The Implementation of an Electronic Document Management System at a Drug Information Center

Abstract

Objective: To describe a method for creating an electronic document management (EDM) system at a drug information (DI) center based at an academic medical center to improve efficiency and provide increased availability through remote access. Summary: At DI centers, written materials not available electronically are often stored in file cabinets and retrieved by an individual when required. This process can be time-consuming and inefficient. Various EDM programs were evaluated and compared based on capabilities, cost of implementation and maintenance, and efficiency. Following program selection, documents were scanned onto a dedicated personal computer (PC) and organized according to a predetermined hierarchy of folders. Specialists then performed optical character recognition (OCR) and entered authors, titles, and assigned key words for each new electronic file. Results: It was determined that Adobe Acrobat software fulfilled all requirements at minimal expense. A specialist is able to scan and electronically file 72 documents (496 pages) per hour, perform OCR on 40 documents per hour, and attach titles, authors, and key words to newly scanned documents at a rate of 10 articles per hour. This EDM system is capable of storing in excess of 70,000 documents on a PC with 250 GB of hard disk space and 4 GB of random access memory, which can be accessed remotely from any computer through a secure virtual private network connection. Conclusions: Adobe Acrobat software, when combined with a high-resolution scanner, provides an inexpensive method for EDM that allows for immediate document retrieval, expansion of operations, and remote access.