Every modern hospital needs a management system – without it, many crucial operations inside of it would be extremely slowed down. In an environment where every minute could mean a difference between life and death, this is something that should never be allowed.
However, just having a management system is not enough by itself. It needs to be of the appropriate quality in order to be able to match your everyday needs and requirements. Otherwise, it would be the same as not having one at all.
Here are some signs your current hospital management system is in a dire need of an update.
Your database is disorganized and difficult to maintain
Hospitals work with hundreds of documents on a daily basis – be it prescriptions, diagnoses, or patient files: each is extremely important and should be easily accessible by authorized staff. If your database is all over the place, doesn’t have search functionalities, and it takes you hours to find the file you need, it’s a sign you’re working with an outdated system.
Now, even though people underestimate the importance of administrative workers in hospitals, if they’re not able to do their job properly, neither will doctors, nurses, and the rest of the medical staff. This is why having an organized database is extremely important for running a hospital with the utmost success.
Of course, the database is only a part of your entire system, and depending on your specific needs, it shouldn’t always be prioritized. Make sure you examine your everyday needs carefully before you’ve replaced your management system completely. The system should solve existing issues, not create new ones – always keep that in mind.
Your hospital has recently grown in size
Once your hospital starts growing and developing, your management system will probably need to scale with it as well. Now, this is not always the case, but it can often be true for smaller hospitals that have gotten a sudden increase in patients or have opened a new wing.
If you’ve noticed your needs have outgrown your current system, don’t hesitate to start looking for a replacement immediately – the sooner you do it, the better.
Make sure you choose your new management system carefully – they all come with various features, functionalities, and specifications. Look for something that will bring true value to your hospital, especially in the terms of speediness and accuracy.
It’s lacking in features
If you’ve been looking at different management systems only to see they all seem a bit more advanced than the one you have in your hospital, then it’s probably time to make some changes. The more feature-rich it is, the easier it will be for you to conduct your daily operations without unnecessary troubles. Now, of course, you don’t have to have everythingthat’s ever been developed, but an additional feature or two could truly make a difference in how your entire hospital operates.
We suggest you browse through different systems online until you’ve found something that suits your need perfectly. It’s also a great way to decide whether you actually need an upgrade or not – compare your system to other options and you’ll quickly get your answer.
As we’ve already mentioned, depending on the size of your hospital and your unique needs and requirements, you should choose a system that will support your staff in the most effective way possible. All modern hospitals such as Nemocnica-Bory utilize powerful hospital management systems – you won’t be able to compete without it.
It’s been ages since you’ve last installed it
Can you remember when your management system was first set up? If the answer is no, then you probably need to change it. As you probably already know, the technology behind these systems advances at incredible speeds, and you must keep up if you want to stay relevant in your industry.
Even if you think your existing system works fine as it is now, you’d quickly change your mind once you tried a modern solution. It’s not just that your system is probably lacking in helpful features – all software tends to become slower and less effective as the rest of the system inevitably upgrades.
Overall, if your system is very old, the best thing you can do is to replace it. This especially goes if the particular solution has been discontinued (meaning it won’t receive any updates ever again). Even though this might seem like a big expense at the moment, it will save you thousands of dollars and allow you to take better care of your patients in the long run (which makes it perfectly worth it).
You don’t have sufficient technical support
No matter who your provider is, if they’re not offering quick technical support and Maintainance, it’s time to „ditch“ them. While all software (and hardware) encounters issues at times, you’ll be in tons of trouble when you don’t have a quick way to solve them.
So, make sure your new provider offers tech support that’s easily accessible and quick to answer. Otherwise, they should provide enough details and guides to help your IT team solve those issues more quickly.
If there’s no way for you to fix the issues revolving around your system, you’ll need to switch to another software provider – it’s as simple as that. In your line of business, there should be no room for mistakes, and when your entire management system is down, it will affect everything around you. All of this is one of those things that’s better „prevented than cured“.
The bottom line
All in all, knowing whether it’s time to change your hospital management system or not can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not very knowledgeable about the software itself. Still, it’s something that must be done eventually, or your entire hospital will lose on efficiency and productivity.
We hope our article helped you determine whether your system needs an upgrade or not and we wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.
