How To Effectively Use Software in Your Healthcare Company
Software solutions for healthcare companies have surged in numbers during the last few years, with everything from virtual visits with doctors and therapists to computer applications allowing for the remote monitoring of implanted medical devices. When researching available options for your healthcare company, you must keep some things in mind, such as the security and authenticity of each solution and how your employees and patients will interact with the technology.
Invest in Cyber Security Measures
The chances are that your company already has a robust security system for both your physical locations and your digital or online presence. Before you buy and download new software solutions, you want to make sure your cyber security is up to date and that you are downloading from a reputable source. One way to ensure that the software and updates you download have not been tampered with after the approval by the developer is by checking for a code signing certificate. In the simplest terms, this certificate is an encrypted signature from the developer, which acts much like the safety seal on food items. A broken seal, or your computer not recognizing the certificate, means the product has been tampered with and may no longer be safe.
List Needed Features
Once you know that your security measures can keep up with new solutions, you can narrow down your options by listing the different types of software and features you are looking for. One standard feature on these lists is interconnectivity with your current systems, solutions and applications. For instance, if you are looking for a patient portal to schedule appointments, make payments, and see their medical histories online, you will want to find one that can effectively and automatically communicate with your accounting, scheduling and filing software. This interconnectivity ensures that once your patient makes an appointment or payment, your billing and scheduling applications record it. Other features you can include on your list are text readers and speech-to-text capabilities for the visually impaired, easy-to-use interfaces and company-standard dashboards.
Decide Between Custom or Standard Applications
Paying a software developer to design a custom application to check all the boxes on your list is easier these days than it was even a year ago. More software developers offer a plug-and-play menu of features you can use to customize their standard applications or to build a new one just for you. Custom software requires a more significant initial investment in money, time and effort. Still, it will provide extra security and better scalability through the years than an off-the-shelf application.
Research Software Developers
Between deciding on which solutions you want and purchasing them, you should research the developers and check provided references. Not only will this provide your security department with less stress centered around your new solutions, but it will save you from scams or sub-standard products. You do not always have to go with the most prominent and best-known software company for your solutions because sometimes the smaller companies or individual developers will do as good a job for a fraction of the cost.
Get Help Training Staff
Most companies you work with will provide services to help you implement and use the solutions you purchase. These can include implementation troubleshooting, staff training sessions, and ongoing training and maintenance plans. It is a good idea to use these services and avoid the trial-and-error phase inherent in learning on your own. Suppose your staff is not familiar with the new scheduling application. In that case, they are more likely to be reluctant to make the change or experience more errors such as double booking or choosing the wrong time when putting patients on the schedule.
The surge of software solutions designed for healthcare can help you improve the services offered to your patients and streamline many of your company’s processes. These solutions can include everything from interconnected patient portals to speech-to-text applications for easier note-taking. When looking for new solutions, it is vital to research potential security concerns and the developer’s reliability.
