What this means for your practice
Define the record reference and association checks as part of the exchange. File arrival alone should not be treated as a successful business handover.
An example to discuss with your team
Transfer two fictional files for similarly named records.
Questions to take to your supplier
Transfer two fictional files for similar records and inspect their destinations with the receiving team. Ask where unmatched attachments wait and who reviews them. Staff should not be expected to open every file and guess which record it was meant to support.
Agree the working process
Agree the reference that establishes which receiving record a document belongs to. A filename or familiar name may be useful to a person, but the supplier should explain the supported association method in the actual systems. Include the expected document type and purpose so the receiving team can recognise an unusual attachment. Ask what happens when the intended record cannot be found or more than one possible match exists. The file should enter an owned review route rather than be attached to the nearest-looking result.
Use two fictional cases with similar names and deliberately swap one reference in testing. Inspect both the receiving record and the exception information. Keep corrections traceable so staff can understand what was moved and why. When a related record is renamed or changed, verify that the document remains connected as intended. Success means the right team can use the right document in context, not simply that a transfer log shows the expected number of files arriving.
How to check the result
Count attachments requiring reassignment after transfer.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
Need help with this?
Tell us what is getting in the way. Kay & Co. can help you understand the options and turn the next step into something that works for your practice.
Explore integrations & data services or discuss your project.
Try the free Healthcare Digital Planner to find your starting priority.