Birth-Date Based Filing Systems

In this time of consolidation, many record systems are being merged. Doctors are forming larger groups. Clinics are becoming small hospitals almost overnight. Physicians have traditionally filed records in

alphabetic sequence. But as groups grow and files merge, the problems associated with large alphabetic files can slow productivity.

There is a solution. In most health care environments, including insurance-related areas, the universal practice is to identify people by name and use their birth date as secondary verification. Every medical record, chart and form, and every insurance form dealing with medical procedures, carries both the patient’s name and birth date. Since birth dates appear on these forms, time-consuming cross reference is eliminated.

Jeter Reduces 10,000 File Folders To A Search Group Of As Few As Three Folders

Jeter Systems has developed a filing system based on a unique Birth-Date filing concept (Patent Pending). This system first divides the file into 366 sections: 365 of these sections correspond to days of the year, while the remaining section (February 30) houses records of individuals whose name or birth date is unknown. As shown, each of the 366 sections is unique and color-coded.

Color Points Out Miss-Files Immediately

For example, each folder filed by the birth date March 15 automatically matches the file colors of other folders with the same date. The size of groups formed by folders with the same color is determined by the number of files in the total system, and the thickness of the folders. If a file system contains 10,000 folders that have been divided by birth date, you can expect approximately 25-30 folders in each day group. If your file contains 20,000 folders, you can expect that number to double. But each day’s folders stay in the same color group, so misfiles are very color noticeable.

The individual folders within each birth date section of the system are arranged in alphabetical order, with individual color-codes assigned for A through Z. This means you can expect to find the folder for John Smith, who was born on March 15, in the March 15 section coded with an S. In a file of 10,000 folders, there would be only 25-30 folders in this day group. The letter S is about 11% of most file systems. So we can predict that for each 10,000 files, it is likely that only 3 file folders would bear the color-code for March 15,5. The search group would be only three folders out of 10,000. And one of those three folders would be John Smith’s.

Common Names No Longer Cause Confusion

One of the greatest advantages to Jeter Birth-Date Based Filing is the way common names, like John Smith, are separated into manageable day groups. All of the common names that used to be filed side by side are now distributed into the 365 individual sections, so their commonality no longer causes confusion. In our example, John Smith is the only Smith likely to be found in the March 15 section. The Birth-Date system means that when the correct color-coded group is found, you can expect the commonly color-coded search group to be small. So filing becomes fast and accurate.

Birth-Date Filing Gives An immediate Sense Of Location

People using the Jeter Birth-Date system have another advantage; they immediately know the general location of a file. If a person were born in June, their folder would be located in the middle of the file system, just as those born in December would be at the end. This knowledge instantly guides users to the correct section of the file, where color-codes lead them into the small search group of correct color-coded folders.

Pre-Coded File Folders Make it Simple To Switch To Birth-Date Filing

Jeter offers sets containing 403 folders pre-coded at our factory. These folders come to you in a carton with 13 like folders per day (1 through 31). The color-coding labels are Mylar over laminated. Pre-coded file folders make implementing and maintaining a Jeter Birth-Date system very simple. All you have to add to a pre-coded folder is an alphabetic code and a month code. The 7-point label is attached by machine, adding extra reinforcement to our already sturdy 14-point, double-edge folder. For added convenience, each folder is printed to show where to place the correct color-codes.

Any organization with a large volume of alphabetically-filed records - particularly in the health care industry - should consider adopting Birth-Date Based Filing. Over the typical 10-year life of a filing system, the daily time saved by this system provides up to far more than the original investment.

In addition to Jeter, we also represent several other major manufacturers should you need to match an existing system. For a free analysis of your existing operation or to simply discuss a future application, please feel free to call us or fill out our “request for information” form.