Should you be scanning EOBs into patient charts?

The quick answer is no. Scanning Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) into patient charts might seem like an efficient solution for managing insurance data, but it’s actually a costly practice that can slow down your workflow and hinder the performance of your practice management software. This outdated method wastes valuable time, resources, and exposes your practice to potential HIPAA compliance risks. In this blog, we’ll explore the hidden dangers of scanning EOBs into patient charts, including the specific risk of privacy violations and system inefficiencies. We’ll also provide smarter, more secure alternatives that streamline your operations, protect patient privacy, and save you both time and money.

Table of contents

1. Why do some offices scan EOBs into patient charts?
2. The risks and drawbacks of scanning EOBs
3. Efficient alternatives to scanning EOBs
4. The hidden costs of scanning EOBs
5. Streamlining your workflow and reducing costs

Why do some offices scan EOBs into patient charts?

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Many dental offices continue to scan EOBs into patient charts for various reasons, including long-standing habits and assumptions about the necessity of the practice.

Here are some of the common justifications:

• It’s a long-standing practice:
  A familiar practice doesn’t always mean it’s the best practice. It’s essential to periodically evaluate whether your current processes are still serving the best interests of your patients, team, and overall success.
• Instruction from others:
  Advice from a consultant, office manager, or peer can influence your workflows. However, it’s important to ensure that advice aligns with the most efficient practices for your office. It's possible the person advising you may not be aware of alternatives.
• To answer patient inquiries quickly:
  Offices may believe that scanning EOBs into patient charts is an easy way to access information when a patient calls about their balance. However, there are more efficient ways to manage EOBs, and answer patient’s questions, as we will outline below. 
• Misunderstanding of legal requirements:
  Some offices mistakenly think they are legally required to scan EOBs into patient charts. While state record-keeping laws require keeping records for specific amounts of time, this can be done without scanning EOBs into individual patient files, or keeping paper copies.

The risks and drawbacks of scanning EOBs:

Scanning EOBs into patient charts may seem convenient, but it carries significant risks and drawbacks that can impact your practice:

• HIPAA compliance risks:
  EOBs provided to dental offices for payment remittance often include information for multiple patients, particularly when payments are made in bulk. Storing a bulk EOB in a single patient’s chart can inadvertently expose other patients’ private health information (PHI), potentially resulting in HIPAA violations. Many mistakenly believe that if an insurance company sends a bulk EOB, it is acceptable to store the entire document in a patient’s chart without redactions. However, this practice is not compliant. Bulk remittance EOBs, whether digital or paper, are not governed by the same compliance guidelines as individual patient records placed in patient charts. Since patients are entitled to access their own charts, bulk EOBs containing information about others must not be scanned into their charts—just as insurance companies do not provide such documents to individual patients.
• Time consumption:
  Scanning bulk EOBs, particularly those with multiple pages, is a time-consuming task. It requires careful attention to detail, such as redacting sensitive information and ensuring the document is placed in the correct patient’s chart. Over time, this process takes up valuable time that could be better spent on more productive tasks.
• Increased costs:
  The time spent scanning and organizing EOBs individually adds up quickly. Staff labor costs, coupled with the time spent on this repetitive task, make it a costly practice.
• Server capacity issues:
  If your practice is using a server based PMS, storing digital EOBS within it can take up valuable space on your server and lead to software functionality and efficiency problems. 

Efficient alternatives to scanning EOBs:

There are several alternatives to scanning EOBs into patient charts that can save your practice time and money:

• Store EOBs in organized separate, digital files:
  After posting insurance payments, scan EOBs into a separate digital filing system. This method allows easy organization and access without cluttering individual patient charts. There are many HIPAA compliant options for digital EOB storage, such as Google workspace.   
• Find information quickly by posting date and insurance company:
  Organize digital folders by date of posting, and then by insurance company (e.g., Aetna, Blue Cross, Delta). If a patient calls about their balance, check their ledger for the date the EOB was posted. You can then quickly access the appropriate file by date or insurance company, saving time and improving efficiency.
• Make EOBs searchable:
  Saving EOBs as PDFs allows them to be searchable by patient name or other identifiers, enabling you to find the right document in seconds. This is very easy to do if you save EOBs from insurance portals as PDFs.

Expert tip: Wisdom’s standard process when posting insurance payments, working aged claims, and appealing denials includes leaving clear and detailed notes within that specific claim. All of the information on an EOB about the payment or denial is noted to the extent that our clients don’t need to see an EOB to answer a patient’s question on the spot. This process is key to efficiency, and alignment.

The hidden costs of scanning EOBs:

When you take into account the time and labor involved in scanning EOBs, the costs quickly add up:

• Time spent scanning:
  Scanning EOBs individually, especially bulk ones, is time-consuming. This repetitive task takes hours away from more valuable work, such as addressing patient needs or improving operational efficiency.
• Labor costs:
  The labor required to scan and organize EOBs contributes to your office’s overall costs. When you add up the time spent on this task and the wages of the employees involved, you may find that this practice is costing your office far more than you realized, with adding very little value.

Streamlining your workflow and reducing costs:

By eliminating the need to scan EOBs into patient charts, you can create valuable time for other essential tasks:

• Treatment plan presentation
• Dental billing tasks
• Patient relationships
• Reporting
• Maintaining a full schedule

Scanning EOBs into patient charts may seem like a simple solution, but it’s neither efficient nor cost-effective. By adopting alternative methods for organizing and accessing EOBs, you can improve workflow, reduce costs, and stay compliant with HIPAA regulations. Taking the time to streamline your practice’s processes will not only save you money but also create a more productive and effective environment for your team and patients.