Cohesive compliance

12.12.2005

"I think we've matured as an organization in terms of our document processes," notes David Oles, IT director of research and development at Rent-A-Center Inc. in Plano, Texas. "Don't get me wrong -- nobody likes these exercises, and it's been a tough year for us because of them. But I do think we are better off than we were before."

A large component of compliance involves the treatment of electronic records vs. paper documents, which is new territory even for heavily regulated industries. It's a challenge that hits enterprises struggling for the first time to absorb new requirements and plan new systems as well as for those corporations retrofitting the platforms already in place to integrate reporting data.

A clean slate

But such was not the case for Baptist Health of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville. In February, Baptist Health opened a brand-new hospital that was to contain no paper medical records. Because the facility was the first of its kind in the country, Senior Vice President and CIO Roland Garcia and his staff had to make sure hospital operations weren't too far out in front of regulatory requirements.

"There is a certain amount of risk because this is a green-field opportunity," says Garcia. "We had to make sure the electronic records we deployed met regulatory requirements that stipulate what makes up a medical record and what qualifies as retention."