Records Management

What is the importance to an administrative professional of managing the flow of records throughout the company? What effect have HIPPA rules had on records management?
A company needs to employ an administrative professional to manage the record system employed within the company. Inefficient management of the records costs the company in many ways with loss of time, money and image. HIPPA rules have forced companies who deal with medical records to completely change their records management policies. HIPPA rules have changed the ways in which medical records are stored and distributed.

Explain what it means to have a systematic approach to records management.
A company needs to employ a systematic approach to their records management. This can be one system or a combination of several management systems. What ever the method used, it must be employed throughout the company for effective record maintenance.

Compare the capacities of the different electronic external storage media and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.
Floppy disks contain 1.44 MB of storage space. These are the smallest storage space of external media and require a system for labels and storage.
Zip disks contain 750 MB of storage space. These are small in size but require the use of a zip drive.
Jaz disks and jump drives are small and transportable with storage space up to 5 GB. Because of their small size they are easily misplaced and forgotten.
Compact disc and DVD's are another form of storage. Again, these will require a system for storage and retreival.

What is the future of paper records and what impact, if any, will this have on the responsibilities of an administrative professional?
It was thought by many that offices would all be paperless in the very near future, however this is not the case. Although many offices have records on electronic media, there are many within the organization that want hard copies of the records. This is causing an almost double duty for the employee who manages the records.

List and explain the steps for effective decision making as it applies to the records management function.
In addressing this issue, you must ask yourself several questions before choosing a path to take.
The records management professional should address these issues:
How will the document be asked for again?
How often will it be required?
What will be the time frame for accessing it from the files?
Depending on the answers to these questions, a decision can be made on the proper storage and retrieval method as it applies to the company and their needs. It is not set in stone which method is best. Each situation is different and no two needs are the same. It is up to the records management professional to find the best fit for their organization.