Maureen O’Toole, CEO of ImageServ. |
With four trillion paper documents in the US (increasing by 20%
each year), the sheer weight of paperwork is causing almost as much
difficulty as the general aggravation of lost information, misplaced
files and storage problems. Maureen O’Toole, CEO of ImageServ,
has been providing document and information management services for
18 years.
She says, “Offices are sinking, often literally, because of
all the documents that must be kept, those that should be kept and
those that no one is quite sure about.”
ImageServ specializes in electronic document management systems. Maureen
says, “Rather than dog-eared manila folders stuffed into paper
boxes stacked to the ceiling, ImageServ clients have a compact rack
of CDs. When a file is needed, a few keyboard clicks bring it
into view. There’s no manhandling illegibly marked boxes, no
files forgotten on someone’s desk, no pages missing. Since
ImageServ uses CD-ROM or optical disk complying with the state’s
requirements for legal admissibility, the office, business or organization
can choose to dispose of any electronically stored and backed up paper
documents.”
Maureen has been in document management since 1984 and involved with
electronic image management systems since 1988. When she entered
the field, information technology concentrated on microfilm and microfiche. She’s
one of very few people with a background in microfilm and electronic
imaging. She has always recognized the dual document dilemmas-
storage and retrieval. Maureen operated a business that provided secure,
organized storage with retrieval and delivery service from 1988-1995.
She opened ImageServ in October of 2002, confident despite the economy,
because, “The services and systems I sell are designed to have
a positive affect on the bottom line. They reduce operating expenses.
Space to store documents can be reduced up to 98%. EDMS makes
customer service faster and more efficient. It ensures confidentiality. It
eliminates wasted time searching for files and the cost of files,
folders and filing cabinets. It means never having to say ‘I’m
sorry, we can’t find your file.’”
In private enterprise, doctors and lawyers discovered the EDMS record
keeping benefits early. Both must keep records permanently. Both require
confidentiality.
Maureen says, “When records are scanned, indexed correctly
and stored electronically once, they never get misfiled, misplaced
or lost. By law, employees in a medical practice are only allowed
access to portions of an individual’s health record necessary
for their particular job. When a temporary receptionist has access
to a patient’s medical records, that’s not private. But,
health care providers must also give patients copies of their records
and let them know what other parties have access to their information.
With EDMS, information is provided to third parties in less time at
much less cost.”
Governmental agencies and municipalities are especially interested
in EDMS. Maureen has worked with the Dept. of Tax and Revenue,
WV Lottery, the WV Supreme Court and PEIA. She starts with a
records inventory, determining what information needs to be stored,
whether it will be kept permanently and how often access is needed. “If
something must be kept forever but no one will need access, it may
be cost effective to just rent storage space. A family physician
keeps records active for years, an orthopedic surgeon’s records
have a short active life. Accounts payable are kept seven years, but
they’re active in the interim. Electronic imaging is the most
efficient way to manage repeated access to many documents.”
ImageServ provides software and hardware to scan, index, and store
documents electronically. “We electronically image all
paper documents with an index to the images stored in a database on
a computer. The index is tailored to the organization. Once stored,
a document is immediately retrievable from any PC on the facility’s
network by anyone with security rights.” Electronic documents
are easily copied and stored off-site for extra security.
Maureen says, “I can guess but don’t know the exact cost
until the records assessment and work flow analysis is done. We estimate
the volume to be scanned, make recommendations and prepare documents,
even removing paperclips. Each converted CD holds 18,000 pages of
documents.”
With so many applications for her services, she says, “I live
on a computer!” A Certified Document Imaging Architect with
a Masters from WVU, she says experience and knowledge of past imaging
modalities give extra value to her service. Long hours and seven-day
workweeks don’t dismay her. “I get to learn the businesses
and know the people. I’d enjoy that even without the pleasure
of proposing a solution.”
Contact Maureen O’Toole at ImageServ, 1116 Smith Street, Charleston,
WV, 304-414-2222 or e-mail: motoole@imageserv.net
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