Within the past few years, the majority of record retrieval services are expanding their services to include search and summarization tools for their clients. ABI has taken the lead with the introduction of their web-based software platform, eSummary by ABI™. With more clients relying on electronic record review, ABI has created a tool that provides efficiency to a very tedious review process. Every client that places a record retrieval order with ABI has access to the eSummary platform and is provided in-depth training on the functionality of the tool.
Simplify Your Records Review
Both the legal and insurance industries realize that record review is a crucial task for both the claim and litigation process. Hours are spent sifting through voluminous pages in order to locate a small portion of critical information. Many times, multiple reviews are needed in order to locate the information which costs clients precious time and money. ABI has answered the call for a more efficient way of pinpointing critical information and an organized method of delivering this information. ABI’s eSummary captures the needs of any record review method by offering search, organization and summarization tools all in one digital platform.
eSummary by ABI™
The foundation of the eSummary tool rests on its ability to review all documents retrieved by ABI in a digital format. Users can also organize these documents, search the documents, create notes on information within the documents and summarize the information into a specific format. The user can review page by page if desired, or they can use grouping and filtering tools to condense the review into a more manageable and specific collection of documents.
If the user would like to search the entire file or the specific filtered results, an optical character recognition tool is available to locate individual terms. Once critical information is found, eSummary has multiple note creation tools to capture the information and assign keyword labels and dates to the note. At any stage during review, the user has the option to organize the notes they have created into a summary format of their choosing, using grouping and filtering options to customize a report.
Make Record Review and Summation More Efficient
Many times during the review process, a client is searching for specific facts or claim triggers to gain a better understanding of the case or claim. Without search and summarization tools, countless hours can be wasted reviewing unnecessary documents. Prior to eSummary being released into the marketplace, testing took place to gauge the time savings equated with using the tool, compared to traditional review methods.
Selected attorneys and paralegals were tasked with reviewing records for specific information using eSummary and then asked to locate that same information using their current review method. When reviewing with eSummary, each test subject found it took half the time as their standard review practices. During an open forum following the testing, test subjects explained that by using eSummary they felt they would perform a more efficient and comprehensive review and have additional time to focus on other aspects of their case preparation.
No matter what methods or tools used, record review can be a time consuming process that most clients dread. Hours and even days can be wasted flipping page by page through records that might not have any effect on the outcome of the case or claim. Without performing this tedious review, more often than not a party will be without crucial information that could lead to a favorable outcome. For this reason alone, the process of record review has been a necessary step in the discovery life cycle. With electronic records being more prevalent in the industry today, efficient tools linked to the digital platforms are becoming more of a necessity.
These review tools are making the days of dog-earing pages and summarization with post-it notes a thing of the past. Digital review methods allow the user to drill down and review what is necessary to the case or claim and performs this task in an efficient and organized manner. While some users might shy away from this new trend in record review, it only takes a single instance of locating that “needle in the haystack” in a matter of seconds to make them a believer.
