Records management: a journey, not a task
One concern was that neither Microsoft nor DMG was able to find a previous case in which SharePoint had been integrated with Epic. DMG enlisted the help of PointBridge, a consulting firm that specializes in developing solutions using Microsoft technology. PointBridge worked with DMG at the Microsoft Technology Center to demonstrate a “proof of concept,” in which integration was achieved between Epic and SharePoint. In that exercise, KnowledgeLake software was evaluated as an image capture system and was also found to be a compatible solution.
In the now integrated system, software from KnowledgeLake provides image capture and indexing functionality. Documents are scanned and released from KnowledgeLake Capture into SharePoint with the appropriate patient metadata being drawn from the Epic system. The document is stored in a SharePoint RecordCenter and the KnowledgeLake Viewer lets users see the content from the Epic interface, eliminating the need for users to become familiar with another system.
Since the records management requirements were not elaborate, DMG decided to rely on SharePoint for that function as well. “The records management options in MOSS 2007 are quite basic,” says Matt Morse, practice manager at PointBridge, “but users can set a schedule and establish a ‘one-tier’ response such as deleting the record or invoking a workflow.” DMG intends to make use of the records management features in SharePoint 2010 with the implementation of retention schedules later this year.
New RM features
Changes in SharePoint 2010 will make it a much stronger contender for records management. “Microsoft saw that users valued the collaborative capabilities of SharePoint, but also recognized the need for more robust records management,” says Morse. “These new investments are now driving a lot of interest.” Morse believes that although SharePoint 2010 may not have exactly the same records management features as some other enterprise software, its improved capability in that area will be enough for many organizations.
The ability to declare records in place—without moving them physically to a records center—is one of the new features. Records can now have multiple stages, with each stage triggered by an event, most frequently the passage of a certain time period. Routing rules have also been improved. “Policies can be automated so that documents in a certain category get sent to different places depending on the metadata,” Morse explains. “Or, they can be sent to the record center based on a value such as dollar amount.” Multiple documents can be grouped together as a record. From a user’s perspective, the addition of a Declare Record button has simplified the process of creating a record.
A Compliance Details feature allows a review of the settings that have been applied to a record. Those include Hold Status to indicate whether a document is on hold or not, and Record Status, which indicates when the document was declared a record, and whether its status can be changed. Along with the improved use of metadata in records management, the hold feature allows SharePoint 2010 to be used for e-discovery. Meanwhile, better use of metadata also has strengthened the search functionality, whether it is used in e-discovery or for content discovery.