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Dive into the transformative journey towards paperless operations explored at the SOAR 2014 Annual Conference by Irwin Fefergrad. Discover benefits, challenges, and the future vision of electronic documentation in the adjudication sector.
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Back to the Future:The Brave New World of Electronic Documentation/Processes Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR) 2014 SOAR Annual Conference - Toronto, Ontario November 6, 2014 Irwin Fefergrad, C.S., B.A., B.C.L., LL.B Registrar, RCDSO (Certified as a Specialist by the Law Society of Upper Canada in Civil Litigation and Health Law)
Benefits • Save money (i.e. paper, staff time, courier) • Save time (i.e. file preparation for review by panel) • Information is secure (i.e. secure portal, encryption vs. paper files that could get lost) • Save space (i.e. electronic vs. paper, office space) • Accessibility (i.e. panel members with visual disabilities are able to review materials by zooming, larger fonts, etc.)
Challenges • Choosing the right software and hardware for our purposes • Privacy and security • Supporting paperless meetings is still a paper intensive process • Very costly depending on the solution • Staff and panel training on software • Managing change of mindset for those used to paper systems
Challenges • Size of documents to be saved in one file (i.e. Record of Investigation (ROI) that is 8000 pages) • IT support
Where we are Organizational objectives include move to digital office environment Most College committees, including Council, conduct paperless meetings Remaining committees to go paperless in 2015 Primary file is paper-based although there are many files stored in our document management system Still have paper process up to panel review
Where we are Records of Investigation (ROI) scanned for paperless meetings Paperless meetings involve panel members downloading ROIs to College-issued laptops for each meeting Testing software for higher level of security on email communications to outside Parties
Where we are Currently building employee portal (Intranet) Adding interactive YouTube videos to website to explain our processes Developing fillable and online forms for practice monitoring, inspections, etc.
Where we are going Digital office Records of Investigation built dynamically in document management system All College committees to conduct paperless meetings Virtual Private Network (VPN) for delivery of panel materials (to replace current downloading) Enhancement of IT support
Back to the Future:The Brave New World of Electronic Documentation/ProcessesSociety of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators(SOAR) Irwin Fefergrad, C.S., B.A., B.C.L., LL.B Registrar, RCDSO (Certified as a Specialist by the Law Society of Upper Canada in Civil Litigation and Health Law)