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How to Implement HMS Successfully in Hospitals? 

Published By Sanjana
 2019040110:42:25
Category HMS



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 However, this type of HMS development is outdated.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.




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When searching for software, almost everyone looks for free ones. If you simply type in the name of any random software, you’ll probably see a google autocomplete suggestion “free download”. In some cases, it does make a lot of sense in using free software. Why pay for something when you can get it for free? 

Searches for downloading free EMR software have increased with government legislation mandating their use in hospitals. Let us look into why this is a bad idea.

If you’re not paying for it, you’re the product

As a general rule, nobody ever gives you something for free. As economists would say, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product”. In the case of most free software, this is the case. Recently it was found that most of the free antivirus apps in the Google Play store actually did nothing. Their purpose? Probably to collect data from your device. This may not affect an average person very much, but if you’re concerned about privacy, you should probably stay away from these software. And when you’re dealing with a hospital management software, this is a key aspect. Data security is a very important aspect especially when you handle patient data. A data leak, however small has the potential to damage the reputation of your hospital. 

Lack of accountability

A hospital management system has to have certain qualifications that assure you that a particular software can fit your needs. When you purchase a software, it is possible for you to verify if these software fit the criteria. But when you download a software for free, there is no way for you to be sure if these software fit the criteria. And since there is no monetary transaction between you and the software provider, it will be difficult to hold them accountable. 

The lack of accountability will be an issue if the software faces any glitches. If the software crashes, customer support is not provided for the system, and you will be on your own. A software glitch in a free android app may be annoying, and will not cause any huge problems even if is not resolved. In case of a hospital, the software handles sensitive patient information and a software glitch can compromise this data, and with no tech support from the providers, it can cause a lot of problems. 

Upgrades? Nope

As government regulations change, and as the technology improves, you may face the need for a better software. If you’re relying on a free software for very important tasks, such as managing your hospital, you may find yourself stuck with an old software. Free software rarely provide any upgrades for long durations. And when you want an upgrade, you may find yourself searching for a new software, and you’ll have to import the existing data into the new software which will require additional resources. 

The story of the open source software

A commonly trusted free software are the open source software. Ubuntu is an example of an open source software. They are usually made by developers across the world, and their source code is available for free, and you’re free to change or modify the code as you wish. Since the source code is available for everyone, it is unlikely that the software can have malicious intents. And as long as the developers continue to improve the software, it will remain up to date with the required features. Open source software appears to offer a very good deal, and they do, in the case of most of the software. But in the case of a hospital management system, it is never a good idea to use an open source software. This is because of a combination of reasons discussed above. First of all, there are no hospital management software with the kind of community that a software like Ubuntu has. If you face any issues, you’re on your own. In the case of popular softwares, there may be forums in which users can discuss issues, and they may get resolved. But for a hospital management software, there are no such forums, and when you’re managing a hospital, you cannot afford to wait for a solution that may never come. And as we discussed, updates will be available for open source software only as long as the developers are working on the project.

What about the free trials?

If you have been looking for free HMS downloads, you may have come across many SaaS healthcare software companies offering lite or trial versions of their software for free, or maybe the complete version of their software, but for a limited time period. These software are generally secure and will be much more robust than software from other software providers. They may even offer regular updates. But remember that these trial versions are just for that. They will be severely limited in their capabilities, and you will definitely have to upgrade at some point. And the providers may not provide tech support if you’re using the free version. But they do provide an easy way to evaluate a software and if available, they serve as a demo for the complete version. 

Lack of customization

Generally across hospitals, or even across departments, there is no uniform workflow. Each department head has their own workflows, and this is the reason why hospital management systems are highly customized. However such customization is not at all possible in a hospital management system, and if implemented, could affect the functioning of the hospital and may prove to be counterproductive. 


To know more about hospital management software, visit MocDoc Hospital Information System.

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Our present modern information system makes use of computers for the execution, each of them connected through an optimized network. Healthcare is the most critical aspect of our society, and many health care providers face challenges to offer practical and active services to patients.


Considering a multispeciality hospital, many people enter and exit the hospital in a day and maintaining their records safely is tedious. To reduce this type of burdens and to manage the financial, hospital administration and clinical aspects, Hospital management system came into existence.


Apart from that automating your hospital's processes and implementing them cannot be done too easily, you need an efficient hospital management system to take care of everything that is happening around the labs and hospitals.


If you are ready to implement or go with the hospital management system, make sure you follow these things before making it useful in your hospitals or labs.


  • Processing Speed & Results

  • Cost Effective

  • Reduction in Errors

  • Data Security & Retrieving Ability

  • Improved Patient Care

  • Quality & Compliance


Processing Speed and Results:


Hospital management system follows the standard operating procedures, and there are no chances for deviation to happen in any of the effective HMS systems. With the implementation of HMS in your labs or hospitals, you will be able to treat patients with a better way and accessing their real-time reports and other information regarding the patients, and their past clinical data and more can be done quickly and lead to best patient outcomes. Hospital management system makes employees work more accessible and improve the speed of the complete processes for better results.


Cost Effective:


HMS information system helps to track and control finances, reduce leakages as well as reduce manual work and therefore there is no requirement of the higher human workforce.


Hospital management system helps to cut down the manual work done by humans in the hospitals especially for the peoples who take care of the record and documentations safely. Hospital management system helps in reducing the human resources costs as most of the work is automated.


Cut down the cost related to storage and other associated requirements. If your hospital is entirely HMS implemented, then your hospital will go paper-free one, it's enough if you maintain the mandatory documents and other related ones in your hospital to comply with the regulation standards.


Reduction in Errors:


Hospital management system will help in reducing different types of errors that made through interventions like missing billing, operational failure, clinical errors, cost leakages, missing appointments and much more.


Every process on the hospital management system are automated, and there are plenty of tasks provided to the software to perform without the human intervention as well as accurately, this reduces the error significantly.


For example, An IPD patient final bill amount can be easily generated if your hospital enabled of Hospital management system as his reports and other samples bill are already billed and safe under the Patients unique Hospital ID, and therefore the billing executive needs to generate from the system and provide the statement to the patients.


If your hospital is not HMS enabled then you need to go with manual entries which involves too many human errors, so preferring HMS will make your billing section easier, faster, accurate and more transparent.


Data Security and Retrieving Ability:


In a Hospital management system, they are one of the cloud-based software where everything gets interlinked, and therefore there are no chances for breaches to occur as they have high data security.


Evidence-based medicine requires the retrieving ability as well as data ability mandatorily, and this easily achieved through a Hospital management system. If you have Hospital management system on your hospital, then you can easily access the operational, clinical and financial data of your hospitals.


Improved Patient Care:


Enhanced work efficiency and improved patient data access mean faster and better clinical decisions. A clinician orders the solution to implement once he gets the diagnostic report on his hand, so its necessary to have speedier support for receiving the reports rapidly. All departments in the hospitals are interconnected and integrated with this automation, and this enhances the patient care quality as well as the hospital turnovers.


Quality and Compliance:


Every hospital should send a report of birth, and death occurred, their reasons and related solutions to the NABH accreditation monthly. Its difficult to arrange them manually so preferring the best HMS helps you to send the reports faster and at the right time frame.


Every report is monitored and managed in the Hospital Management System carefully and efficiently for accurate results.


Everyone prefers HMS for their hospitals for coordinated and rapid care, reduced costs, reduced waiting time and readmission, enhanced patient safety, and clinical care.


Any other essential benefits of implementing a hospital management system in your clinics? Let us know through the comment section below.



To know more visit MocDoc - Healthcare

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Hospital Management Software is considered to be the current trend and boom to every hospital administrations and management. An HMS is a web-based or computer-based software system which helps to control different complex workflows and processes which are inherent to the normal working of any hospital. 
The HMS acts as the frontiers for various hospital stakeholders to access, capture, report, and manage every single information happening in the functioning of your hospital. Today let’s check how the Hospital Management System enhances your hospital quality.
 
Why is HMS mandatory for your hospitals and how does it improve your clinic quality? 
A Hospital Management System provides you with different advantages like adaptive, innovation, affordability, and more. A quality HMS needs to have provisions for managing and documenting the hospital aspects like doctors, billing, patients, inventory, insurance, pharmacy, support staff, HR, diagnostics, radiology, reports, etc. 
Some of the benefits of the HMS for your clinic include 
● Quick and easy access to the records and other data of the patient.
● Automation brings efficiency
● Accuracy
● Patient satisfaction
● Speedy services
● Coordination between different departments
● Paperless record system. 

Secure your data: 
The Hospital Database Management System makes it unfeasible for any personnel who are unauthorized to access private and sensitive information, particularly in dealing with the records of the patients. It decreases data theft and similar possibilities and therefore you will be able to secure your data and thus an improvement in the hospital quality.
 
Making treatment and diagnosis simpler: 
The Hospital Management System offers useful dashboards and reports, through which caregivers and doctors can have quick and simple access to the test results and records of the patients. It increases the competency of your hospital legitimately and also helps to improve your hospital quality.
 
Enhance quality ratings of the hospitals: 
If the HMS is implemented in your hospital, then there is no worry about your clinic quality. It enhances your standing with quality circles and insurance companies significantly.
 
Run your hospital effectively: 
The amount of effort and time you will save by implementing the Hospital Management System is surprising. These savings make for the smooth and efficient operation of your clinic.
 
Tracks for better financials: 
Implementing a Hospital Management System in your hospital means there is a more significant benefit for the department of finance. It’s easy to track outflows, receivables, revenues, and debts better when HMS is implemented. The HMS generates a financial report that will have an accurate health picture of your hospital.
 
Eliminate errors: 
There is a chance for many errors to occur if you are maintaining the manual or older method in your hospital. With HMS automation processes, you can easily avoid mistakes, and the workflow will go excellently when compared to the older or manual methods.

Higher patient satisfaction: 
The hospital management system decreases the time taken for procedures and processes at all stages of patient interaction, namely discharge, billing, and registration, thus, it makes your clients and patients happy.
 
Paperless Operation: 
The advent of the hospital management system is that it makes use of electronic records rather than physical files, which leads to a happier outcome when it comes to maintaining your hospital quality. It’s expected for hospitals to become paperless completely with further development in the hospital management system. 
Start your research, reach for a reputable EMR vendor like MocDoc, and make the quality of your hospital rick and user-friendly.

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Hospital Management System has been used for decades. Most of the hospitals in India use HMS, but they face particular challenges in implementing it. Among them, technical and human challenges are the complicated factors while implementing HMS.

How can you face the challenges while implementing HMS?

The HMS system helps to manage every piece of information about the patients, like their personal data, comprehensive medical data, and previous medical histories, along with their diagnoses, treatments, investigations, and other medical decisions. Apart from that, HMS helps improve safety and quality and is one of the most affordable options available in the healthcare industry.

Despite their benefits, the healthcare industry faces many challenges. Implementation of HMS still fails in some hospitals due to barriers.

A few Challenging problems that you face while implementing HMS

Human Challenges

While considering human factors include

  • Awareness of HMS's advantages & importance.
  • In general, Experience and knowledge of using computer applications.
  • Impressions and Beliefs regarding HMS and making use of them efficiently.

The researchers in a study have identified three main human challenges that are a barrier to adopting the HMS in healthcare industries.

  • There is a shortage of professional healthcare faculty with in-depth knowledge of HMS and other similar technologies.
  • Poor acceptance of HMS Software.
  • Lack of health informatics professionals capable of establishing and implementing the techniques.

Another few significant problems for unsuccessful HMS implementation include.

  • Healthcare specialists nature,
  • the lack of time allowed for training and learning on making use of the HMS,
  • the lack of healthcare professional support, motivation, and more.

Many studies illustrate that HMS requires more effort, time, and work. There are high chance of HMS slowing down and causing a decrease in productivity.

Technical Challenges:

Other technical challenges that fail the implementation of HMS in the healthcare industry include:
  • Networks and computers have different maintenance problems.
  • Lack of standards for Data entry and retrieval.
  • Difficulties in training users technically to use HMS.

A few tips to overcome Human Challenges

Proceed below to check out a few things you can follow to overcome the human challenges that make HMS implementation tough.

All Medical education programs should include the significance of Hospital management system, its applications, and its advantages. One can improve the awareness of the advantages and benefits of using the HMS with a focused multi-phase approach on any topic. The system can be used from the starting level of healthcare industry schools, and colleges, then with the undergraduate degree, and through various aspects of postgraduate medical education.

Formal training while taking various levels of medical practice and education can improve the knowledge in using a Hospital management system correctly. Many types of research suggest HMS training and teaching needs to be developed and implemented as a subject or course of the postgraduate and undergraduate medical education programs.

Every health information management should include subjects of HMS short courses for medical education programs and healthcare professionals. These programs should be initiated by the health ministry and its formal channels for every healthcare specialist at any healthcare organization and hospital. Apart from that, developing and enhancing self-taught computer science courses in nursing education, medical schools, and postgraduate training is also essential.

It's a good idea to develop both postgraduate and undergraduate specialized programs in Health Information Management, Health Informatics, and Health Information Technology, which increases the number of health informatics specialists and technicians.

Overcoming the negative impressions of HMS's new and experienced staff can be neglected by developing HMS training programs and in-house hospital orientation programs.

You can make the healthcare professional participate and be involved in various stages of system implementation, development, and deployment to improve the healthcare specialists' support.

You can offer the healthcare professional overtime payment, direct and indirect incentives, rewards, bonuses, and more for the hospital departments and sections that implement HMS successfully in a healthcare organization.

Offering healthcare professionals enough time is convenient and suitable for them to learn and train on HMS.

Another good idea is to conduct different exciting training programs for healthcare professionals so that they know about HMS implementation in depth and gain a better understanding.

Here are a few tips to overcome the Technical Challenges

You need to ensure that the HMS commercial providers and vendors are offering the proper user manuals, documentation, troubleshooting, and guidelines for using HMS to the hospitals properly.

Ensuring the working conditions of computers and networks is critical for the software to work better and have fewer maintenance problems. Technical support and hardware maintenance are also significant.

You are upgrading your old communication networks and computers to new ones for enhanced performance.

Make sure you perform every analysis required in depth before the start of the design phase and the implementation phase.

Implementing newer innovations in both hardware and software is required to overcome data entry difficulties.

While considering the software innovations, the system needs to be designed to support structured data entry instead of unstructured one. In the case of hardware innovations, implementing hand-held devices, touch screens, and tablet PCs helps minimize the gap between the recording and data acquisition process and leads to easier accessibility.

Eliminating health information technology and management staff overload can be done by outsourcing a few electronic processing tasks, namely medical transcription of dictating the voice files.

Make sure about the system interface design, and check whether they are understandable and user-friendly.

Data standards usage is one of the crucial steps for source accuracy, quality, reliability, and validation of system data.

Make sure you increase the computer terminal numbers at the point of care.

The above tips will help you eliminate all challenges while implementing your Hospital information management system. Any queries or other information regarding the topics are welcome in the comments section.

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