Healthcare Communications Software: Finding the "Right Fit"

The journey toward finding healthcare communications software that is the right fit for a hospital is often a bumpy road. There are a number of factors that can take your facility on a costly detour or cause it to become stuck in a technological pothole. The top three are:

1. Too Many Bells and Whistles

You don’t need a $400,000 Lamborghini to commute to work; a $27,000 Honda CR-V will get you there and home again. Similarly, buying healthcare communications software with dozens of features you’ll never use is impractical. In fact, doing so can erect roadblocks that stifle implementation. Complicated user interfaces require extensive training, and chances are good that less tech-savvy staff members will be slow to adopt the software or abandon it altogether. New feature rollouts and constant upgrades become time- and resource-intensive – especially when you’re not interested in the new features.

While it’s important to think ahead to whether the healthcare communications software you’re considering will meet your hospital’s future needs, it’s critical to be clear-eyed about how to solve today’s challenges. Resist the temptation to spend money on features you may or may not use in some hazy future; instead, focus on software that delivers the functionality you need in the short- and medium-term.

2. Costly Local Installation

It’s understandable that hospitals have historically been proprietary about their information technology. It’s appealing to have control over your own data and to be able to customize software to meet your hospital’s needs. It’s less appealing to employ additional information technology staff to maintain, backup, and troubleshoot locally installed software – and to run the risk that your data will be unavailable if your system is hacked or if you’re hit with a natural or manmade disaster.

In contrast, software-as-a-service tends to be easier to adopt and less resource intensive. SaaS healthcare communications software doesn’t require local installation and is accessible from any authorized Internet-connected device. This offers a number of advantages, most notably that the vendor is responsible for data integrity and software maintenance, and that healthcare communications can reach staff both within and outside of the facility.

3. Allocations for Healthcare Communication Software

Earlier this year, the Harvard Business Review published an article about the ways in which current approaches to hospital budgeting are preventing technological innovation. The piece touches on departmental budget silos that keep facilities from adopting technologies destined to reduce costs across departments, limitations of fixed annual operating budgets that prohibit large upfront expenditures for technology, and constraints of placing the cost of software-as-a-service into an operating budget rather than a capital budget.

When it comes to healthcare communications software, it’s important to break down budgeting silos and understand the value to the entire organization. For example, MDsyncNET’s SaaS is comprised of eight modules that each address a common healthcare communications challenge. On-Call Scheduling ensures that physicians and contact centers have accurate, real-time shift schedules, while Call Tracking provides administrators with data on call throughput. Broadcast enables notifications to be sent to staff distribution lists, while Directories provides up-to-the-minute contact information for internal and external contacts. Committees allows users to view committee materials at their convenience, and Forum facilitates communication among staff members and administrative team members. Finally, Text Messaging streamlines paging protocols to quickly reach physicians.

If you’re looking for your “right fit” healthcare communications solution, look no further than MDsyncNET. Call 888-506-5061 today for a complimentary consultation.