“Other practices value the way our office functions and I know Updox is part of that efficiency.”
Southwest Surgical Associates is one of the largest general surgery practices in the greater Houston area. The practice works from nine different sites with 20 physicians and 60 employees, serving more than 10,000 patients a year. With a practice of that size, they looked at any opportunity to improve efficiencies and lower costs. They were intrigued about Updox’s electronic document management for Greenway and, after hearing about how it was used at another practice, did a site visit to that location to see how it worked. 
“With online editing tools and the ability to file right to the chart, I knew immediately it would be great for us,” said Elizabeth Stock, medical records coordinator. “We had too many hands on our faxes in the office. Pages went missing. It took too long to get items reviewed and signed. Paper slowed down our practice. Now, status is easy to see. We can tell at a glance what was received or who has a document. It works much better as staff move between locations. They can go to any computer, or even their phone, to check on a document.”
Better Internal Teamwork
Updox provided Liz with insight into document management across the practice’s locations. “Updox allows us to see what’s going on in real time. We couldn’t do that with paper. We can assess our workflow, immediately see higher-volume areas and support better sharing of work. Updox lets us see what areas need assistance and how we can restructure workflows to accommodate that.”
For larger, multi-location organizations, Updox streamlines how communications are routed for action and that had a strong impact on Southwest’s staff satisfaction. Front office staff rename documents and route them to clinical staff for each physician or practice area. As Liz says “With Updox, we can easily see if there is a backup and jump in to help. It supports teamwork and alleviates stress on clinical staff. Since Updox can be accessed anywhere at any time, we can support team members who need help. That’s great for staff morale.”
Improved Customer Service
Because the practice relies heavily on referrals, having a streamlined process was essential for the business and ensuring high quality customer service. “As a result of electronic communication, Updox reduced call volume and that allows our call center staff to answer questions more completely as they have full insight into document status. We can tell when something was received and where it was sent. It makes for happier referral providers also. They appreciate that we can fully answer their questions. Other practices value the way our office functions and I know Updox is part of that efficiency.”
On a monthly basis, Southwest Surgical Associates has reduced paper use by 40 percent and now runs approximately 30,000 pages through Updox. They’ve eliminated those costs for paper, toner and shredding, not to mention the hours saved from sorting, scanning, filing and walking items around for review. Additionally, the practice benefits from the HIPAA security and PHI protection that electronic faxing offers.
As Liz says, “Outside of the cost and time savings, the insight that Updox gives us and the way we can work better internally and serve our referring physicians faster is essential to our business.”
