Program Manual

Preparing Records for Jackets/Microfiche

Jackets are the master copies of documents microfilmed. The jackets contain channels that house strips of microfilm. The top of the jacket also bears title or index information. The entire jacket master can be copied to a sheet of microfiche for a working copy. Imaging Services places jackets into one of two categories: a new file or an update.

A new file is any series of documents pertaining to the agency's records, for example, a patient's file, a company file, etc. (From this point on, reference to a patient file will be used as an example. Keep in mind that this will apply to all agency records.) When a patient is admitted for the first time, a series of records are generated for this patient, i.e. insurance reports, doctor's reports, medication and treatment sheets, etc. If the patient is discharged and the file is closed, it would be sent to the Records Center for microfilming as a new file.

An update is information collected after the file has initially been microfilmed, (for example, when the patient is re-admitted). The information then needs to be added to the prior filming of records pertaining to this patient. Therefore, any record in jacket form that has previously been microfilmed and is in the possession of the Records Center is considered a new file upon its first filming; any information added to the file at a later date is then considered to be an update.

Microfiche can be made at any time and used as a working copy of the jacket. This will allow the jacket to remain in a safe place, and the microfiche to be used, filed away and reused until it is time to reduplicate the jacket. The following procedures are necessary in addition to the instructions for preparing records to be sent to the Records Center for storage or microfilming.

• New files and updates must never be intermingled within the same box or listed on the same transmittal.
  
• Each transmittal must state (listed as special instructions at the bottom of the transmittal) the type of records (new or updated) that are being sent. See guidelines in this manual for proper preparation of transmittals.
  
• Each and every box must have a typed index. The index should be typed in single columns on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper and should reflect the information used as the eye-readable title on the film. All handwritten indexes will be returned for typing.

Many problems will be avoided when files are sent to the Records Center as a new file for the primary filming and as an update when further activity occurs in the same file. If questions remain, please contact the area supervisor at (573) 751-4219 or email: michael.shellman@sos.mo.gov for instruction, on the proper way to handle the situation.