When compared to other industries, the healthcare sector is improving, with the help of advanced technologies like the Hospital Management System (HMS). The current medical care computerization is being hampered due to a lack of a perfect interface between computers and medical care providers.

The two main issues that are commonly faced during implementation of an HMS are as follows

1. HMS implementation begins but the users start facing issues by the end

This is generally due to the inflexibility of the HMS software, a weak administrative will, and an inexperienced team for implementation.

2. HMS implementation gets completed, but only a single part of the functionality gets implemented

This is due to non-user-friendly software or unplanned and unconfigured executions.

Pre-Implementation Assessment:

All hospital administrators who implement the HMS software in their hospitals will be apprehensive that the process may end in a partial or complete failure and measures should be taken early in order to prevent such an event from happening. The software should be well assessed before being purchased by the hospital.

Software Assessment:

Choosing the right kind of software is one of the crucial and primary steps for getting the best results.

Earlier, all HMS Software had a single development cycle starting with a single hospital being computerized by a local developer for a single hospital. However, this type of HMS development is outdated. In such cases, there is a risk of the vendor providing software that was customized for a different hospital. Implementing them may cause various issues, and it may cost more in the long run. It's better to purchase the software from a firm, that specializes in hospital management software than getting any software company to design software for your hospital.

It's better to choose software that is easy to upgrade, scalable, and not hardware intensive. Cloud-based online software is better than offline software in these aspects. The providers could also easily fix any errors or bugs in the case of online software.

Another aspect to be considered is to check if the customization of the software is done primarily through programming code or by using master tables during implementation. Hospitals may require some form of alteration to the purchased software, so as to better suit their needs, and in the case of master tables, such changes may easily be made by the hospital itself. In the case of online software, this may not matter much, as maintenance and support are provided by the software provider.

Vendor Assessment:

Only a few vendors of international or national repute can be trusted easily. A drawback with a large vendor is that they don’t always accommodate the requirements of small hospitals. In the case of small vendors, the hospital administrators may have to do thorough research to see if they are trustworthy.

An important aspect to be known is whether the current implementation team will be available during the entire implementation cycle. Checking the attrition rate of the software company, and discussions with other hospital administrators may give you an idea about this.

Visits to Hospitals with Hospital Management Systems:

A well-planned visit to hospitals where the software has been implemented will give you insights on the performance of the software, the support provided by the vendor, and if the vendor has achieved all the goals that were initially planned. To get a good picture, it's better to visit hospitals like your own, in terms of capacity, number of specialties, and number of departments, as well as hospitals that have implemented the software that you are considering. This will give you an idea, not only about the trustworthiness of the vendor but also about how well the software will be suited to your hospital.

Discussions with hospital administrators who have previously implemented the software in their hospitals will also give you good insights on the possible difficulties you may face during the implementation process, and on how to overcome them.

Getting your Hospital ready:

Problems may arise in HMS implementation, due to issues within the hospital. The lack of a systematic and uniform workflow within all the departments in the hospital may make the implementation process difficult. Information regarding the various equipment used, tests performed, schedules of doctors in different departments, etc must be readily available so that it can easily be imported into the system.

An important aspect is the cooperation of the various end-users, that is, the hospital employees. They have to provide enough awareness of the usefulness and importance of implementing the HMS software. The implementation may put additional stress on the employees until they get used to the system, and this may hamper the efforts of the hospital administration.

HMS implementation begins with a pre-implementation phase, in which software is chosen and the hospital prepares for the change, followed by the implementation phase and the post-implementation phase, in which the final kinks are ironed out. The whole process could be made smooth with a thorough pre-implementation phase.

Choosing software that is well suited to your hospital, having clearly defined workflows, and complete information about the working of the hospital will help you to easily implement the HMS in your hospital. Having a good team, and ensuring the cooperation of the hospital employees would help the hospital achieve its goals with the HMS.

HMS covers three aspects of managing the hospital; they are Operational, Financial, and Clinical Aspects. If you look at the Doctor Management System, most of the software covers only operational and financial aspects like billing, inventory management, patient registration, scheduling, and workflow management. When evaluating HMS software, hospitals give much importance to operational and financial aspects and less importance to clinical records.

This blog discusses the importance of focusing on clinical records, otherwise known as Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in HMS.

What is EMR?

EMR is called Electronic Medical Records (EMR), which include information regarding the patient's medical history and treatment as discrete medical practices possess them.

When considering individual patients, the EMR will include information like patient contact information (emergency contact), physician orders, allergies, insurance, and other billing information, surgical notes on various medical progress, prescriptions, vitals like weight, height, body temperature, BMI (Body Mass Index), etc., release information forms, medical facility appointments on past and future, treatment plans and Discharge summaries, etc. 

EMR constitutes different characteristics considering the medical practices, which include their functioning system to all other medical care procedures.

Apart from the benefits of the software platform, the Electronic Medical Record Systems also provides much other prominent information for care.

Coordination procedures connecting reception information and transfer departments, the software, personal use rules of the organizations, training, and education established plans are some of the well-established components of the Electronic Medical Record System.  

Benefits of EMR for the Medical Practice

Below are some of the advantages of Electronic Medical Records to Medical Practices.

• Capable of quickly transferring patient information from one department to the other.
• The digital record environment helps to save much space.
• Through EMR, you can quickly enhance the number of patients for improved productivity and workflow of the patients daily.
• Medical practice with reduced errors leads to a vast improvement in patient care and result management.
• The operational cost is much reduced with EMR, especially for expenses made for overtime labor and transcription services.
• With EMR, electronic medical records can be customized and are scalable.
• The capability of providing advanced clinical documentation and e-prescribing. 
• The efficient and accurate process of billing with their advanced healthcare practices.

What Benefits does EMR provide for the Patients?

• Improvement in Patient Treatment and other Diagnoses of diseases.
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• Rapid decision-making responses and patient care from different medical professionals assigned to individual patients. No chances for significant errors in a patient health record.

What are the Essential Core Capabilities of the EHR?

The Electronic Medical System indulges seven different core capabilities, namely.

Health Information and Data:

With EHR, you can quickly access essential information about the patients, their allergies, diagnosis of their diseases, medications, lab test results, etc., which provides a clear idea for the custodian or minder to decide on the treatments promptly.

Result Management:

People who take care of the patients are provided with multiple settings regarding patient care. This will undoubtedly improve the effectiveness of the care and safety of the patients reliably through quick access to past and new test results.

Decision Support:

The computerized EMR system makes use of Prompts, reminders, and alerts for various benefits like providing complementary clinical practices with improved compliances, possibilities of regular screenings, and capability of taking other vital methods, natural treatment, and diagnosis and also helps to identify the possible interaction of the drugs, etc. precisely.

Electronic Connectivity and Communication:

Improved care continuity, enhanced timeliness of the treatment and diagnosis of diseases, reduced events frequency, etc., are some of the critical benefits of the Electronic Medical System for secure, efficient, and accessible communication between patients and providers.

Patient Support:

The various tools provided for the patients, like easy access to their health records anytime, interactive health table and patient education, self-testing and home monitor methods, etc., help to keep their diabetes and other chronic diseases under control.

Reporting:

Electronic Medical System has plenty of advantages indulged in the HMS. One of the critical reasons 90% of clinicians choose EHR is their reduced human errors.

As a whole, EHR security needs a fine tune in case of the substance abuse records and terms of the behavioral actions. By doing so, they can calculate the patient's body conditions efficiently. E.g., if nurses and physicians have every minute detail regarding their patient's history at their fingertips, there might be no massive chances for critical care and emergency treatment.

The detailed history of the patients will help in finding a new healthcare provider through the patient's current health state and the medical record. They also support exchanging patient information with healthcare facilities if the patients have not requested them.

Integration

Electronic medical record (EMR) is not a standalone system. Instead, it is a complete ecosystem with several integrations, making it a holistic solution for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care, and management of medical conditions.

To learn more about the MocDoc Healthcare System.

With advancements in AI, digital assistants are becoming more and more capable. What started as an advanced voice-based search device, has now become capable of helping us manage our daily schedules, book appointments, make reservations, play songs, and it may one day act as a complete assistant to all of us. They were first seen in smartphones, in the form of Siri in iPhones and Google Assistant in android devices and now they’re coming in the form of standalone devices such as Amazon’s Echo, Google Home devices and Apple’s Homepod.

Digital assistants, like in every other aspect of our life, have a huge potential in revolutionizing healthcare by assisting hospitals, doctors and other paramedical staff in record-keeping, managing their appointments, and help in taking better care of the patients in an efficient manner. Artificial intelligence is assisting doctors in making better diagnoses, and advanced robotics technology is making surgeries more precise. Digital assistants may one day be as ubiquitous as a stethoscope in a hospital as they become more automated. Recently some hospitals in USA introduced Alexa skills, with which patients can book appointments and manage prescriptions.

Digital assistants for patients

People are becoming more and more dependant on their digital assistants on their phones. Recent stats show that by 2020, 50% of all searches would be done by voice search and 30% of all searches would be done without screens. This number is bound to increase with the increasing number of smart home speakers and increasing capabilities of digital assistants.

With the integration of digital assistants to the hospital management system, patients would be able to book an appointment with a doctor, just by talking to their digital assistants. Patients would be able to upload their health parameters such as blood sugar, blood pressure levels on a daily basis if their health conditions require it without having to visit the hospital or filling complex forms. This would enable their doctors to provide more accurate and reliable advice for their patients. They can also get the results of their lab tests without having to visit the hospital or lab. With advanced hospital management systems, patients can currently receive their test results in a PDF form, but as digital assistants become more ubiquitous, they would prefer asking their smart devices, instead of looking at their screens.

Digital assistants would also be able to assist in providing first aid with real-time advice from doctors and summon qualified medics in case of an emergency. There are unconfirmed reports of cops being called using amazon Alexa in case of domestic violence, and this shows the potential for digital assistants being helpful in case of a medical emergency.

How doctors can make use of digital assistants

Doctors are required to maintain clear records of their patient’s history. Clear and accurate records help to provide accurate treatment when the patient has any medical issues in the future. Doctors usually have to rely on shorthands, or transcriptions to make accurate records in the short time they have, and there is a chance that they may forget to add minute details when the records are made at a later date. This has been reduced to a large extent by the use of electronic health records, which are often made as easily filled templates, but with the use of digital assistants, doctors can simply dictate the health condition of the patient, and with the use of smart prompts, they can be sure that they didn’t miss any info.

Smart assistants also have the potential to help doctors better manage their appointments and schedules. Doctors can easily get the complete details of their appointments, the timings, and the schedule simply by asking their digital assistant.

Digital assistants for hospital administration

Hospital management system have made it easy for hospital administrators to get accurate real-time information about the status of their hospitals, and manage it efficiently by making better use of their resources. But this also means they have to check their screens much more often, and this can become tiring on a daily basis.

With the use of a digital assistant, hospital admins can get quick reports of their hospitals, such as daily revenue, the total number of appointments, expenses incurred, and also about the stock of essential pieces of equipment, disposables, and medicines.

Alerts for emergency situations, such as when adequate doctors or paramedics are not available, or when essential supplies are running low, will ensure that the hospitals are making the best use of their resources.

If you would like to implement voice assistants to go with your hospital management systems, contact us