Transcript Filing system
MEDICAL RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN EYE CARE SERVICES
5.Medical Records- Numbering & Filing systems
Medical Records Numbering System
Serial numbering system:
In serial numbering the patient receives a new medical record each time he is registered or treated by the hospital.
If he is registered five times, he acquires five different medical record numbers.
His medical records are filed in as many places as the number of times he has been treated in the facility.
Medical Records Numbering System
Unit numbering system: The patient is assigned a patient number on his first registration which is his permanent number for all subsequent visits till his life time.
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One number is only assigned to patients.
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Even if ID card is lost the same number can be searched and taken.(Through Alpha index card)
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There will be no duplication of records.
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No need to add the year of registration or any other code with this numbering system.
Medical Records Numbering System
Serial Unit numbering system:
This numbering system is a combination of the serial and unit numbering system.
Although each time the patient is registered he receives a new medial record number, his previous record are continually brought forward and filed under the latest issued number.
When the older records are brought forward, tracer cards must be left in the shelf where the old record has been pulled, to indicate the new number under which the record is now filed.
The tracer card marked with a referral note to the new number is a satisfactory method for finding out the place of the original record.
Medical Records Numbering System
Annual Numbering:
In annual numbering system, two digits indicating the year are added to the end of a serial number.
The year destination serves as a control number in activating medical records.
The serial numbers together with the calendar year also provide immediate data on the number of hospital registration or visits that occurred during a specific year.
Medical Records Numbering System
File Expansion: It is necessary to leave 25% of the shelves vacant when unit numbering system is followed.
Medical Records expand when more forms are added to a record during frequent visits of the patient.
When serial-unit system is followed, old medical records are forwarded to combine with the new medical records of the patient.
Gaps may occur on the shelves as records are pulled and forwarded when revisit rates are very high.
Medical Records Numbering System
Bulky Files: Records of patients having had several occasions of treatment sometimes become so thick that additional folders are needed to house one complete medical record.
In order to alert filing personnel and health care professionals that a medical record contains in several folders, it is wise to mark each folder with both the volume number and the total number of volumes.
First folder can be labeled as “Volume 1 of 2”,and the second folder as “Volume 2 of 2”.
Medical Records Filing System
Straight Numeric Filing:
Straight numeric filing refers to the filing of records in exact ascending order according to medical records number.
The greatest advantage of this type of filing system is the ease with which personnel are trained to work with it.
The disadvantage is, it is ease to misfile since the staff must consider all digits of the record number at one time when filing a record.
The greater the number of digits that must be recalled when filing, the greater the chance of error.
A more serious problem to straight numerical filing is that the heaviest filing activity is concentrated in the area with the maximum number of new records.
Medical Records Filing System
Terminal Digit Filing: A six digit number or seven digit number can be used and divided with a hyphen into three parts.
Each part normally contains two digits.
Within the number, the primary digits are the last two, secondary digits are the middle two and, the tertiary digits are the first two or three digits.
In a terminal digit filing, there are 100 primary sections, ranging from 00 to 99.
First consider the primary sections while filing the records.
With each primary section, group of records are matched according to the secondary digits, after locating the correct secondary digits section, the staffs files the records in numerical order by the tertiary digits.
Medical Records Filing System
Middle Digit Filing:
In this method the staffs files according to pairs of digits, as in terminal digit filing.
But, the primary, secondary and, tertiary digits are in different positions.
The middle pairs of digits in a six-digit number are the primary digits, the digits on the left are the secondary digits, and the digits on the right are the tertiary digits.
Conversion from straight numerical system to a middle digit system is much simpler than converting to a terminal digit system.
More training may be necessary than the straight numeric or terminal digit filing.
Medical Records Filing System
Centralization:
Centralization refers to the filing of out patient, in-patient patient’s records in one location.
The medical records will be kept in a single location under the control of the medical records in-charge.
Decentralization:
A large medical complex consisting of several health care units which are physically separated from each other might need to adopt such a decentralized filing system for easy retrieval and accessibility.
Key Points to Remember
The unit numbering system provides a single record, which is a composite of all data gathered on a given patient.
The straight numeric filing system has a greatest advantage in training personnel within a limited span of time.
Alphabetic filling by patient names is more cumbersome and subject to more error than numerical filing.
Key Points to Remember
Periodical surveys should be made by the Medical records technician which can greatly assist the hospital Administrator responsible for making decisions regarding storage space and retention schedules.
Unless the medical record is immediately available when and where needed all the time, labor and expense in maintaining a medical record department is wasted.
Answer the following
1) Describe the following numbering system and list one advantage and disadvantage of each system.
- Serial numbering.
- Serial unit numbering.
-Serial unit numbering.
- Unit numbering 2) Define centralized and decentralized filing, and summarize the advantages of centralization for medical records.
Answer the following
3) Arrange the following medical record numbers in a sequence to each filing system :
213497, 213498,213598,213599,313501,313502 and 313503
- Straight numeric filing.
- Terminal digit filing.
- Middle digit filing.
Answer the following
4) What is straight numeric filing system and explain the advantages and disadvantages of this filing system.
5) Method of issuing medical records to doctors or clinics on request.Expalin?