Managing a healthcare facility is a significant challenge. Between coordinating services and managing patients, leaders must demonstrate exceptional versatility. The larger the organization, the more tools are used : big mistake! How can you make informed decisions without a comprehensive view of your operations? To achieve this, choosing the right hospital software is essential. Discover all our tips.
Why centralize management in a single hospital software?
In hospitals, each department is typically managed in a vertical manner. Procedures are scheduled on one side, quality controls on another, and attendance is recorded separately. Consequently, the tools associated with these functions are also segmented and vertical. Each piece of data is collected separately, making it a real challenge to obtain comprehensive information.
Smooth interventions and team coordination
The multitude of tools is the main factor causing time loss for staff and managers. Which hospital software holds the information? Where are the attendance sheets for the pediatric department located?
Building B? Where did the post-it note summarizing the unfinished tasks in patient room 122 go? Without cross-functional software, the information needed to manage your facility is scattered across the hospital. This fragmentation works against you and deteriorates the working conditions of your hospital staff daily.
Therefore, opting for an all-in-one hospital software becomes an obvious choice. Imagine a platform that centralizes ongoing and upcoming interventions, on-site staff, and your facility’s compliance rate. On one hand, this type of system streamlines operations through real-time tracking of actions, whether from your teams or external providers. Everyone knows when, where, and what protocol to deploy in the specified area. On the other hand, centralized hospital software improves working conditions for all stakeholders. Information is concentrated in one place, and everyone has access to the data relevant to their role. The result: no more wasted time or headaches!
Maintaining compliance and certifications
Centralizing management in a single hospital software is an effective way to control the quality of your facility. By analyzing all data in one tool, it becomes easier to identify bottlenecks and resolve anomalies. The cross-functional flow of information between departments allows for a true historical record of events and facilitates adjustments to processes. This analytical approach provides a comprehensive overview of the facility’s performance, thereby simplifying certification audits.
Improvement of patient experience and quality of care
Better working conditions lead to better patient care! With centralized hospital software, your staff no longer waste time on low-value and stressful tasks, such as manual data entry, multiple calls to different teams, and complex analysis in Excel spreadsheets. By digitizing these actions, your hospital staff can now focus solely on patient well-being.
Moreover, controlling quality indicators ensures continuous compliance with health standards. The risk of infections is reduced, and the hospital environment remains healthy under all circumstances.
Cost optimization
Finally, choosing an all-in-one hospital software is the ultimate advantage for cost optimization. Indeed, why pay for 10 different subscriptions when you can consolidate multiple operational functions into a single tool? Of course, you won’t find a solution that includes every function needed to run your healthcare facility. However, some management platforms, such as MoveWORK Flow, allow you to use multiple operational modules simultaneously and connect your specialized software within the same interface.
What are the types of hospital software?
Healthcare facilities use various types of software to manage different aspects of their operations. Here are the commonly used types of tools:
- Hospital management software: These systems encompass a wide range of functionalities, such as intervention scheduling, bed management, human resources management, and administrative document management.
Quality management software: These programs enable quality control, identify non-conformities, and monitor your indicators.
Patient information and management systems: These tools focus on managing patient data (medical records, prescriptions, test results, etc.) and medical appointments. Some tools include telemedicine functions for remote consultations.
Laboratory management software: These systems primarily track samples and manage test results or medical analyses.
Radiology PACS software: These tools facilitate the storage, management, and sharing of medical images.
Human resources management systems: These software solutions help manage personnel-related operations, such as scheduling, time management, payroll, and training.
Inventory management programs: These tools are used to track and manage the inventory of medical supplies, medications, and other material resources in the hospital.
Financial management systems: These software solutions handle billing processes, insurance claims, accounting, and other financial aspects related to the hospital’s operations.
These types of software can be integrated into a comprehensive system or operate independently. Each healthcare facility has specific software needs.
What features should you prioritize when selecting hospital software?
An operational software won’t be able to manage everything simultaneously. Some very specific hospital aspects will need to be handled by standalone specialized tools. However, when selecting hospital software, there are a few key features to prioritize:
- Management of attendance, absences, and time tracking
- Scheduling of interventions
- Management of fixed and floating shifts
Management of protocols and tracking of completed tasks
Alert system and incident management
Inventory management and supply ordering
Bed and facility management
Performance monitoring and quality indicators
- Reporting, reports, and analysis
In addition to these essential operational functions, mobile compatibility is also a competitive factor. Hospital staff are constantly on the move and need to access information wherever they are.
What other criteria should be considered when choosing hospital software?
Choosing hospital software involves more than just considering its features. You must also take into account the quality of service provided by the vendor. Will they support you during deployment? Will your hospital staff be trained? What happens if equipment fails? Before making your decision, make sure to address all these questions.
Training, support, and technical assistance
To ensure a high adoption rate of your new tool, training is the first step. How could your hospital staff and caregivers understand the utility of software without knowing how it works? It is crucial to ensure that the software provider offers comprehensive training for your personnel. Additionally, verify that once trained, your staff will not be left on their own. Is there a customer service department? Is technical support available in case of problems? The presence of responsive customer support is an important factor to consider before making your final decision.
Updates, interoperability, and customization
A multifunctional hospital software is a significant advantage, but is it customizable according to your needs? Many tools offer only a generic version and do not allow for customization. However, each healthcare facility is unique, both in terms of infrastructure and specific challenges.
Therefore, before selecting a tool, check the interoperability and the frequency of updates with the provider. On one hand, a flexible system allows the software to be adapted to existing processes. On the other hand, the ability to exchange information with other systems is crucial for effective care coordination.
Compliance and data security
Before purchasing your hospital software, ensure that it complies with healthcare regulations. This includes adherence to data security standards, patient privacy rules, and current hosting requirements. Review the provider’s client references and seek feedback from other healthcare facilities using the same software.
MoveWORK Flow: The all-in-one platform for your hospital
How about using hospital software that combines all the operational functions you need? Drawing on its experience in Facility Management, MoveWORK has developed a cross-functional platform dedicated to managing hospital activities. Interventions, quality, automated reporting … get all the details!
MoveWORK Flow is a modular platform that allows you to manage all your data from a single interface. Ongoing interventions, available hospital staff, room occupancy rates, bio-cleaning protocol progress, …
All events in your healthcare facility are tracked in real-time and managed with a unique, intuitive tool. Whether through our mobile apps or connected equipment, your hospital’s data is securely transmitted instantly. No more running from one department to another or searching through dozens of paper files; everything is centralized. Additionally, MoveWORK can interface with your specialized software to provide a 360° view of your facility.
A patient has just been discharged? The health manager can report it via their mobile. The connected hand sanitizer dispenser at the reception is almost empty? A supply shortage alert is immediately sent to the maintenance department.
Thanks to its system of intelligent automations, the platform identifies information, analyzes the situation, and automatically triggers appropriate interventions. A quality control reveals an issue in the operating room? The corrective action scenario is immediately activated. A bio-cleaning protocol hasn’t been completed? Missing tasks are automatically scheduled on the task list of a nearby available staff member. The platform’s responsiveness and flexibility ensure high-quality care and compliance in all situations.
In addition to its operational modules (scheduling, forms, quality control, service kiosks, satisfaction surveys, etc.) and automated management, MoveWORK Flow is a powerful reporting generator. The platform correlates data to provide you with an analysis of all your KPIs with a single click. In customizable dashboards, you will find all the indicators needed to prepare and validate your HAS certification audits.
