Industry Solutions Served by Advanced Processing & Imaging (API)

API’s versatile electronic document management, report management, workflow, agenda management and report auditing solutions can be tailored to meet the specific needs of different industry sectors. With their traditional reliance on paper-intensive processes, government agencies, public utilities, educational institutions, law practices and healthcare providers can achieve particularly impressive benefits from conversion to electronic document management.

State and Local Government

Implementing an API electronic document management solution enables government agencies to reduce costs, increase efficiency and enhance services to the public. Key focus areas include finance, human resources and community development. For example, management of building permits for new construction and renovations is a labor-intensive process, involving filing blueprints and handling multiple project documents. OptiView®, API’s document management software, can be used to efficiently manage and quickly retrieve all the documents and records associated with construction projects. OptiView, which links to GIS software, can provide engineers with immediate access to blueprints, and give police officers or firefighters the latest details on hazardous materials, building renovations and other critical information so they are prepared in case of an emergency.

API solutions streamline all types of government paperwork, from routing and answering simple correspondence to preparing complex agendas for meetings. In addition to accelerating responses to citizens, electronic document management can significantly reduce the costs of supplies, paper handling and transport, and storage – helping agencies stay within budget constraints.

Public Utilities

By converting time-consuming paper-based billing and collection processes to an electronic system using an API solution, water, natural gas, electric, waste disposal and other public utilities can benefit in multiple ways. OptiView allows utilities to create electronic bills for e-mail distribution or send them to printers. The solution also makes these electronic documents instantly available to customer call centers for fast response to queries. For instance, the water utility for the City of Aurora in Colorado modernized its billing and customer service operations with OptiView and OptiSpool®, saving more than $130,000 annually and accelerating the payment process.

When remittances are received, the payment stub and customer check can be scanned into OptiView and added to the customer’s electronic record in the utility’s business system. For fast retrieval, the electronic documents are searchable using OptiView. This process avoids the need for data entry and helps to ensure a complete customer billing history.

Education

To meet federal and state reporting mandates, public school districts process a huge amount of paper, making electronic document management an ideal solution for improving efficiency and reducing expenses. School districts can achieve rapid ROI and cut costs by converting onerous paper reporting processes such as attendance rosters, bus route audits, free/reduced lunch utilization, and state and federal reports to an API electronic document management system. Entering data directly into OptiView simplifies and accelerates all these processes and simplifies auditing. It also frees up teachers’ valuable time. Within a district, individual schools can use OptiView to create durable and secure electronic student portfolios of work samples and other records.

API’s OptiSpool, a robust report managment solution for the AS/400 also eliminates reams of paper by automating report dissemination. Florida’s Broward County Public Schools uses OptiSpool to make end-of-month reports immediately available online to all schools in the district, a process that previously took up to 10 business days.

For colleges and universities, API OptiView can streamline admission and financial aid processes by providing a secure, searchable electronic repository that consolidates myriad documents, including transcripts, references, essays and test scores, which are being submitted by prospective students. OptiWorkFlow and OptiReports® expedite application processing and report generation.

Healthcare

The drive to implement electronic health records (EHRs) is prompting hospitals and medical practices to look for ways to ease the transition from traditional paper files, particularly for physicians. Electronic document management supports adoption of an EHR in several ways. First, API solutions complement EHRs by converting and managing all paper-based documents, including diagnostic images, that round out the core EHR database. For example, Florida’s Neighborly Health Care, a provider of health and wellness services to seniors, implemented OptiView to integrate with its case management system to provide a complete EHR. OptiView stores and manages clinical documentation, images and labs, consent forms and advanced directives.

Further, API solutions can be used to gradually transition physicians and staff onto digital systems by allowing them to continue writing orders and reports on paper, which are then converted to electronic format. This process can make it easier to achieve physician buy-in to electronic records.

For health systems and multi-location practices, an API solution means clinicians in any location can quickly access a patient’s records. This is critical in emergencies; however, it also enhances routine care because it gives the patient the option to visit any location that is convenient.

Another important benefit of electronic document management is the elimination of rooms full of paper charts. The additional office space can be used for examination rooms or new services to generate additional revenues for the practice or hospital.

Legal

For law practices, API solutions simplify management, storage and retrieval of the extensive documentation at the core of any case. Powerful search functionality allows staff to locate specific documents and references quickly, and makes electronic information immediately accessible to attorneys while in court or traveling. API’s scanning technology, which uses the TIFF 6 standard, complies with federal and state requirements for presentation of electronic legal documents in an unalterable format. The API solution also facilitates compliance with document retention/records management regulations.