTER Store calculated its investment in Hummingbird Enterprise delivered a payback period of only seven months.

A Compliant Solution

"To date, I believe the most useful benefit of the Hummingbird document management solution at The SCOOTER Store has been immediate access to customer records for all employees that have a need to access those records, and we do this in a HIPAA compliant fashion," concludes Greene. "We can track who is accessing what records and when they access them. As a company that operates in a space that is regulated by HIPAA this becomes an important enabler for us to be compliant and make sure that we are providing the data to those who need it while at the same time being able to control the environment."