The software used in a healthcare facility can be considered among the most important assets holding the medical institute together. Because healthcare practices have unique requirements when it comes to data analysis and reporting, selecting the right software can be the difference between just providing service or growing successfully.
It’s not necessary to have vast IT knowledge to select the best software to use in your healthcare facility. Rather, you want to find software that fulfills certification and technical requirements.
While there are several software selection templates you can follow, here is a list of requirements you should consider:
Electronic medical record (EMR) software
EMR software requirements focus on capabilities of each software system to help physicians access medical records. For instance, the software should allow medical providers to search charts, assess objectives, set up reminders for follow up appointments, plan note documentations, and evaluate order entries. In addition, the software should enable the physician to customize the reports to many degrees.
Also, when selecting the software vendor, you should first conduct research. The starting point should be to look at surveys and reviews, so that you can eliminate any vendor with poor reviews, or with reviews that look sketchy. After you have an idea of the vendor, invite them to visit your facility/organization, and request demonstration on how their system will help your organization and how it performs in reality.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
An ERP healthcare system should include features that help streamline enterprise and medical records. The features could be based on diagnosis, medications, care plans, patient histories, radiology results, patient data, vitals and measurements, and health conditions of patients. There are also technical requirements that should be considered, such as regulation compliance under HITECH, HIPAA, and ONC-ATBC.
Compliance to technical standards ensure illegal activity is kept on the low – especially if the technology malfunctions and can’t be caught in time. Also, you should contact the vendor to ask how they will deploy the system; will host installation will be on the table?
That is, if the software will be integrated with current software systems or first deployed on a separate basis. Also, you need to consider how disruptive an installation provided by a vendor is, because if you’re looking for low disruption, a vendor that gets the software installed in a few days will not be suitable for your company.
Revenue cycle management (RCM) software
This software is useful in many instances. For instance, a good RCM system will effectively deal with insurance carriers, so healthcare providers will be able to know all the rules and nuances attached with carriers when they’re processing claims. Also, the system will include those rules, so there is no need to make employees memorize them. Advanced systems have a new focus on tools that work both in medical practice and the hospital, and that integrate big data.
After you shortlist RCM vendors to work with, you can also provide a rating form to staff members if you’d like their input before the final selection. This can be done in case of each software to ensure the employees can follow and understand the system with ease.
If your software(s) meet these requirements, you can streamline health records and keep them up to date.
