In today's business environment, organizations are challenged to manage vast amounts of digital information. These challenges are particularly acute when dealing with a wide range of content, such as office documents, images, audio/video, and websites.

According to the Enterprise Content Management Association (AIIM), content management is the technologies used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. Enterprise content management (ECM) tools and strategies allow the management of an organization's unstructured information, wherever that information exists. Content Management (CM) solutions have become a key strategic technology for information intensive businesses and can move them to a global digital entity.

According to ECM solutions provider, Fujitsu, CM across an enterprise is made up of several components encompassing: Document Management, which manages the creation and flow of documents through the enterprise; Web Content Management, focusing on the creation and publishing of online content; Digital Asset Management, for creation, cataloguing and securing multimedia content; Records Management; Collaborative Content Management, to bring together people and information in a collaborative environment through real time conferencing, messaging and team rooms; and more.

ECM in the Healthcare Industry
Today's healthcare organizations manage unprecedented amounts of patient information, in many formats and from multiple sources, while being challenged to provide high quality care at a lower cost.

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) require healthcare organizations to store and appropriately manage documents and other types of information. These controls require a wide range of healthcare documents be kept for specified periods and also include rigid disposal processes. They also establish restrictions over access to patient documents and information.

Being in compliance with HIPAA in the United States and/or with healthcare regulations in other countries is changing the way medical offices approach document management. Document and information privacy are utmost concerns. Many organizations, including those in the life science industry, are discovering it is easier to control electronic documents than paper ones. The proper document management system can serve as a gatekeeper, controlling record access and recording updates to those files.

If you’re interested in finding out more about content management, access this issue's useful links and industry events. Also, ECM Connection has a comprehensive list of content management providers, articles, and resources available for download or quick reference.

SOURCES:
AIIM
ECM Connection