It’s tough to be a healthcare provider these days. The constant change in regulations, client management, insurance verification and back office paperwork makes operations cumbersome. One mind blowing statistic is that collecting receivables for hard earned services can account for a whopping 50% leakage, not to mention the administrative overhead of managing their businesses.
The Good News – Technology advancements in the cloud have blossomed. A long list of cloud solution vendors are offering a simple way to improve business needs through Patient CRM, Practice Management (PM) and Electronic Health Record (EHR) solutions. SalesForce now offers HealthCloud as part of their services which efficiently bridges the gap between patient and all of their information, including, but not limited to, their completed tests and activities as well as appointment times. These solutions can improve electronic document tools, billing and revenue solutions, patient collaboration portals, and client/provider management. Organizations that embrace these advancements will bring in efficiencies in their practice that enable them to thrive and grow while staying relevant and compliant. Best part is they are secure, online in your office and available on a mobile device for on the go practice management.
The Hard Part – Identifying the right solution is challenging. There is either too little or too much information; both of which can be frustrating and overwhelming. In any complex selection process, it starts with a methodical approach of what you need (and don’t need) specific to your organization including:
- What is your healthcare organization size now and the long-term growth plan?
- What provider types do you service (i.e. medical, dental, mental health)? An integrated approach is key for your solutions.
- How will you be using the tools and applications? Are you on the go, in a hospital facility, running a private practice or all of the above?
- What costs are you able to invest in the next month/quarter/or annually? Each solution has their own pricing model so you will want to plan ahead for licensing, implementation and system integration costs.
- Integration with other systems, including insurance carriers, government agencies and partner companies. Business processes and security infrastructure to protect data is important.
- Training and adoption of the solutions across the organization needs to be thoughtful by role and executed with hands on workshops.
Very few providers are equipped to go through this process, resulting in less than optimal selection while only using a fraction of the functionality. Once a solution is implemented it can be difficult to switch because moving to a new system can be disruptive to business and very costly. Thus, healthcare providers can find themselves stuck using an outdated system.
An option to consider is leveraging experts who have a grasp of the landscape and can methodically identify options, drive selection of the best solution, implement it and ensure adoption.
Feel free to contact me to learn how 5P Consulting can help.
Randy Jasinski
President | 5P Consulting
People, Process, Products, P&L with priorities