o New roll out of File Stream workflow and email scheduler modules improve staff collaboration, with integration of Coda Financials underway 

o Web module means all group companies have remote access to File Stream  o Approximately £6,000 in physical storage costs saved by scanning paperwork and using EDMS

February 11, 2010 – Kodak today announced that Kingsley Healthcare Group has implemented a centralised File Stream electronic document management solution (EDMS) and 35 Kodak i30/40 desktop scanners to remove the operational inefficiencies associated with managing a thriving care home business on multiple locations using paper-based systems.

In total, £50,000 has been invested in hardware, software and training to create a powerful MIS(1) system for the Kingsley Healthcare management team who run 20 homes predominately in Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedford, Dorset and Weymouth consisting of residential, dementia, nursing, and learning & disability residences. 

Wasantha Darshana, Kingsley Healthcare’s IT director, says, “When I joined the company 6 years ago, we only had four care homes and were in the process of acquiring sites and developing the company.  Today we have 20 locations, 500 residents and 700 employees, with our head office in Lowestoft.  The File Stream EDMS solution has been crucial to support this growth and improve business performance and efficiency.”

Three other companies in the group – CE Aviation, DDS Associates and travel agency, Senses Holidays – also capitalise on the investment in document management and either have File Stream deployed locally or access the head office-based system securely through a web browser.  

All original paperwork has to be stored at the care home level, but also made available at head office as well as at Kingsley Healthcare’s offshore back-office administration centre in Sri Lanka. The File Stream deployment means accessing information is now far quicker and easier for everyone and ensures that the company meets its regulatory responsibilities from a document and records management perspective.

Each care home generates a vast amount of documentation which has to be stored. This includes all resident related paperwork such as contracts, care plans, check lists, next of kin details, financial information, along with medical reports, dispensary records and correspondence with social services. 

In addition, Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection reports, quality assurance and compliance information, NHS correspondence, health and safety certificates, employee HR and payroll, criminal records bureau related paperwork all has to be stored, along with marketing/PR-related materials. 

Wasantha explains, “We operate in a highly regulated industry where retrieval and access of information is often required quickly during inspections which, in the past, was a real hassle when everything was paper based. It just took a huge amount of time and effort to do so.”

After reviewing various options, File Stream was selected and version 4.1 installed as it met Kingsley Healthcare’s requirements and was priced competitively. The File Stream server is located at the Lowestoft head office and utilises a SQL database, with the various care homes connecting to it via secure VPN tunnels. 

File Stream recommended Kodak’s compact i30 simplex and i40 duplex desktop scanners which are designed to handle 25 pages per minute or 1,000 pages per day, and feature high performance imaging technology, Perfect Page, to ensure first pass quality scans regardless of document condition. 

Wasantha adds, “We’re maximising the capabilities of File Stream by using Kodak scanners.  As we have remote sites, we wanted high quality scans which only generate low file sizes of 200 KB otherwise it would take ages to download documents.  Kodak delivers both and, compared to competitive products, the equipment is reliable and performs brilliantly when you’re processing high volumes.”

On a monthly basis, Kingsley Healthcare scans all incoming post which equates to around 15,000 items, along with 5,000 purchase invoices, 3,000 sales invoices and 8,000 health related documents. 

The benefits of EDMS have been wide ranging.  Information is accessible at a touch of a button, management time is saved, security improved as staff can access paperwork based on job role only, and, of course, meeting auditing and compliance regulations has been simplified. Equally £6,000 per annum is being saved as offsite physical storage of documents is no longer required.  

In the summer of 2009, File Stream’s workflow and email scheduler modules were introduced to improve collaboration among staff at head office, in the care homes and in Sri Lanka. Gary Jones, File Stream’s marketing manager, explains, “Once a document is scanned and indexed, the system automatically routes it to a person who needs to look at it, with an email sent to flag that this has happened.  So, for example, if a new carer is employed at one of the homes locally, the application form is transmitted to HR automatically for filing centrally.”

Currently, Kingsley Healthcare is in the process of linking File Stream with its new CODA Financials accounting software so that scanned invoices can be processed faster.  Wasantha concludes, “The management team love the EDMS solution and it has become fundamental to our business evidenced by the fact that File Stream has been added to our day-to-day vocabulary as people are often heard saying have you ‘File Streamed’ that document yet?”

David Whitton, Kodak document imaging’s Northern Cluster sales manager, says, “It’s very interesting to see how SME businesses, like Kingsley Healthcare, can improve efficiency quickly and relatively cheaply using EDMS while reducing the cost overall of doing business. That’s why document imaging is so powerful and beneficial.

(1) Management Information System