It’s that time of year – schools are distributing summer mailers and collecting information for fall enrollment. Parents are up to their eyeballs in paperwork and venting their frustrations to anyone who will listen. “I think I have carpel tunnel from filling out all of these forms for school! Video/photo release, internet release, ESL info, residency info, volunteer release, transportation release, food permission release, child custody release, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! 9 years in the same school district, I shouldn’t have to fill this out every single year unless there’s been a change to the info! What a waste of time and paper!” said Gretchen Smith, mother of four.

Smith’s sentiments regarding time consuming and redundant paperwork year after year, after year, after year, (okay, you get the idea), are shared by many parents. We know this to be true because the frustration has gone viral. Smith posted her comment on Facebook, the perfect forum for parents to vent their frustrations and find commonalities with other friends. It didn’t take long for Smith’s friends to chime in with the same pains: hours spent on filling out paperwork for multiple children, entire summer evenings devoted to the task. One parent likened the forms to a summer homework assignment. Where’s the “dislike” button when you need it? And these headaches are not exclusive to parents. Schools also share the burden of excessive paperwork and the time it takes to distribute, collect, and validate the information every year. No one benefits from redundant paperwork, and time and resources lost to the process. 

Schools that are using Magnus Health’s web-based SMR (student medical record) are able to eliminate paper, postage, collecting, sorting, follow up phone calls, and filing. Using a secure portal, parents can complete and submit their child’s information once, update information as it changes, and re-authorize forms for the next school year. This online, paperless environment allows parents and schools to easily access, update, and even retain information after graduation. If you “like” the idea of managing student health information online, contact one of our sales account executives for a product demonstration.