Department of Health Electronic Document and Records Management

The Business

The Department of Health (Health) provides Australians with an efficient, high quality health system. They produce and manage a considerable number of active case files and stored files, and have over 5500 staff working all over Australia.

The Challenge

Health needed to find a cost effective Electronic Document and Records Management (EDM) solution that could meet their ever increasing demands and provide quality and accountable records management services across its vast holdings and geographic locations.

The Solution

Converga proposed a cost effective outsourced records management solution and robust staff and records management practice for every Health site across Australia, utilising HP TRIM. To ensure a successful transition, Converga worked with the records management unit to provide guidance to manage the shift of physical work practices and governance structures to support digital records and information management.

Because Health has a flexible labour force, Converga continues to adjust the records management pool to accommodate the shift in service demand, the changing requirements of the department, and Health’s legislative and regulatory requirements.

Converga expanded the records management support services to encompass help desk functions for the TRIM EDM functionality implemented across Health, and provided ongoing support and training for Health staff.

This Converga solution included:

• First level telephone and email support
• Creation of “saved searches” to quickly retrieve complex repetitive searches
• Data cleansing and quality assurance support
• Creation of an issues register
• Deactivation of former staff accounts
• Maintenance of the TRIM location structure
• Bulk updates to files, classifications scheme updates and record census results

The Results:

Converga, together with a team of 34 Health records management professionals now manage the Health records and archival services Australia-wide, including:

• Records Registration and Creation Services
• Repository Management
• Culling and Archival Services
• User Records Management Support
• Records Quality Assurance Services
• Records Management Strategic Advice

Converga has significantly reduced Health’s overall management costs, and eliminated physical storage costs, given Health greater visibility and faster retrieval of records, and regained storage space for alternate use.