I met a doctor socially the other day, and we had a very interesting conversation about his practice. He has published a website with the help of Plus91 Technology’s Website For Doctor's initiative , and we were discussing the merits of a doctor using the Internet for reaching out to patients.
His first worry was: doesn't this amount to advertising? Because a website is personal digital real estate, he felt this was fine, but was very uncomfortable about using social media to reach out, because he felt this was unethical. I agree that flagrantly advertising and singing praises about yourself may be unethical, but not informing people about your services is also downright unethical ! Imagine a poor patient with a brain tumour who is forced to travel miles in order to talk to a good neurologist , just because the neurologist in his neighborhood doesn't bother to let anyone know about what he does!
Doctors in India are in short supply – don’t they have a responsibility and duty to let people know about their expertise, so that it can be used more efficiently ?
We then started talking about how his website has made a difference to his practice.
a. He now could interact with his patient via the site
b. He could easily give directions to his clinics and his timings by directing people to the site , which had all the information patients needed, including a google map. This saved his patients a lot of time and energy – and his staff did not have to keep on repeating the same directions to all his new patients !
c. The website did convey that he is a serious up-to-date professional, and his patients appreciates this.
Did it get him new patients? The ability of a website to do this depends directly on the web traffic coming to the site, and because his site was fairly new, the numbers were still small, so it was hard to say if this has had a significant impact. If he promotes his website effectively, it is common sense that it is bound to help him attract new patients ! It’s always hard to judge the return on investment ( ROI) on a website , since it takes time for a website to grow ! It needs to be nurtured carefully – and doctors who do this will find this a very cost effective option ! Even one new patient can help him to recover the cost of a year’s hosting ! However, he is reluctant to spend the money to promote his website ( using a search engine optimisation – SEO - firm) , so it’s possible that his website may not help him to grow his practice, making this a self-fulfilling prophecy !
His skepticism arose from the fact that in his experience, when patients search for a doctor, they usually ask a friend or a family member for a recommendation or a referral. Patients may do research online to find out more about the doctor, but not many patients in India today use the internet as a tool to find a doctor. , However , as time goes by, this is likely to change quickly, because many people change cities when they switch jobs; and few have a family physician they can trust. It’s becoming increasingly common for urban Indian patients to use the internet to select a medical specialist to help them get the best medical care.
Social media has a very important role to play, because it is the digital version of “word of mouth” marketing. Let’s take a doctor who specializes in arthroscopic knee surgery. If all his colleagues on twitter, facebook and orkut feeds know about this, they can create a lot of buzz for him. Anytime someone asks these people about knee surgery , they will be sure to say, “Hey , why don't you go in for mini incision surgery and avoid the big scar ? I know a guy who does this and his website is …..”. Here your website becomes a tool which allows others to refer their friends to you easily. If you have videos on your website displaying your surgical skills, as well as patient testimonials, this allows you to build your prospective patient’s confidence in your expertise, and helps to enhance your credibility !
Showing posts with label healthcare india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthcare india. Show all posts
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Patient Safety
Few Sundays ago I was privileged enough to be invited by Dr. Nikhil Datar, a pre-eminent gynecologist and medico-legal expert to witness his premier talk on Patient Safety. It was hosted by IMA Dombivali and had a strong audience of over 40 doctors waiting to hear Dr. Datar’s talk. Dr. Datar had recently returned from UK where he attended a program organized by WHO on Patient Safety. Plus91 Technologies believes in making patient centric solutions which don’t just automate the clinic or hospital but also improve quality and service. Keeping this in mind, the presentation was interesting not just for the doctors but also for us.
The doctors were interested in the talk, intrigued by what new information can they hear. It started slowly but filled with practical examples the doctors soon were eager to know more. More than that they realized in their own practice they need to reflect and close loopholes so that they ensure patient safety. The doctors really got involved with questions, interactive cases and videos. I think they all walked out little bit wiser. As a software company involved in Healthcare, I think patient safety becomes a vital cog in what we are doing and it works at multiple levels. 1. Creating solutions which ensure and promote safety, 2. using the patient safety angle to promote such solutions which benefit the doctor in many more ways, but they finally see it as useful when something hard hitting as this is spoken about and 3. Increasing patient interaction and service allowing patients to feel safer and learn on how they should protect themselves too.
So what all does patient safety entail? It covers a lot of ground from something simple like washing your hands before a physical examination to something complicated as giving instructions during a high pressure surgery. They key learning was awareness that things can go wrong and improving communications and processes to prevent minor errors from becoming major issues. Simple techniques like reading medicine names allowed, using color coding on various instruments, storing patient records in a neat and systematic manner help provide better quality care to the patient. I think from hearing his talk, the biggest initiative one can take in improving patient safety is increasing ones awareness in their surroundings. Being aware of the possibility and the effects of your actions goes a long way in preventing mishaps that can happen. Some major inferences were: Out of the 3.7% cases, only 1% could be called as negligent, 50% of these are preventable and most notable – majority of them were not individual failures but the system failures.
I think a lot of good work is now being done in this field by numerous players. The ones which Plus91 Technologies is directly involved with include Dr. Nikhil Datar an epxert in the field, PIET (Patient Information and Education Trust) and NGO, PEAS (Patient Education and Awareness Series) who make wonderful videos and content driven education material, HELP (Healthcare Education Library for People) which have seminars weekly apart from the actual library initiative and Dr. Malpani who is organizing a conference in October in Mumbai exclusively dealing with Patient Safety. As technology pervades healthcare, I can already envision so many places where Plus91 can actively help improve patient safety standards. The possibilities are exciting not only in their scope and challenge but also because this is probably one place we can actually be able to claim we saved a life and that thought gives us a tremendous boost.
The doctors were interested in the talk, intrigued by what new information can they hear. It started slowly but filled with practical examples the doctors soon were eager to know more. More than that they realized in their own practice they need to reflect and close loopholes so that they ensure patient safety. The doctors really got involved with questions, interactive cases and videos. I think they all walked out little bit wiser. As a software company involved in Healthcare, I think patient safety becomes a vital cog in what we are doing and it works at multiple levels. 1. Creating solutions which ensure and promote safety, 2. using the patient safety angle to promote such solutions which benefit the doctor in many more ways, but they finally see it as useful when something hard hitting as this is spoken about and 3. Increasing patient interaction and service allowing patients to feel safer and learn on how they should protect themselves too.
So what all does patient safety entail? It covers a lot of ground from something simple like washing your hands before a physical examination to something complicated as giving instructions during a high pressure surgery. They key learning was awareness that things can go wrong and improving communications and processes to prevent minor errors from becoming major issues. Simple techniques like reading medicine names allowed, using color coding on various instruments, storing patient records in a neat and systematic manner help provide better quality care to the patient. I think from hearing his talk, the biggest initiative one can take in improving patient safety is increasing ones awareness in their surroundings. Being aware of the possibility and the effects of your actions goes a long way in preventing mishaps that can happen. Some major inferences were: Out of the 3.7% cases, only 1% could be called as negligent, 50% of these are preventable and most notable – majority of them were not individual failures but the system failures.
I think a lot of good work is now being done in this field by numerous players. The ones which Plus91 Technologies is directly involved with include Dr. Nikhil Datar an epxert in the field, PIET (Patient Information and Education Trust) and NGO, PEAS (Patient Education and Awareness Series) who make wonderful videos and content driven education material, HELP (Healthcare Education Library for People) which have seminars weekly apart from the actual library initiative and Dr. Malpani who is organizing a conference in October in Mumbai exclusively dealing with Patient Safety. As technology pervades healthcare, I can already envision so many places where Plus91 can actively help improve patient safety standards. The possibilities are exciting not only in their scope and challenge but also because this is probably one place we can actually be able to claim we saved a life and that thought gives us a tremendous boost.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Improved Patient Safety Using Software
Patient Safety is a vital aspect of healthcare. With a fairly large number of indirect deaths and also potentially life threatening situations resulting directly from lack patient safety it becomes a vital cog in the healthcare machinery. Software products are introduced in any setup to increase efficiency and accuracy, both important factors when trying to improve safety. I am going to highlight some basic examples how inherently as well by actual design patient safety measures can be improved through normal Electronic Medical Records or Practice Management Software.
1. Prescriptions and Medications: The most common errors are seen when doctors write prescriptions on paper and the patient or the chemist misread the prescription. This is a common occurrence and a printed prescription generated from software with already present Drug Data is the safest bet against such a mishap. Other errors which can be prevented include, mistakes made by doctors in writing the dosage or strength, which in software can be fixed to prevent wrong entries, also a check on concomitant medications interfering the drug can be done. These features are already present in the Plus91 clinic package Clinkare. Ensures no errors happen due to differing writing styles or hand writing.
Another neat feature is sending reminders to the patients/nurses to take the appropriate medication at the correct time via SMS. This ensures no missed dosage which could have lead to problems. This feature is available in ClinION the hospital management solution from Plus91 Technologies.
2. Patient History: Doctors in a hurry, if patient comes without papers can prescribe the wrong treatment in case the data is not properly documented. It is vital to know previous visit experiences which can help the doctor make a better decision. Almost all softwares allow storing overall patient and current complaint history which helps doctors make better and more accurate decisions thus ensuring patient safety. This feature ensures that reliance on memory is less!
In the new age software patient history can also be coupled with Clinical Decision Support systems to help the doctor make his or her decisions in a better and more accurate manner.
3. Patient Data Entry: This is an exclusively software based point. Accurate entry in the system can be ensured by various validation measures and checks. This may slow down the process but a good process ensures the software protects the basic problems that can happen. Some key examples are: a. Validated fields which take only certain values and anything outside throws an error, b. Every time a new page is opened or traversed the patient name is popped up to double check the correct patient data is being filled in, c. Two person check entries at very vital and critical data entry points (used often in clinical trial data management), d. SMS or Email alerts in case of a vital sign going outside normal range at the ICU
4. Consent Checks: A patient must know what procedure they are undergoing, the risks and also most importantly dos and don’ts. A software can for all the procedures ensure that the consents are filled using a reminder / validation system to ensure the patients have been given the once over either by the doctor as a series of questions and answers which are entered in the system or using a video/presentation format with a consent thumbprint or electronic signature taken at the end. This is vital so that the patient does not make mistakes because of not knowing he or she had to come empty stomach for a procedure.
Plus91 softwares automatically allow you to link vital consent forms to various tests, procedures and consultations and remind you to get them filled.
5. Check lists: The Indian Born adviser to the American President on Healthcare issues is Dr. Gawande just released his new book “The Checklist Manifesto”. A checklist is the doctor and hospital staffs most trusted friend. Often negligence cases leading to patient safety mishaps happen because proper procedure was not followed. Many types of software come with check lists which need to be marked as complete before the next screen of tasks can be accessed. This ensures that all important steps are carried out and in order.
Checklists can be determinate that is fixed in nature like an inventory for a particular type of surgery. Some check lists can be flexible, like an in house patient prescription check list or schedule followed for an entire ward. Using software both can be checked and managed without a fuss.
6. Improved analysis: Software allow us to collate all sorts of medical data, this data can now also be analyzed to make future decisions better. Knowing what kind of patients react to which medication, or which months cause more complaints of a particular type of disease or maybe information on which doctors have better recuperation rates vis-à-vis their treatment methods all allow the healthcare system to better prepared for future patients.
1. Prescriptions and Medications: The most common errors are seen when doctors write prescriptions on paper and the patient or the chemist misread the prescription. This is a common occurrence and a printed prescription generated from software with already present Drug Data is the safest bet against such a mishap. Other errors which can be prevented include, mistakes made by doctors in writing the dosage or strength, which in software can be fixed to prevent wrong entries, also a check on concomitant medications interfering the drug can be done. These features are already present in the Plus91 clinic package Clinkare. Ensures no errors happen due to differing writing styles or hand writing.
Another neat feature is sending reminders to the patients/nurses to take the appropriate medication at the correct time via SMS. This ensures no missed dosage which could have lead to problems. This feature is available in ClinION the hospital management solution from Plus91 Technologies.
2. Patient History: Doctors in a hurry, if patient comes without papers can prescribe the wrong treatment in case the data is not properly documented. It is vital to know previous visit experiences which can help the doctor make a better decision. Almost all softwares allow storing overall patient and current complaint history which helps doctors make better and more accurate decisions thus ensuring patient safety. This feature ensures that reliance on memory is less!
In the new age software patient history can also be coupled with Clinical Decision Support systems to help the doctor make his or her decisions in a better and more accurate manner.
3. Patient Data Entry: This is an exclusively software based point. Accurate entry in the system can be ensured by various validation measures and checks. This may slow down the process but a good process ensures the software protects the basic problems that can happen. Some key examples are: a. Validated fields which take only certain values and anything outside throws an error, b. Every time a new page is opened or traversed the patient name is popped up to double check the correct patient data is being filled in, c. Two person check entries at very vital and critical data entry points (used often in clinical trial data management), d. SMS or Email alerts in case of a vital sign going outside normal range at the ICU
4. Consent Checks: A patient must know what procedure they are undergoing, the risks and also most importantly dos and don’ts. A software can for all the procedures ensure that the consents are filled using a reminder / validation system to ensure the patients have been given the once over either by the doctor as a series of questions and answers which are entered in the system or using a video/presentation format with a consent thumbprint or electronic signature taken at the end. This is vital so that the patient does not make mistakes because of not knowing he or she had to come empty stomach for a procedure.
Plus91 softwares automatically allow you to link vital consent forms to various tests, procedures and consultations and remind you to get them filled.
5. Check lists: The Indian Born adviser to the American President on Healthcare issues is Dr. Gawande just released his new book “The Checklist Manifesto”. A checklist is the doctor and hospital staffs most trusted friend. Often negligence cases leading to patient safety mishaps happen because proper procedure was not followed. Many types of software come with check lists which need to be marked as complete before the next screen of tasks can be accessed. This ensures that all important steps are carried out and in order.
Checklists can be determinate that is fixed in nature like an inventory for a particular type of surgery. Some check lists can be flexible, like an in house patient prescription check list or schedule followed for an entire ward. Using software both can be checked and managed without a fuss.
6. Improved analysis: Software allow us to collate all sorts of medical data, this data can now also be analyzed to make future decisions better. Knowing what kind of patients react to which medication, or which months cause more complaints of a particular type of disease or maybe information on which doctors have better recuperation rates vis-à-vis their treatment methods all allow the healthcare system to better prepared for future patients.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
How technology helps doctors save time!
The basic underline need to incorporate technology and innovation in any field is to increase efficiency and improve accuracy. The same goes for healthcare where non standard processes have lead to an increasingly slow and painful integration of technology into that sphere of business.
However let’s take the case of an everyday Doctor, for this example say Dr. Thakkar. Now Dr. Thakkar is open to technology but is still unsure how exactly it will benefit him. So let’s list down the different applications, instruments and gadgets which can help Dr. Thakkar.
1. A website and Email Id
2. A Mobile Phone
3. A pen drive
4. A laptop or PC with Internet
5. An EMR solution
We have now listed down 6 common everyday solution used by doctors in their daily activities. Now let us go in depth and see how they actually benefit Dr. Thakkar.
1. Website and Email Id:
a. Contact Information with a map is readily available and hence it will save him time and give him peace of mind by not having to talk to his patients on phone about directions and numbers
b. Important information captured on the website: Dr. Thakkar likes each patient to fill in a comprehensive form before he sees them, this causes long lines. Now he can ask his patients to fill this form online and it comes to him as an email which he can read just before the patient comes in. Time saved, more patient seen.
c. Patient across the country or travelling abroad can now easily email their queries to Dr. Thakkar. This can help him provide service remotely to his patient improving his service levels and connectivity with his patients
d. Dr. Thakkar does procedures where he needs to give instructions to his patient for pre-procedure protocols. Often patients forget and keep calling him in the middle of consultations. Now he can re-direct them to his website where it is written down in detail and with proper explanations in multiple languages!
2. Mobile Phone:
a. Dr. Thakkar can now check his daily schedule on a mobile phone. The latest phones come with many calendar features and schedulers with alarms. Also by using Google Calendar or innovative EMR solutions get reminder SMSs on the phone for appointments and operations.
b. Dr. Thakkar will be able to access Email on his GPRS enabled phone which can let him see the latest blood report of his patient and take decisions quickly. All image files of low size can be easily seen on the phone helping him stay in touch with the patients vitals.
c. The latest phones also come with high quality cameras, now store all X-Rays and reports as images at the click on a phone button. Dr. Thakkar can now easily store 3rd party patient X-rays and Usg reports or Lab tests which he can access later on his phone. The latest Emr Solutions allow you to directly attach these images to patient records also!
d. The phone also comes in built these days with GPS navigation systems. Now find your way easily and be on time for the operation. Dr. Thakkar can get where he wants to go quickly and safely, especially if he is doing a house visit to the patient.
3. Pen Drive: A pen drive is a small and low volume file storage system.
a. Dr. Thakkar can carry all his patient report soft copies and word documents in his pen drive, hence he no more lug around a suit case to all the hospitals.
b. Dr. Thakkar can plug his pen drive into any PC and access his notes and presentation on the go. This saves him time in burning CDs or carrying and going through papers. All neat and put into folders.
4. Laptop or PC with Internet
a. Dr. Thakkar can actually maximize the use of all above technology by having his own PC or better still a laptop. Now all his data can be soft copy, easily transferable, viewable, and most importantly searchable with ease!
b. Dr. Thakkar can now access his emails and patient documents quickly and anywhere on his laptop. No need to go searching in the Folder closet.
c. Dr. Thakkar sometimes has queries on new medicines and procedures. Now he doesn’t needn’t wait for the MIMs books or a CME conference, he can simply go onto the internet and search and read about the same information. Why wait when it can all be at your fingertips. Saves time and also treat your patient with the latest knowledge!
d. Dr. Thakkar need not wait for hard copies of patient reports and test results. Now he can have the soft copy emailed to him so he can check them in his office or on his laptop on the move. This saves him time later when he would have to look at all together or make the patient wait for a diagnosis.
5. EMR solution: A software which helps him with his patients and clinic
a. Saves Dr. Thakkar time and improves accuracy in data retrieval of patient reports, statistics on his clinic and medical data, accounts, inventory and even referral management. No time spent auditing or searching in the clinic!
b. Email reports and send SMS reminders to patients and directly from the software to see that you and the patient are up to date on latest developments. Now Dr. Thakkar is always on time and so are his patients. No time spent waiting.
c. Dr. Thakkar likes to send his case reports to fellow doctors and writes to papers and makes presentations. Now he can do it quicker and faster with EMR softwares reports and stats modules. He can also instantly email the report to his associates. No more wasting time on post, fax or even scanning documents.
These are just some inputs on how technology can help you as a doctor get quicker and better on your feet. To know more how we help you with your pain points visit www.plus91.in
However let’s take the case of an everyday Doctor, for this example say Dr. Thakkar. Now Dr. Thakkar is open to technology but is still unsure how exactly it will benefit him. So let’s list down the different applications, instruments and gadgets which can help Dr. Thakkar.
1. A website and Email Id
2. A Mobile Phone
3. A pen drive
4. A laptop or PC with Internet
5. An EMR solution
We have now listed down 6 common everyday solution used by doctors in their daily activities. Now let us go in depth and see how they actually benefit Dr. Thakkar.
1. Website and Email Id:
a. Contact Information with a map is readily available and hence it will save him time and give him peace of mind by not having to talk to his patients on phone about directions and numbers
b. Important information captured on the website: Dr. Thakkar likes each patient to fill in a comprehensive form before he sees them, this causes long lines. Now he can ask his patients to fill this form online and it comes to him as an email which he can read just before the patient comes in. Time saved, more patient seen.
c. Patient across the country or travelling abroad can now easily email their queries to Dr. Thakkar. This can help him provide service remotely to his patient improving his service levels and connectivity with his patients
d. Dr. Thakkar does procedures where he needs to give instructions to his patient for pre-procedure protocols. Often patients forget and keep calling him in the middle of consultations. Now he can re-direct them to his website where it is written down in detail and with proper explanations in multiple languages!
2. Mobile Phone:
a. Dr. Thakkar can now check his daily schedule on a mobile phone. The latest phones come with many calendar features and schedulers with alarms. Also by using Google Calendar or innovative EMR solutions get reminder SMSs on the phone for appointments and operations.
b. Dr. Thakkar will be able to access Email on his GPRS enabled phone which can let him see the latest blood report of his patient and take decisions quickly. All image files of low size can be easily seen on the phone helping him stay in touch with the patients vitals.
c. The latest phones also come with high quality cameras, now store all X-Rays and reports as images at the click on a phone button. Dr. Thakkar can now easily store 3rd party patient X-rays and Usg reports or Lab tests which he can access later on his phone. The latest Emr Solutions allow you to directly attach these images to patient records also!
d. The phone also comes in built these days with GPS navigation systems. Now find your way easily and be on time for the operation. Dr. Thakkar can get where he wants to go quickly and safely, especially if he is doing a house visit to the patient.
3. Pen Drive: A pen drive is a small and low volume file storage system.
a. Dr. Thakkar can carry all his patient report soft copies and word documents in his pen drive, hence he no more lug around a suit case to all the hospitals.
b. Dr. Thakkar can plug his pen drive into any PC and access his notes and presentation on the go. This saves him time in burning CDs or carrying and going through papers. All neat and put into folders.
4. Laptop or PC with Internet
a. Dr. Thakkar can actually maximize the use of all above technology by having his own PC or better still a laptop. Now all his data can be soft copy, easily transferable, viewable, and most importantly searchable with ease!
b. Dr. Thakkar can now access his emails and patient documents quickly and anywhere on his laptop. No need to go searching in the Folder closet.
c. Dr. Thakkar sometimes has queries on new medicines and procedures. Now he doesn’t needn’t wait for the MIMs books or a CME conference, he can simply go onto the internet and search and read about the same information. Why wait when it can all be at your fingertips. Saves time and also treat your patient with the latest knowledge!
d. Dr. Thakkar need not wait for hard copies of patient reports and test results. Now he can have the soft copy emailed to him so he can check them in his office or on his laptop on the move. This saves him time later when he would have to look at all together or make the patient wait for a diagnosis.
5. EMR solution: A software which helps him with his patients and clinic
a. Saves Dr. Thakkar time and improves accuracy in data retrieval of patient reports, statistics on his clinic and medical data, accounts, inventory and even referral management. No time spent auditing or searching in the clinic!
b. Email reports and send SMS reminders to patients and directly from the software to see that you and the patient are up to date on latest developments. Now Dr. Thakkar is always on time and so are his patients. No time spent waiting.
c. Dr. Thakkar likes to send his case reports to fellow doctors and writes to papers and makes presentations. Now he can do it quicker and faster with EMR softwares reports and stats modules. He can also instantly email the report to his associates. No more wasting time on post, fax or even scanning documents.
These are just some inputs on how technology can help you as a doctor get quicker and better on your feet. To know more how we help you with your pain points visit www.plus91.in
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Increasing ROI on your clinic through EMR
Return on Investment is a very savvy term these days with everyone investing in the share market. Doctors too have been on this bandwagon and closer to home they traditionally invest heavily in their clinic and practice. So what do they invest in?
As a Doctor you would invest in a place, interiors, chairs and tables, medical equipment, cabinets, maybe some staff, etc. And the clinic is flourishing and doing well. So what more can be done by you; to increase your return on the investment that has been made? Well one option is by using technology effectively. Off course, this might require an additional investment but it is minuscule compared to the items given above. This can especially be closely tied with two aspects of the practice, increasing base through customer satisfaction and improving efficiency and productivity of the clinic leading to time and money savings. How you ask? Well first we can discuss the usual plus points, then some interesting aspects which tie into the process of the clinic and finally a good example at a radiology setup where EMR can improve ROI.
The usual plus points of an EMR system run something like this:
a. Better Management of Time – All reports and data in one location for easy search and recall, easy patient registration process, quick look up and reference of historical information, easy creation of bills and receipts, MIS reports generated instantly for tracking and decision making
b. Better Management of Space – Less Paper = More space, also less people in the waiting room now that reports are given instantly and appointments are better managed.
c. Better Management of Money – Know where you earn and spend by looking ledger reports across income and expenses, keep track of who refers you more patients, generate reports in Excel, and increase footfalls with better customer service.
d. Better Management of Patients – Integrated SMS and Email features allow you to keep the patient informed, provide reports in double quick time, generate and give old reports instantly, know your patient history before they walk-in.
All the above go a long way in increasing tangible and intangible returns on investment made on your clinic.
So now this was at a very macroscopic level, how about some interesting micro examples?
a. You as a doctor recently invested in a smart phone. A good EMR system will help you make your smart phone clinic smart. Now get SMS alerts about appointments, Emails of reports or images generated by your assistants for you to approve. Use the camera to take images of an X Ray or a Paper report and store it with the EMR instantly, no extra typing required.
b. You invested in an Internet connection, now use the power of the Internet to maximize your business. Imagine an EMR system which allows patients to access their records remotely, no more crowding in the clinic, or sends Email Reports to patient from abroad, may be this can be the start of your very own little medical tourism practice.
c. You recently invested time in creating just the perfect form to help you manage patient history and details so you can improve decision making. Now imagine if this form is a toy, inserting it into an EMR will be like animating the toy, huge return I would say if you were a kid . Use the power of the PC to capture data and display it in forms which help you maximize the benefits of the template you created. Smart little things like auto-completes, graphs, history look ups help managing information better.
d. You invest in staff, trusting them is an integral part of the learning curve. Get the most out of them by making them enter information which is safe and secure in to the EMR system, it is tangible effort. Also they get trained faster in your field using forms and information provided in the EMR system. Our EMR system comes with AV help files which help learning fun and easier. More importantly, save money in terms of possible loss due to the inventory and accounting modules in the EMR system that help you track all inflow and outflow preventing pilferage and stealing. Be on top of your clinic management because after all it is a business.
Now for the Radiology Clinic example I promised:
At a radiology clinic, the entire business revolves around the Sonography machine or X-Ray machine and the reporting system (On paper or on the PC). The doctor has invested in his/her place, interiors, assume a PC (using Microsoft word for reporting), Sonography Machine, along with other fixtures. So how can a EMR system help here?
Well, I am just going to outline a few points here:
1. Many clinics lose patients especially if they are small because of over crowdedness, patients waiting their turn and also for their due reports. Using a good EMR system like Ultrasite from Plus91 would allow them to better manage their appointments and create a good streamlined flow of patients. Also faster and quicker report generation using the EMR system means less waiting time for patients. This ensures that patients do not undergo too much waiting.
2. A good machine generates images, but the imaging and reporting using these images is what creates solid productivity. Using a good EMR system allows you to over time improve your ability to know what size images and how many are required for report generation. Also tools allows you to now directly import or attach images into the patient report, hence minimizing time required to separately print them from the machine. This is also further improved since to access the images you do not need to search for the image and the report separately but they are available at a single location in the EMR system. All this helps to improve the efficiency of the process in using the Sonography machine. It also saves time and indirectly money leading to better ROI.
3. Government rules require each and every sonography machine to be registered and the clinic to generate Forms and Reports for all female sonographies done as per the PNDT Act. This can be long and tedious with doctors investing manpower, time and stationery in creating this. Imagine if you could increase your ROI even on a government dictum. Ultrasite EMR system allows you to generate the PNDT Form Fs and the final report as part of the normal patient reporting and billing process. Save time and resources to invest in other work, increasing ROI. Also strictly followed formats as per the Act and Alerts keep you informed and in check with the Act. Also No Stationery is wasted due to overprinting or spoilage.
4. Radiology centers usually invest in staff due to the nature of their clinical process; now maximize the ROI on this investment, as staffs provide better reports, keep appointments, track referrals and accounts upto date in the software. Reports and MIS generated through the software is good ROI, which would never have been possible on paper.
5. ROI on time? I think almost all the points above lead to better efficiency and time management. So now you can invest this wisely in creating other avenues for growth.
6. And I think the biggest no brainer is for the PC. Most radiology clinics have a PC either being unused or being used to burn, print images or make reports using MS Word. I think to really use the power of the PC an EMR system is a must, in fact not using one is under utilizing a vital resource that you have!
As a Doctor you would invest in a place, interiors, chairs and tables, medical equipment, cabinets, maybe some staff, etc. And the clinic is flourishing and doing well. So what more can be done by you; to increase your return on the investment that has been made? Well one option is by using technology effectively. Off course, this might require an additional investment but it is minuscule compared to the items given above. This can especially be closely tied with two aspects of the practice, increasing base through customer satisfaction and improving efficiency and productivity of the clinic leading to time and money savings. How you ask? Well first we can discuss the usual plus points, then some interesting aspects which tie into the process of the clinic and finally a good example at a radiology setup where EMR can improve ROI.
The usual plus points of an EMR system run something like this:
a. Better Management of Time – All reports and data in one location for easy search and recall, easy patient registration process, quick look up and reference of historical information, easy creation of bills and receipts, MIS reports generated instantly for tracking and decision making
b. Better Management of Space – Less Paper = More space, also less people in the waiting room now that reports are given instantly and appointments are better managed.
c. Better Management of Money – Know where you earn and spend by looking ledger reports across income and expenses, keep track of who refers you more patients, generate reports in Excel, and increase footfalls with better customer service.
d. Better Management of Patients – Integrated SMS and Email features allow you to keep the patient informed, provide reports in double quick time, generate and give old reports instantly, know your patient history before they walk-in.
All the above go a long way in increasing tangible and intangible returns on investment made on your clinic.
So now this was at a very macroscopic level, how about some interesting micro examples?
a. You as a doctor recently invested in a smart phone. A good EMR system will help you make your smart phone clinic smart. Now get SMS alerts about appointments, Emails of reports or images generated by your assistants for you to approve. Use the camera to take images of an X Ray or a Paper report and store it with the EMR instantly, no extra typing required.
b. You invested in an Internet connection, now use the power of the Internet to maximize your business. Imagine an EMR system which allows patients to access their records remotely, no more crowding in the clinic, or sends Email Reports to patient from abroad, may be this can be the start of your very own little medical tourism practice.
c. You recently invested time in creating just the perfect form to help you manage patient history and details so you can improve decision making. Now imagine if this form is a toy, inserting it into an EMR will be like animating the toy, huge return I would say if you were a kid . Use the power of the PC to capture data and display it in forms which help you maximize the benefits of the template you created. Smart little things like auto-completes, graphs, history look ups help managing information better.
d. You invest in staff, trusting them is an integral part of the learning curve. Get the most out of them by making them enter information which is safe and secure in to the EMR system, it is tangible effort. Also they get trained faster in your field using forms and information provided in the EMR system. Our EMR system comes with AV help files which help learning fun and easier. More importantly, save money in terms of possible loss due to the inventory and accounting modules in the EMR system that help you track all inflow and outflow preventing pilferage and stealing. Be on top of your clinic management because after all it is a business.
Now for the Radiology Clinic example I promised:
At a radiology clinic, the entire business revolves around the Sonography machine or X-Ray machine and the reporting system (On paper or on the PC). The doctor has invested in his/her place, interiors, assume a PC (using Microsoft word for reporting), Sonography Machine, along with other fixtures. So how can a EMR system help here?
Well, I am just going to outline a few points here:
1. Many clinics lose patients especially if they are small because of over crowdedness, patients waiting their turn and also for their due reports. Using a good EMR system like Ultrasite from Plus91 would allow them to better manage their appointments and create a good streamlined flow of patients. Also faster and quicker report generation using the EMR system means less waiting time for patients. This ensures that patients do not undergo too much waiting.
2. A good machine generates images, but the imaging and reporting using these images is what creates solid productivity. Using a good EMR system allows you to over time improve your ability to know what size images and how many are required for report generation. Also tools allows you to now directly import or attach images into the patient report, hence minimizing time required to separately print them from the machine. This is also further improved since to access the images you do not need to search for the image and the report separately but they are available at a single location in the EMR system. All this helps to improve the efficiency of the process in using the Sonography machine. It also saves time and indirectly money leading to better ROI.
3. Government rules require each and every sonography machine to be registered and the clinic to generate Forms and Reports for all female sonographies done as per the PNDT Act. This can be long and tedious with doctors investing manpower, time and stationery in creating this. Imagine if you could increase your ROI even on a government dictum. Ultrasite EMR system allows you to generate the PNDT Form Fs and the final report as part of the normal patient reporting and billing process. Save time and resources to invest in other work, increasing ROI. Also strictly followed formats as per the Act and Alerts keep you informed and in check with the Act. Also No Stationery is wasted due to overprinting or spoilage.
4. Radiology centers usually invest in staff due to the nature of their clinical process; now maximize the ROI on this investment, as staffs provide better reports, keep appointments, track referrals and accounts upto date in the software. Reports and MIS generated through the software is good ROI, which would never have been possible on paper.
5. ROI on time? I think almost all the points above lead to better efficiency and time management. So now you can invest this wisely in creating other avenues for growth.
6. And I think the biggest no brainer is for the PC. Most radiology clinics have a PC either being unused or being used to burn, print images or make reports using MS Word. I think to really use the power of the PC an EMR system is a must, in fact not using one is under utilizing a vital resource that you have!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Designing Personalized Clinical Templates for the EMR
The working of a clinic can be divided into two parts. The administrative portion deals with the business part of a medical practice, such as accounting, insurance, billing , and inventory management. The scale and complexity will depend on the size of the clinic, and is much simpler for single physician clinics, as compared to group practices, for example. The other part is the clinical aspect , where the data captured is clinical in nature. Reports can be created using both these types of data.
Traditionally, clinics have focused only on the administrative uses of medical software, using primarily the appointment and billing modules to help schedule patients and collect payments. The ability of the computer to improve the clinical care of the patient has never been explored properly in India so far.
Why is it so challenging to develop software which a doctor will find clinically useful ? This is because doctors are not able to write their own software – and most software programmers don’t have enough domain expertise in medicine to be able to understand a doctor’s thought processes or a clinic’s work flow.
How hard can it be to convert the doctor’s paper form into an electronic template? This can be quite a challenge for many reasons ! For one reasons, there is little standardization in clinical record keeping. Each doctor loves to develop and design his own medical forms. Doctors take pride in their clinical skills, and each of them does things in their own idiosyncratic fashion. Trying to provide this kind of customization is very difficult for a programmer, because it means spending a lot of time understanding the doctor’s needs, and then implementing them in the program. Not only is this expensive, it’s also very time consuming, because doctors are often too busy to spare the time needed to sit down with the programmer. Even worse, many doctors are not articulate enough to explain to the programmer exactly what it is they want the program to do. This is because they have often not analyzed their own work flows and clinical thought processes, and are quite hazy about these. While they are good at doing what they do, they often are not analytic enough to be able to describe this in writing. Thus, while they are very good at finding faults with the program, they are often not articulate enough to be able to provide solutions! This often ends up causing a lot of frustration for both doctor and programmer!
This is why we have developed a clever model which provides pre-filled generic templates; and allows the doctor to customize these to suit his own needs, so that he does not need to call on us for making any changes he many need !
A doctor who needs an EMR should understand the following basic rules, so that it’s easy for us to convert his paper forms into electronic templates painlessly.
1. How many forms he uses ( for example, an orthopedic surgeon may have a special form for each joint)
2. Whether this form will need to be modified for followup visits
3. Because electronic templates are much more flexible than paper forms, they can be designed much more cleverly. A good doctor will help the computer programmer to design easy to use templates. Thus, those parts of the form which are used most often should be brought to the top; while those which are not essential can be relegated to the bottom.
4. Electronic forms can be “intelligent”, so make use of this. For example, if the answer to: Swelling Present? is: No, then no further fields related to this question will be displayed. However, if it is Yes, then additional fields requesting more information about the swelling will be shown.
5. Remember your question flow when designing the template. This will help you to get used to it quicker and will allow you to pay attention to your patient even while you are capturing data . A good computer program will follow your process, allowing you to become more productive.
6. Finalize your templates and stop tweaking and modifying them all the time – this just wastes time. Some doctors keep on changing their templates, and I still haven’t been able to install their program for them!
7. Unlike a paper form, which only allows you to enter information in a linear sequential format, electronic forms have lots of clever options, such as drop down menus. Not only do these minimize your writing, they also ensure that you remember to collect all the information you need from the patient!
Plus91 has a whole range of templates, individually designed for each specialty, using inputs from its panel of doctors. Your best option would be to start with this; and then change it, depending upon your personal preferences. Plus91 technology is flexible, and allows you to make these changes for yourself! Of course, we can also do this customization for you, if you’d prefer us doing so.
At Plus91, we focus on improving both your practice management and clinical workflow processes in an integrated manner. This means that all the data collected, whether it be in the administrative section or the clinical templates , is captured in the same seamless workflow, cutting down time and effort.
Traditionally, clinics have focused only on the administrative uses of medical software, using primarily the appointment and billing modules to help schedule patients and collect payments. The ability of the computer to improve the clinical care of the patient has never been explored properly in India so far.
Why is it so challenging to develop software which a doctor will find clinically useful ? This is because doctors are not able to write their own software – and most software programmers don’t have enough domain expertise in medicine to be able to understand a doctor’s thought processes or a clinic’s work flow.
How hard can it be to convert the doctor’s paper form into an electronic template? This can be quite a challenge for many reasons ! For one reasons, there is little standardization in clinical record keeping. Each doctor loves to develop and design his own medical forms. Doctors take pride in their clinical skills, and each of them does things in their own idiosyncratic fashion. Trying to provide this kind of customization is very difficult for a programmer, because it means spending a lot of time understanding the doctor’s needs, and then implementing them in the program. Not only is this expensive, it’s also very time consuming, because doctors are often too busy to spare the time needed to sit down with the programmer. Even worse, many doctors are not articulate enough to explain to the programmer exactly what it is they want the program to do. This is because they have often not analyzed their own work flows and clinical thought processes, and are quite hazy about these. While they are good at doing what they do, they often are not analytic enough to be able to describe this in writing. Thus, while they are very good at finding faults with the program, they are often not articulate enough to be able to provide solutions! This often ends up causing a lot of frustration for both doctor and programmer!
This is why we have developed a clever model which provides pre-filled generic templates; and allows the doctor to customize these to suit his own needs, so that he does not need to call on us for making any changes he many need !
A doctor who needs an EMR should understand the following basic rules, so that it’s easy for us to convert his paper forms into electronic templates painlessly.
1. How many forms he uses ( for example, an orthopedic surgeon may have a special form for each joint)
2. Whether this form will need to be modified for followup visits
3. Because electronic templates are much more flexible than paper forms, they can be designed much more cleverly. A good doctor will help the computer programmer to design easy to use templates. Thus, those parts of the form which are used most often should be brought to the top; while those which are not essential can be relegated to the bottom.
4. Electronic forms can be “intelligent”, so make use of this. For example, if the answer to: Swelling Present? is: No, then no further fields related to this question will be displayed. However, if it is Yes, then additional fields requesting more information about the swelling will be shown.
5. Remember your question flow when designing the template. This will help you to get used to it quicker and will allow you to pay attention to your patient even while you are capturing data . A good computer program will follow your process, allowing you to become more productive.
6. Finalize your templates and stop tweaking and modifying them all the time – this just wastes time. Some doctors keep on changing their templates, and I still haven’t been able to install their program for them!
7. Unlike a paper form, which only allows you to enter information in a linear sequential format, electronic forms have lots of clever options, such as drop down menus. Not only do these minimize your writing, they also ensure that you remember to collect all the information you need from the patient!
Plus91 has a whole range of templates, individually designed for each specialty, using inputs from its panel of doctors. Your best option would be to start with this; and then change it, depending upon your personal preferences. Plus91 technology is flexible, and allows you to make these changes for yourself! Of course, we can also do this customization for you, if you’d prefer us doing so.
At Plus91, we focus on improving both your practice management and clinical workflow processes in an integrated manner. This means that all the data collected, whether it be in the administrative section or the clinical templates , is captured in the same seamless workflow, cutting down time and effort.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Getting IT Savvy - A mental block for the Indian Doctor
The sheer number of times that I have had to actually think about refusing a client because he or she is just too uptight about makes me wonder whether doctor's are all that worried about quality.
I think a there was a wide schism between requirement and delivery in a lot of earlier versions of medical softwares in India leading to a fear amongst doctors about being taken for a ride when purchasing a new IT product. But there is a limit to which this excuse can be used to bargain or actually make a decision.
Any doctor wanting to make his clinic or hospital IT savvy needs to get the right solution other wise it is going to be a dead investment, and there is no salvaging either the product or the doctor's interest in taking a dig at it again. So, why despite this big threat do doctor's tend to bargain like they live hand to mouth when it comes to IT products. This is a very different trend from the big hospitals, who may bargain and call tenders but they never are penny wise pound foolish.
So why this trend? I think it stems from a few reasons:
a. There are no standard suppliers market for these products in the retails segment (read clinics, medical centers, small hospitals) hence there is no real price benchmark.
b. Making a software is a simple enough affair hence you get a lot of 2-bit players, pharma company sponsored softwares, a relative who is an engineer or a local company which makes a HIS system among its entire range, so there are cheap alternatives there, much like a cheap imitation watch market.
c. Today as we make a transition from the old to the new, software hasn't yet become a need for the older generation, so they tend to take it with a pinch of salt, usually with the least hit to their pocket.
d. Doctors have this fascination with getting things cheaper, as a favour or free, it stems from their being an extremely proud lot and from them being mollycoddled by pharma companies since ages.
So what has been the effect of this?
Doctors arguing with me over 2000-3000 rs when they have practices in crores. Doctors taking shortcuts in their software cutting out essential modules because they may save a buck or two. I think sometimes i shudder to think whether this same lot makes its non - IT healthcare and patient centric decisions in this way!
Just yesterday I sent a strongly worded email to a doctor requesting for a software for her hospital. She suggested I should install a much cheaper clinic management tool to manage her multi-doctor multi-department OPD center. I wrote back mentioning the fallacy in doing this, of the sheer waste of time it will be for her and us in getting this off the ground. All because the doctor of a successful hospital would like to save some (a very tiny bit) money!
I think a there was a wide schism between requirement and delivery in a lot of earlier versions of medical softwares in India leading to a fear amongst doctors about being taken for a ride when purchasing a new IT product. But there is a limit to which this excuse can be used to bargain or actually make a decision.
Any doctor wanting to make his clinic or hospital IT savvy needs to get the right solution other wise it is going to be a dead investment, and there is no salvaging either the product or the doctor's interest in taking a dig at it again. So, why despite this big threat do doctor's tend to bargain like they live hand to mouth when it comes to IT products. This is a very different trend from the big hospitals, who may bargain and call tenders but they never are penny wise pound foolish.
So why this trend? I think it stems from a few reasons:
a. There are no standard suppliers market for these products in the retails segment (read clinics, medical centers, small hospitals) hence there is no real price benchmark.
b. Making a software is a simple enough affair hence you get a lot of 2-bit players, pharma company sponsored softwares, a relative who is an engineer or a local company which makes a HIS system among its entire range, so there are cheap alternatives there, much like a cheap imitation watch market.
c. Today as we make a transition from the old to the new, software hasn't yet become a need for the older generation, so they tend to take it with a pinch of salt, usually with the least hit to their pocket.
d. Doctors have this fascination with getting things cheaper, as a favour or free, it stems from their being an extremely proud lot and from them being mollycoddled by pharma companies since ages.
So what has been the effect of this?
Doctors arguing with me over 2000-3000 rs when they have practices in crores. Doctors taking shortcuts in their software cutting out essential modules because they may save a buck or two. I think sometimes i shudder to think whether this same lot makes its non - IT healthcare and patient centric decisions in this way!
Just yesterday I sent a strongly worded email to a doctor requesting for a software for her hospital. She suggested I should install a much cheaper clinic management tool to manage her multi-doctor multi-department OPD center. I wrote back mentioning the fallacy in doing this, of the sheer waste of time it will be for her and us in getting this off the ground. All because the doctor of a successful hospital would like to save some (a very tiny bit) money!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
10 reasons to get a PC for your clinic or practice
A computer is standard machinery in most offices today. Invariably some of the better run businesses boast a computer setup. A medical practice is like any other business with a few special characteristics, the most notable ones being: it’s a very personal service being provided and knowledge of this complex service is exclusively with a special few who “operate” the service so to speak. So how does something so impersonal and mundane like a PC find a place in this business? Well we have 10 good reasons why it should find a place in your practice.
1. Medico-Legal Protection
The government makes it mandatory for Doctors to maintain medical records for indoor patients’ period of 3 years. Similarly new bills are being introduced almost each day to ascertain the type and duration of medical record storage. Article 1.3.1 of the Indian Medical Council Regulations actually states “Efforts shall be made to computerize medical records for quick retrieval”.
The data in the electronic format is more secure from theft, destruction and loss if the right precautions are taken. Medical records and accounting information is much more stable and well formatted in electronic form. Hence it is advisable to start moving your data onto the PC. It may just protect you from a legal wrangle sometime down the future.
2. Data Security
As mentioned above data is more secure in electronic formats if the correct precautions are taken. It can be easily backed up in secure locations and also electronic formats present today are a lot sturdier than paper!
Medical records, accounting information, medical notes are valuable information for you, your practice and the clinic. It is a pretty simple choice in moving your data into electronic format; in fact a lot of my clients at Plus91 scan and store their old forms and records in our softwares so that they are secure.
A PC gives you an added resource to be secure about the information you generate and posses at your clinic. Even presentations, lectures and medical notes are better off on a PC.
3. Easy Access to Data
Imagine a patient walks in without her case paper, what do you do? Search your paper records for a copy; that is if you even have one! I know doctors who throw a fit when this happens, but I guess a patient cannot be blamed. What about the times when important decisions need data from old visits or external test reports. Don’t you wish you had them at your finger tips?
A computer in your practice gives you the opportunity to achieve this nirvana. With the right tools and a little training you can have medical records, patient history and even access to online resources to help to make better and quicker decisions.
4. Customer Service
A computer allows you to improve customer service in a multitude of ways. From being able to take and manage appointments more efficiently to generating reports and records quicker, a computer helps you improve the clinic’s interaction with the patient.
Patients often come asking for old records, medical certificates, or with a query which you are not familiar with. In all these cases a computer would help you solve his queries and problems faster. How? Medical record - > search and print, medical certificate -> enter patient information in pre-filled format and print, query -> search for information online or a PC resource to make better decisions or find a relevant doctor to refer to quickly on the internet. Now a days with newer technology better customer service can be provided via SMS and email alerts, online patient interaction, easy record transfers, online appointment etc.
5. Communication
A PC is a very effective communication tool. Right from helping you generate notes and records which communicate medical information to tools on the Internet to let you communicate in general. A PC is a friend when you are in need. Every query will have an answer of some sort on the Internet.
It also allows you to communicate with your peers and post your insights for other to read. Medicine, more than any other domain requires you to be in touch with the latest developments. Books like MIMs are slow to communicate and limited in their effectiveness. Every nation which threatens peace is the one who shuts itself from the world. Communicate because it helps you treat patients better. A PC is the biggest leap you can make in this direction besides getting a cell phone.
6. Save Space!
All those paper records, excess staff required to manage your clinic, overcrowding due to mismanagement of appointments can be avoided by getting a PC. How? Digitizing your patient records help you get rid of them. Make your office paperless, it leaves a wonderful impression on your patients.
Use appointment schedulers to manage inflow of patients. More importantly, an efficient software solution will help you run your clinic or hospital on lesser number of staff. So, yes save space by getting a PC.
7. Generate useful information
Every service or product is improved through feedback, study and statistics. Why should your clinic or your ability to treat patients be any different? A PC helps you capture this information in a logical and effective manner. More importantly it helps you use this information in a more practical manner.
Know how long your patients have to wait, find out what drugs you prescribe more and their actual feedback, find out which patients or procedures help you generate maximum business. And do this within your normal working process. The PC not only helps you capture these, but helps you by giving a systematic and readable output which you can use. A PC provides you with effective tools to help increase productivity and efficiency. In fact many doctors use data gathered to publish studies and write papers!
8. Avoid loss and pilferage
A PC helps you manage your inventory. Using simple office tools or special softwares you can track the status of your disposables items, drugs and other inventory. Many times staff and other stakeholders might steal or take away inventory. Having an ordered system prevents misuse and makes one think twice of taking advantage.
Today, software solutions allow you to auto debit items via bills and also generate reports for per item of usage. A PC is a definite step towards preventing loss and pilferage in the clinic
9. Smoothen Operations
A PC will increase productivity of staff and give them something to work on, even during the lean periods. Also the excitement that comes with using a organized system is something which cannot be discounted. A PC helps smoothen overall operation in your clinic.
Data will be available freely, generate records and reports instantly, cut down on manual repetitive work. Add a new dimension to the work you and your staff do each day.
10. Contribute
A PC allows you or gives you the opportunity to contribute to the medical and knowledge domain. Through emails, blogs, articles you may write which would have gone unwritten, or data you use to support new findings, the PC allows you to contribute like never before.
Contribute to your patient by improving service and efficiency through the use of a computer in your practice. Contribute to your own growth by doing something new today, by buying a PC for your clinic and using it to do the things you only wanted to do but never could.
Finally, clinic and hospitals have been running over the years with or without a computer. A computer may not be a panacea to all your problems or a life changing event in itself. What is does do, is give you an opportunity to be able to do all the above things. All via a single window solution that is your computer screen.
1. Medico-Legal Protection
The government makes it mandatory for Doctors to maintain medical records for indoor patients’ period of 3 years. Similarly new bills are being introduced almost each day to ascertain the type and duration of medical record storage. Article 1.3.1 of the Indian Medical Council Regulations actually states “Efforts shall be made to computerize medical records for quick retrieval”.
The data in the electronic format is more secure from theft, destruction and loss if the right precautions are taken. Medical records and accounting information is much more stable and well formatted in electronic form. Hence it is advisable to start moving your data onto the PC. It may just protect you from a legal wrangle sometime down the future.
2. Data Security
As mentioned above data is more secure in electronic formats if the correct precautions are taken. It can be easily backed up in secure locations and also electronic formats present today are a lot sturdier than paper!
Medical records, accounting information, medical notes are valuable information for you, your practice and the clinic. It is a pretty simple choice in moving your data into electronic format; in fact a lot of my clients at Plus91 scan and store their old forms and records in our softwares so that they are secure.
A PC gives you an added resource to be secure about the information you generate and posses at your clinic. Even presentations, lectures and medical notes are better off on a PC.
3. Easy Access to Data
Imagine a patient walks in without her case paper, what do you do? Search your paper records for a copy; that is if you even have one! I know doctors who throw a fit when this happens, but I guess a patient cannot be blamed. What about the times when important decisions need data from old visits or external test reports. Don’t you wish you had them at your finger tips?
A computer in your practice gives you the opportunity to achieve this nirvana. With the right tools and a little training you can have medical records, patient history and even access to online resources to help to make better and quicker decisions.
4. Customer Service
A computer allows you to improve customer service in a multitude of ways. From being able to take and manage appointments more efficiently to generating reports and records quicker, a computer helps you improve the clinic’s interaction with the patient.
Patients often come asking for old records, medical certificates, or with a query which you are not familiar with. In all these cases a computer would help you solve his queries and problems faster. How? Medical record - > search and print, medical certificate -> enter patient information in pre-filled format and print, query -> search for information online or a PC resource to make better decisions or find a relevant doctor to refer to quickly on the internet. Now a days with newer technology better customer service can be provided via SMS and email alerts, online patient interaction, easy record transfers, online appointment etc.
5. Communication
A PC is a very effective communication tool. Right from helping you generate notes and records which communicate medical information to tools on the Internet to let you communicate in general. A PC is a friend when you are in need. Every query will have an answer of some sort on the Internet.
It also allows you to communicate with your peers and post your insights for other to read. Medicine, more than any other domain requires you to be in touch with the latest developments. Books like MIMs are slow to communicate and limited in their effectiveness. Every nation which threatens peace is the one who shuts itself from the world. Communicate because it helps you treat patients better. A PC is the biggest leap you can make in this direction besides getting a cell phone.
6. Save Space!
All those paper records, excess staff required to manage your clinic, overcrowding due to mismanagement of appointments can be avoided by getting a PC. How? Digitizing your patient records help you get rid of them. Make your office paperless, it leaves a wonderful impression on your patients.
Use appointment schedulers to manage inflow of patients. More importantly, an efficient software solution will help you run your clinic or hospital on lesser number of staff. So, yes save space by getting a PC.
7. Generate useful information
Every service or product is improved through feedback, study and statistics. Why should your clinic or your ability to treat patients be any different? A PC helps you capture this information in a logical and effective manner. More importantly it helps you use this information in a more practical manner.
Know how long your patients have to wait, find out what drugs you prescribe more and their actual feedback, find out which patients or procedures help you generate maximum business. And do this within your normal working process. The PC not only helps you capture these, but helps you by giving a systematic and readable output which you can use. A PC provides you with effective tools to help increase productivity and efficiency. In fact many doctors use data gathered to publish studies and write papers!
8. Avoid loss and pilferage
A PC helps you manage your inventory. Using simple office tools or special softwares you can track the status of your disposables items, drugs and other inventory. Many times staff and other stakeholders might steal or take away inventory. Having an ordered system prevents misuse and makes one think twice of taking advantage.
Today, software solutions allow you to auto debit items via bills and also generate reports for per item of usage. A PC is a definite step towards preventing loss and pilferage in the clinic
9. Smoothen Operations
A PC will increase productivity of staff and give them something to work on, even during the lean periods. Also the excitement that comes with using a organized system is something which cannot be discounted. A PC helps smoothen overall operation in your clinic.
Data will be available freely, generate records and reports instantly, cut down on manual repetitive work. Add a new dimension to the work you and your staff do each day.
10. Contribute
A PC allows you or gives you the opportunity to contribute to the medical and knowledge domain. Through emails, blogs, articles you may write which would have gone unwritten, or data you use to support new findings, the PC allows you to contribute like never before.
Contribute to your patient by improving service and efficiency through the use of a computer in your practice. Contribute to your own growth by doing something new today, by buying a PC for your clinic and using it to do the things you only wanted to do but never could.
Finally, clinic and hospitals have been running over the years with or without a computer. A computer may not be a panacea to all your problems or a life changing event in itself. What is does do, is give you an opportunity to be able to do all the above things. All via a single window solution that is your computer screen.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Top 10 mistakes that’s Doctors’ make in buying medical software in India
Choosing software to run a medical practice has never been easy. Earlier it was due to lack of choices, today it is due to profundity of choices but with too much variability. Doctors are a very unique proposition, few things to keep in mind are:
a. To treat a patient and be confident that your decision is right requires tremendous self confidence. Hence doctors have a strong ego. This isn’t argument whether it’s good or bad, simply put if they didn’t medicine would be a farce.
b. They have a tremendous thirst to learn. Years of med school train you to pick up knowledge and most doctors interested in buying software will have some knowledge. As we have often heard, little knowledge is a dangerous thing, especially for those who happen to make software.
c. Doctors are pressed for time and efficiency, at least most are, hence their decisions are based on the fact that “anything that does not gel with me is going to hamper me”.
Doctors who wish to enhance their practice and provide better care and service to their clients by using technology are on the right track. But keeping the above points in mind they aren’t always going about it the right way. Indian doctors especially tend to lose their way in this nascent market. Some of the important mistakes are highlighted below:
1. Over shooting the requirement:
Some doctors tend to want their softwares to do everything, even pay their taxes (Just joking). Sometimes putting too many things in your software tends to delay its deployment, make it complicated to use and once in a while not taking a software altogether because you can’t find one that does. This is also applicable in smaller doses. For e.g. wanting the entire drug database of 15000 drugs in your software! Now you know you will never use even 1/100th of those. There are enough online resources to give you details when you do require some information. Why then load your software and make it slow by cramming it with stuff you will never use. Rather have a small efficient intelligent database which you can grow over time. That’s what we recommend at Plus91. We even have come across instances of clients giving us 300 page documents of what they want, safe to say half way through they walked into science fiction novel. Stick to the basics, your aim is to improve your practice not solve the world healthcare crises.
2. Acting like a bania:
Investment reaps rich rewards. It’s a simple fact of life. Why then try to needle your way to the cheapest bet. Negotiating is great, but actually choosing quality, support and peace of mind over a few rupees really takes the cake. Sad to say this mentality is very prevalent in the healthcare market space. This is mostly due to its nascent nature where the true value of the product “practice management software” is not bench marked. Simple, unsupported softwares made by the local software engineer are dime a dozen in this IT intensive economy. But in the long run it makes more sense to invest a little more in good software and from a company focusing on the healthcare space. Your domain is intense and deserves respect, someone who doesn’t spend time understanding that cannot make a good product. That is why, people who did buy good softwares bought from vendors which were start buy doctors, because they did have the right idea. Bottomline stop acting like a bania in choosing a package. Every doctor I know earns enough to invest in a good package which will enhance his or her practice. Keeping this simple fact in mind, it’s a mistake that Doctor’s chose quality over quantity, especially if the price difference is barely anything. Chose your vendor carefully, you want them to be partners for life. (For that they should make enough to profit )
3. Thinking someone else knows your business:
A lot of doctors tend to put their trust in what their software vendor is doing for them. If a custom built package is being made, unless you provide the vendor with adequate knowledge on your processes, templates and need, the project will never come out the way it was planned. I know doctors who would give a brief outline of what they want and leave it that. Now the vendor is left scratching his head of what really is required and then when he comes out with a best case scenario, the two never meet or even come close. Always be involved in a project for a custom built solution. Do not boss over proceeding but provide all the information required personally. More importantly take updates from time to time. Many times softwares have been reworked and projects delayed because after delivery the doctor realized this was not what he/she wanted. It is a mistake to leave your customizations in someone else’s hands especially in experienced person in the field of healthcare.
4. Digressing from your need:
Keep in mind what will help your practice. See if the product or project satisfies your pain points and gives you enough bragging rights with your clients. That is your primary aim, get your software and run it with these aims in mind. Anything done beyond this should come later. For example, we have clients requesting for Tally integration in their software. Now, this is a great idea and we at Plus91 are working on it and confident about delivering it. But actually delaying an order or cancelling an order based on this feature is unjustified. Your clinic or hospital has a need to manage accounts; if the software caters to that it is enough to allow you to move on to other nuances of deciding on the package. Many times the process of buying the software has gone astray due to discussions and plans built around these noncore needs. It is a mistake to want your software to do too many things first off, get what is essential at the least and start from there.
5. Waiting for something better:
Doctors tend to become fearful of the time they will spend on the software learning it or using it, that they keep waiting for something better to come along. Unless you don’t jump in the water you aren’t going to learn how to swim is simple adage which applies here. Some of the best run private hospitals I know with roaring practices are early adopters to technology. Today they might still be using legacy systems but they are better run then non IT friendly setups. Softwares will evolve over time, it’s time to stop delaying and waiting for something better, because each day we at Plus91 are coming up with something cooler. We don’t aim to give it to you cheap unless you already own our software. It is a mistake to wait when you can always upgrade! Make use of the inherent advantages of the software industry.
6. Thinking your staff shares your vision:
Many good doctors buy the perfect software and then find that it seems to have not helped at all. Sometimes they blame the software, sometimes they just ignore it and never buy or upgrade again. Most doctors fail to understand that their staff is one of the key stake holders in this process. Unless the staff uses the software and maintains discipline in using the package, it is bound to fail. The software may be the best in the world and solve all your issues, but unless the staff wishes it to be used, it isn’t living upto its potential. Doctors need to be firm and ingrain their vision for the software in their staff. Take to task issues in the early days of adoption of people failing to comply with requirements. It is a mistake to assume that software will be easily adopted by support staff, nurses and fellow doctors.
7. Not nurturing innovation:
Today Indian healthcare IT is a nascent stage. The biggest stake holders in this industry today are the doctors. It is important for them to nurture innovation. Sometimes it is valuable to take a risk or allow a software company to go that extra mile in providing a feature which will change the process flow of your clinic. Using the software in the same stagnant way can lead to a deadlock at this early stage. Doctors who deny or outcast software products which provide extra features or new age ideas because they do not comply with their understanding of what software must do make a mistake in closing the door on innovation. A potential client who asks me to block some modules to save money because they won’t use them is basically closing his own mind to the potential of some new processes improving his business. Do not use it if it isn’t your primary aim, but never close the door, because one day you may realize its potential. Even when clients do not ask for the SMS or Email Plug-in we still leave it on the User Interface, because just seeing that button there will make them realize of all the times they wish it was active and could send out a report or reading instantly.
8. Under estimating your need:
There is also such a thing as going for too less. Your clinic needs software to manage accounts, inventory, reporting, patient profiles and referrals. Why then are you buying some small accounting software which is used in a shop? Here the doctor, either due to lack of knowledge of the products available or to save some money is buying a package which does not really fulfill all his needs. Many a times this leads to him being unsure whether becoming IT savvy was helpful in the first place. It’s a mistake to tackle each item in your requirement list with a separate package.
9. Delaying Decisions:
The single biggest mistake a doctor makes in buying software is when he delays his decisions. Whether it is buying the package or providing requirements or taking delivery. What are the outcomes of the delay? A disenchanted vendor, a even more confused buyer (the doctor now whose thinking even more), a anxious staff and finally a client base who haven’t got the satisfaction of being surprised with a better and more efficient clinic. Situations may have shades of gray but decision should be black or white. Stick by the above saying in making decisions for your software. Making too many changes back and forth in a tried and tested product brings about instabilities which may manifest on-going live. In the healthcare business which deals in lives this is not a good scenario to happen.
10. Disregarding the hardware:
Hardware always compliments your software. As much as the software vendor may try to make his solution lithe (Plus91 products can run on any windows and unix system, starting from 256 mb ram, or even an amd netbook processor) to get best results, have good adequate hardware. Do not be afraid to upgrade, or connect on LAN to help enhance the productivity of the medical software. It is a mistake to invest in new socks without the shoes to nestle them in. Buy good and complying hardware which will help you maximize the benefits of the software that runs on it.
a. To treat a patient and be confident that your decision is right requires tremendous self confidence. Hence doctors have a strong ego. This isn’t argument whether it’s good or bad, simply put if they didn’t medicine would be a farce.
b. They have a tremendous thirst to learn. Years of med school train you to pick up knowledge and most doctors interested in buying software will have some knowledge. As we have often heard, little knowledge is a dangerous thing, especially for those who happen to make software.
c. Doctors are pressed for time and efficiency, at least most are, hence their decisions are based on the fact that “anything that does not gel with me is going to hamper me”.
Doctors who wish to enhance their practice and provide better care and service to their clients by using technology are on the right track. But keeping the above points in mind they aren’t always going about it the right way. Indian doctors especially tend to lose their way in this nascent market. Some of the important mistakes are highlighted below:
1. Over shooting the requirement:
Some doctors tend to want their softwares to do everything, even pay their taxes (Just joking). Sometimes putting too many things in your software tends to delay its deployment, make it complicated to use and once in a while not taking a software altogether because you can’t find one that does. This is also applicable in smaller doses. For e.g. wanting the entire drug database of 15000 drugs in your software! Now you know you will never use even 1/100th of those. There are enough online resources to give you details when you do require some information. Why then load your software and make it slow by cramming it with stuff you will never use. Rather have a small efficient intelligent database which you can grow over time. That’s what we recommend at Plus91. We even have come across instances of clients giving us 300 page documents of what they want, safe to say half way through they walked into science fiction novel. Stick to the basics, your aim is to improve your practice not solve the world healthcare crises.
2. Acting like a bania:
Investment reaps rich rewards. It’s a simple fact of life. Why then try to needle your way to the cheapest bet. Negotiating is great, but actually choosing quality, support and peace of mind over a few rupees really takes the cake. Sad to say this mentality is very prevalent in the healthcare market space. This is mostly due to its nascent nature where the true value of the product “practice management software” is not bench marked. Simple, unsupported softwares made by the local software engineer are dime a dozen in this IT intensive economy. But in the long run it makes more sense to invest a little more in good software and from a company focusing on the healthcare space. Your domain is intense and deserves respect, someone who doesn’t spend time understanding that cannot make a good product. That is why, people who did buy good softwares bought from vendors which were start buy doctors, because they did have the right idea. Bottomline stop acting like a bania in choosing a package. Every doctor I know earns enough to invest in a good package which will enhance his or her practice. Keeping this simple fact in mind, it’s a mistake that Doctor’s chose quality over quantity, especially if the price difference is barely anything. Chose your vendor carefully, you want them to be partners for life. (For that they should make enough to profit )
3. Thinking someone else knows your business:
A lot of doctors tend to put their trust in what their software vendor is doing for them. If a custom built package is being made, unless you provide the vendor with adequate knowledge on your processes, templates and need, the project will never come out the way it was planned. I know doctors who would give a brief outline of what they want and leave it that. Now the vendor is left scratching his head of what really is required and then when he comes out with a best case scenario, the two never meet or even come close. Always be involved in a project for a custom built solution. Do not boss over proceeding but provide all the information required personally. More importantly take updates from time to time. Many times softwares have been reworked and projects delayed because after delivery the doctor realized this was not what he/she wanted. It is a mistake to leave your customizations in someone else’s hands especially in experienced person in the field of healthcare.
4. Digressing from your need:
Keep in mind what will help your practice. See if the product or project satisfies your pain points and gives you enough bragging rights with your clients. That is your primary aim, get your software and run it with these aims in mind. Anything done beyond this should come later. For example, we have clients requesting for Tally integration in their software. Now, this is a great idea and we at Plus91 are working on it and confident about delivering it. But actually delaying an order or cancelling an order based on this feature is unjustified. Your clinic or hospital has a need to manage accounts; if the software caters to that it is enough to allow you to move on to other nuances of deciding on the package. Many times the process of buying the software has gone astray due to discussions and plans built around these noncore needs. It is a mistake to want your software to do too many things first off, get what is essential at the least and start from there.
5. Waiting for something better:
Doctors tend to become fearful of the time they will spend on the software learning it or using it, that they keep waiting for something better to come along. Unless you don’t jump in the water you aren’t going to learn how to swim is simple adage which applies here. Some of the best run private hospitals I know with roaring practices are early adopters to technology. Today they might still be using legacy systems but they are better run then non IT friendly setups. Softwares will evolve over time, it’s time to stop delaying and waiting for something better, because each day we at Plus91 are coming up with something cooler. We don’t aim to give it to you cheap unless you already own our software. It is a mistake to wait when you can always upgrade! Make use of the inherent advantages of the software industry.
6. Thinking your staff shares your vision:
Many good doctors buy the perfect software and then find that it seems to have not helped at all. Sometimes they blame the software, sometimes they just ignore it and never buy or upgrade again. Most doctors fail to understand that their staff is one of the key stake holders in this process. Unless the staff uses the software and maintains discipline in using the package, it is bound to fail. The software may be the best in the world and solve all your issues, but unless the staff wishes it to be used, it isn’t living upto its potential. Doctors need to be firm and ingrain their vision for the software in their staff. Take to task issues in the early days of adoption of people failing to comply with requirements. It is a mistake to assume that software will be easily adopted by support staff, nurses and fellow doctors.
7. Not nurturing innovation:
Today Indian healthcare IT is a nascent stage. The biggest stake holders in this industry today are the doctors. It is important for them to nurture innovation. Sometimes it is valuable to take a risk or allow a software company to go that extra mile in providing a feature which will change the process flow of your clinic. Using the software in the same stagnant way can lead to a deadlock at this early stage. Doctors who deny or outcast software products which provide extra features or new age ideas because they do not comply with their understanding of what software must do make a mistake in closing the door on innovation. A potential client who asks me to block some modules to save money because they won’t use them is basically closing his own mind to the potential of some new processes improving his business. Do not use it if it isn’t your primary aim, but never close the door, because one day you may realize its potential. Even when clients do not ask for the SMS or Email Plug-in we still leave it on the User Interface, because just seeing that button there will make them realize of all the times they wish it was active and could send out a report or reading instantly.
8. Under estimating your need:
There is also such a thing as going for too less. Your clinic needs software to manage accounts, inventory, reporting, patient profiles and referrals. Why then are you buying some small accounting software which is used in a shop? Here the doctor, either due to lack of knowledge of the products available or to save some money is buying a package which does not really fulfill all his needs. Many a times this leads to him being unsure whether becoming IT savvy was helpful in the first place. It’s a mistake to tackle each item in your requirement list with a separate package.
9. Delaying Decisions:
The single biggest mistake a doctor makes in buying software is when he delays his decisions. Whether it is buying the package or providing requirements or taking delivery. What are the outcomes of the delay? A disenchanted vendor, a even more confused buyer (the doctor now whose thinking even more), a anxious staff and finally a client base who haven’t got the satisfaction of being surprised with a better and more efficient clinic. Situations may have shades of gray but decision should be black or white. Stick by the above saying in making decisions for your software. Making too many changes back and forth in a tried and tested product brings about instabilities which may manifest on-going live. In the healthcare business which deals in lives this is not a good scenario to happen.
10. Disregarding the hardware:
Hardware always compliments your software. As much as the software vendor may try to make his solution lithe (Plus91 products can run on any windows and unix system, starting from 256 mb ram, or even an amd netbook processor) to get best results, have good adequate hardware. Do not be afraid to upgrade, or connect on LAN to help enhance the productivity of the medical software. It is a mistake to invest in new socks without the shoes to nestle them in. Buy good and complying hardware which will help you maximize the benefits of the software that runs on it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Plus91: Making the little things in IT work for your Medical Practice
Softwares in the medical domain are undergoing a tremendous change. Even in India we see some interesting features, services and products built around the technology and scope of what IT can do today (Online consultations, Health Data cards etc). Here at Plus91 we too, think out of the box or sometimes in a very tiny box and design our products to maximize user satisfaction and increase productivity. These small ideas may not seem a lot, but they do make things easier. So it's important to make the little things in IT work for you.
So what are the common doctor complaints about Medical softwares? The most common one I have heard is not being flexible enough to allow me to add data as I want to. Now changing something for each doctor is a cost burden hence most companies do not get into it. But what if I make the software such that making a change doesn't become burdensome. And going further if I can give this tool to you, the doctor. I think it would convince a lot of skeptic doctors to re-think about softwares. Plus91 us aiming to achieve exactly that. Already template modification is a matter of minutes.
The next thing I hear often is cumbersome interfaces and a lot of typing kills the patient interaction and joy of using a software. Today technology offers a lot of opportunity to make life easier. Increasingly we are using little innovations like Auto-Complete options, Intelligent and Self Additive drop-downs and roll over expansion lists to make the interface simpler to look at and easier to use. If one does not provide these neat little tricks on your screen then you may be losing valuable time in entering your data.
Portability is major concern for the doctor, this along with security really makes one re-consider whether investing in a software is safe. Paper at the end can be easily transported and also xeroxed and stored. So what about your data. Plus91 offers unique solutions in Data Storage, online back-up and finally a external hard disk based auto sync system which backs up not just your medical software data but your entire hard drive. We also provide give you an opportunity to share your data via the Internet with your patients through an Online EMR facility. Emailing the report is now a one click process right from the software screen. Lastly we also provide on request our entire package on single pen drives. This is a real source of joy to the traveling physician, now just plug, play and use the package at any clinic or hospital you are at!
Sometimes Doctors need information at their fingertips. It is vital then to be able to traverse through their system within seconds to locate some data. This can now be done with ease using simple interfaces which allow you to open a commonly used page from any screen. Generally a direct link to open a page from where you can access information helps, no need now to remember numerous short cut keys or multiple click processes. Plus91 uses neat dashboards which allow you to access almost any page in the software instantly.
Now what about information from the Internet. Most of us have used RSS feeds sometime in life. So how does it help to be able to use this technology on your software. Imagine a day when you can get alerts on holidays, latest in medications, and other information right in your software to help you make decisions better. Plus91 provides some cool interactive technology which allows information to be transmitted into the software, may it be emails or alerts, for you to access and view on your dashboards.
Imagine you buy a software, what is the one big worry you have when you do! How long will me and my staff take to master the package. Will it delay my patients interests. Now using simple AV help files and a very simple interface with nice big buttons which tell you exactly where your going the time required to master a Plus91 product is considerably less than any other as complex product in the market. Because IT has enabled us to design visually educative graphics which make your job of learning to use the software quick and comfortable.
Lastly, something as easy as auto-remember and spell check is an added advantage which any software should possess. Its not the easiest thing to integrate into a package. As a medical practitioner it saves you considerable time to click on the old entry or know a spelling mistake when you type quickly. So instead of breaking our heads over integrating it we made our softwares run in Mozilla Firefox which provides these features and helps both of us save time.
So what are the common doctor complaints about Medical softwares? The most common one I have heard is not being flexible enough to allow me to add data as I want to. Now changing something for each doctor is a cost burden hence most companies do not get into it. But what if I make the software such that making a change doesn't become burdensome. And going further if I can give this tool to you, the doctor. I think it would convince a lot of skeptic doctors to re-think about softwares. Plus91 us aiming to achieve exactly that. Already template modification is a matter of minutes.
The next thing I hear often is cumbersome interfaces and a lot of typing kills the patient interaction and joy of using a software. Today technology offers a lot of opportunity to make life easier. Increasingly we are using little innovations like Auto-Complete options, Intelligent and Self Additive drop-downs and roll over expansion lists to make the interface simpler to look at and easier to use. If one does not provide these neat little tricks on your screen then you may be losing valuable time in entering your data.
Portability is major concern for the doctor, this along with security really makes one re-consider whether investing in a software is safe. Paper at the end can be easily transported and also xeroxed and stored. So what about your data. Plus91 offers unique solutions in Data Storage, online back-up and finally a external hard disk based auto sync system which backs up not just your medical software data but your entire hard drive. We also provide give you an opportunity to share your data via the Internet with your patients through an Online EMR facility. Emailing the report is now a one click process right from the software screen. Lastly we also provide on request our entire package on single pen drives. This is a real source of joy to the traveling physician, now just plug, play and use the package at any clinic or hospital you are at!
Sometimes Doctors need information at their fingertips. It is vital then to be able to traverse through their system within seconds to locate some data. This can now be done with ease using simple interfaces which allow you to open a commonly used page from any screen. Generally a direct link to open a page from where you can access information helps, no need now to remember numerous short cut keys or multiple click processes. Plus91 uses neat dashboards which allow you to access almost any page in the software instantly.
Now what about information from the Internet. Most of us have used RSS feeds sometime in life. So how does it help to be able to use this technology on your software. Imagine a day when you can get alerts on holidays, latest in medications, and other information right in your software to help you make decisions better. Plus91 provides some cool interactive technology which allows information to be transmitted into the software, may it be emails or alerts, for you to access and view on your dashboards.
Imagine you buy a software, what is the one big worry you have when you do! How long will me and my staff take to master the package. Will it delay my patients interests. Now using simple AV help files and a very simple interface with nice big buttons which tell you exactly where your going the time required to master a Plus91 product is considerably less than any other as complex product in the market. Because IT has enabled us to design visually educative graphics which make your job of learning to use the software quick and comfortable.
Lastly, something as easy as auto-remember and spell check is an added advantage which any software should possess. Its not the easiest thing to integrate into a package. As a medical practitioner it saves you considerable time to click on the old entry or know a spelling mistake when you type quickly. So instead of breaking our heads over integrating it we made our softwares run in Mozilla Firefox which provides these features and helps both of us save time.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
10 Reasons for Doctors to be IT friendly and go paperless (well almost)
Healthcare is a business which requires the noting down of large amount of information, transfer of data and making decisions which are again to be captured. So, I guess it is safe to assume that it is a very paper and pen intensive domain, where patient information, reports and daily interaction all happen on paper. Looking at just this one aspect, it becomes clear that IT can play a major part in driving Healthcare if done right.
So what is the downside to all this paper work? I mean haven’t people been doing it for donkeys years. Paper health records have been kept diligently since a century or more, but technology can not only improve the documentation and storage but also improve processes and speed in making, storing, accessing and using this information. So the 10 reasons why a medical setup should become IT friendly in the paperless space are:
1. Be eco-friendly: Less paper used = more trees saved. Extend your care beyond just your clientele.
2. Storage space: Save money on storage space for large number of records and paper based data. As technology improves cost of data storage goes down and that of physical space goes up.
3. Quick retrieval: Retrieve stored, archived data faster on your PC then from filing cabinet. That’s a straight forward challenge. However much data you may have, whatever the number of records, a simple search will help you access the record within seconds. No more walking down dusty aisles of records or browsing through a clutter of files in your cabinet.
4. All Information at your tips: Just today an orthopedic surgeon complained of not having information of the bone replacement he had done for a patient who needs to get it replaced. Certainly makes life tough for the doctor and risky for the patient. So why not go paperless, all your data on your PC, server, backed up at as many places till you feel safe. Information is valuable, and also how quickly can you get it, access information for a patient or an administrative report instantly on your software.
5. Sharing Data seamlessly: Communication is becoming the cornerstone of society. People travel, people use their phones and the internet and the crowd grows by the minute. Getting or giving information which will help make better decisions about a person’s health is a positive outcome of this boom. Its time you got on the band wagon too. Share your e-records with your peers and patients to improve service quality. Improve your productivity by sharing your administrative information and reports with your CA, vendors, pharmacies, pharma companies.
6. Less Chaos: A large setup usually has paper work flowing around the hospital or medical center, usually resulting in a flood. Imagine a place where there is no clutter. A clean and paper reduced office certainly improves the setup outlook. Not to mention more work gets done when you don’t have to sort through and find records.
7. Increased Capacity: A faster records access, storage and retrieval system gives you and your staff more time. It increases efficiency allowing you to spend more time with your patients, and if the word spreads how efficient your setup is, then maybe even see more patients.
8. Do More: Electronic information traditionally allows you to do more with the data you have. Run multiple reports; create informative statistics which help you improve your clinic. Learn how you can improve your business by using resources better. With paper there is only so much data you can sift through. Why work so hard to get what your PC will do for you in seconds. And give it a chance, trust me there are things which you can’t even imagine that your PC might be able to do.
9. Pay Less: Pay less, because what you spend on the becoming IT friendly is certainly less than what you would cumulatively spend on paper, staff, storage and decreased productivity over time.
10. Look Cool: Nice looking software, with some neat PCs, offering efficient service, quality time, and innovative solutions goes a long way in impressing patients. Also with the decreased paper work, the office looks neater and a place you wouldn’t mind spending time at.
So what is the downside to all this paper work? I mean haven’t people been doing it for donkeys years. Paper health records have been kept diligently since a century or more, but technology can not only improve the documentation and storage but also improve processes and speed in making, storing, accessing and using this information. So the 10 reasons why a medical setup should become IT friendly in the paperless space are:
1. Be eco-friendly: Less paper used = more trees saved. Extend your care beyond just your clientele.
2. Storage space: Save money on storage space for large number of records and paper based data. As technology improves cost of data storage goes down and that of physical space goes up.
3. Quick retrieval: Retrieve stored, archived data faster on your PC then from filing cabinet. That’s a straight forward challenge. However much data you may have, whatever the number of records, a simple search will help you access the record within seconds. No more walking down dusty aisles of records or browsing through a clutter of files in your cabinet.
4. All Information at your tips: Just today an orthopedic surgeon complained of not having information of the bone replacement he had done for a patient who needs to get it replaced. Certainly makes life tough for the doctor and risky for the patient. So why not go paperless, all your data on your PC, server, backed up at as many places till you feel safe. Information is valuable, and also how quickly can you get it, access information for a patient or an administrative report instantly on your software.
5. Sharing Data seamlessly: Communication is becoming the cornerstone of society. People travel, people use their phones and the internet and the crowd grows by the minute. Getting or giving information which will help make better decisions about a person’s health is a positive outcome of this boom. Its time you got on the band wagon too. Share your e-records with your peers and patients to improve service quality. Improve your productivity by sharing your administrative information and reports with your CA, vendors, pharmacies, pharma companies.
6. Less Chaos: A large setup usually has paper work flowing around the hospital or medical center, usually resulting in a flood. Imagine a place where there is no clutter. A clean and paper reduced office certainly improves the setup outlook. Not to mention more work gets done when you don’t have to sort through and find records.
7. Increased Capacity: A faster records access, storage and retrieval system gives you and your staff more time. It increases efficiency allowing you to spend more time with your patients, and if the word spreads how efficient your setup is, then maybe even see more patients.
8. Do More: Electronic information traditionally allows you to do more with the data you have. Run multiple reports; create informative statistics which help you improve your clinic. Learn how you can improve your business by using resources better. With paper there is only so much data you can sift through. Why work so hard to get what your PC will do for you in seconds. And give it a chance, trust me there are things which you can’t even imagine that your PC might be able to do.
9. Pay Less: Pay less, because what you spend on the becoming IT friendly is certainly less than what you would cumulatively spend on paper, staff, storage and decreased productivity over time.
10. Look Cool: Nice looking software, with some neat PCs, offering efficient service, quality time, and innovative solutions goes a long way in impressing patients. Also with the decreased paper work, the office looks neater and a place you wouldn’t mind spending time at.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Cool Applications for a Doctor’s Website
A website is many things to many people and organizations that have them. A visiting card on the world wide web, a squatting place on the ever connected information highway, a knowledge source for others to learn, and many more definitions come out of the woodwork after all these net enabled years. Today doctors, just like any other professional or organization are interested in getting their own website, either personally or for their clinic/hospital.
So what are the essentials a doctor’s website should have?
Information about you and your setup, degree and professional details, contact information (with a map preferably), information about the services you provide and finally a query form for the curious ones who want to ask a question. Apart from this basic data some doctors have gone a step further and introduced many innovative tools and content on their website. Interactive patient forms, videos and animations, medical calculators that calculate your BMI and what not, forums, blogs, news feeds, etc. These are some of the things you will usually find on a doctor’s website.
So what else is there?
Well the tools and applications need not stop there. More can be achieved on your website by applications and widgets. They can make your website more interactive for the user and offer patients a lot more opportunity to learn, get serviced and interact with you! Some neat ideas can be implemented which can make a world of difference to your site; which from being a lost in the crowd visiting card on the Internet becomes a beacon of light in the chaos.
So tell me more about them?
A very basic need is appointment management, nothing which an Online Scheduler cannot handle. It comes equipped with an interface to fill in your timings as per your availability on a daily basis. It allows patients to take an appointment; which comes to you as an SMS alert. Go online or through your phone accept the appointment or reject it, triggering the appropriate SMS to the patient. It can be interfaced with Plus91 Practice Management Solutions.
Online EMR and e-Bills offers the patient the added benefit of viewing his/her record remotely along with the bill. This allows the patient to travel and still access the records. It also allows them access to download and print bills for insurance reasons at any time. Lastly, it saves the clinic time and the patient the added effort of collecting certain reports which do not need doctor interaction. Create Patient profiles on the website and allows access via a username and password. Upload report documents to the patient profile, SMS alert goes to the patient who can now access them with ease.
E-Prescriptions are the rage in the USA, companies like surescripts have made it into a completely new business model. Travelling patients will indeed be thankful the day you can start this service. There are multiple ideas in at work here.
a. A patient can send a query about a prescription to you via the website interface, which comes to you as a SMS and you can reply from the phone.
b. You can have a small gadget where patient fill in their prescription schedules or you upload from your software, and the website sends SMS reminders to the patient to take the tablet.
c. Lastly and this is big in the USA but not here, is actually sending across prescriptions from your software or the website to your local or requisite pharmacist, eliminating paper and making the prescription tablets harder to get. Now the patient simply goes to the pharmacy and his prescriptions are waiting.
Content Management Systems are present behind websites allowing the user to change the web content over time. A good content management system allows you to add, update, delete and modify various pages and files on the website from a single simple graphical interface. Making your website cool and up to date needs you to have a strong content management system behind it so you don’t waste your time updating information.
Doctor Connect is a simple concept; there are times in the day or in the week where you are relatively free. So why don’t you allow patients or people to interact with you real time without meeting you. You can consider this a stripped down version of telemedicine via your website. Allow users to come to the site and chat with you on a G-talk or other chat engines embedded in your website. They only see you when you are free and can sign in. Take it one step further by allowing them to SMS queries to you from the website.
News Aggregator, start a news aggregator for your field of medicine. This automatically picks up topics related to your field of medicine and shows it one a scrolling news bar, with links to the articles. These are sourced from across the internet from various health and news sites. Now become a single source of news not only for patients but also for your fellow colleagues, at no extra effort or cost from your side.
Map my Clinic, allows you to use the progress technology has made in navigation. Allow the patient or client to send an SMS of his location to a number which in turn comes to your website, here it computes the best case directions to your clinic using external service providers and sends SMS of direction back.
Allow your WAP/GPRS/3G enabled phone to capture and image and send it straight to your website where you can access it for further study or show it in a public gallery for others to see. These may be patient X-ray or chart images, surgery images, images of patient conditions, or just some cool thing you saw and want to share with your patients.
There is much more we can do with a website! I am sure if given an opportunity we can make it much more than just a visiting card on the internet. Coming soon, www.websitefordoctors.in by Plus91
So what are the essentials a doctor’s website should have?
Information about you and your setup, degree and professional details, contact information (with a map preferably), information about the services you provide and finally a query form for the curious ones who want to ask a question. Apart from this basic data some doctors have gone a step further and introduced many innovative tools and content on their website. Interactive patient forms, videos and animations, medical calculators that calculate your BMI and what not, forums, blogs, news feeds, etc. These are some of the things you will usually find on a doctor’s website.
So what else is there?
Well the tools and applications need not stop there. More can be achieved on your website by applications and widgets. They can make your website more interactive for the user and offer patients a lot more opportunity to learn, get serviced and interact with you! Some neat ideas can be implemented which can make a world of difference to your site; which from being a lost in the crowd visiting card on the Internet becomes a beacon of light in the chaos.
So tell me more about them?
A very basic need is appointment management, nothing which an Online Scheduler cannot handle. It comes equipped with an interface to fill in your timings as per your availability on a daily basis. It allows patients to take an appointment; which comes to you as an SMS alert. Go online or through your phone accept the appointment or reject it, triggering the appropriate SMS to the patient. It can be interfaced with Plus91 Practice Management Solutions.
Online EMR and e-Bills offers the patient the added benefit of viewing his/her record remotely along with the bill. This allows the patient to travel and still access the records. It also allows them access to download and print bills for insurance reasons at any time. Lastly, it saves the clinic time and the patient the added effort of collecting certain reports which do not need doctor interaction. Create Patient profiles on the website and allows access via a username and password. Upload report documents to the patient profile, SMS alert goes to the patient who can now access them with ease.
E-Prescriptions are the rage in the USA, companies like surescripts have made it into a completely new business model. Travelling patients will indeed be thankful the day you can start this service. There are multiple ideas in at work here.
a. A patient can send a query about a prescription to you via the website interface, which comes to you as a SMS and you can reply from the phone.
b. You can have a small gadget where patient fill in their prescription schedules or you upload from your software, and the website sends SMS reminders to the patient to take the tablet.
c. Lastly and this is big in the USA but not here, is actually sending across prescriptions from your software or the website to your local or requisite pharmacist, eliminating paper and making the prescription tablets harder to get. Now the patient simply goes to the pharmacy and his prescriptions are waiting.
Content Management Systems are present behind websites allowing the user to change the web content over time. A good content management system allows you to add, update, delete and modify various pages and files on the website from a single simple graphical interface. Making your website cool and up to date needs you to have a strong content management system behind it so you don’t waste your time updating information.
Doctor Connect is a simple concept; there are times in the day or in the week where you are relatively free. So why don’t you allow patients or people to interact with you real time without meeting you. You can consider this a stripped down version of telemedicine via your website. Allow users to come to the site and chat with you on a G-talk or other chat engines embedded in your website. They only see you when you are free and can sign in. Take it one step further by allowing them to SMS queries to you from the website.
News Aggregator, start a news aggregator for your field of medicine. This automatically picks up topics related to your field of medicine and shows it one a scrolling news bar, with links to the articles. These are sourced from across the internet from various health and news sites. Now become a single source of news not only for patients but also for your fellow colleagues, at no extra effort or cost from your side.
Map my Clinic, allows you to use the progress technology has made in navigation. Allow the patient or client to send an SMS of his location to a number which in turn comes to your website, here it computes the best case directions to your clinic using external service providers and sends SMS of direction back.
Allow your WAP/GPRS/3G enabled phone to capture and image and send it straight to your website where you can access it for further study or show it in a public gallery for others to see. These may be patient X-ray or chart images, surgery images, images of patient conditions, or just some cool thing you saw and want to share with your patients.
There is much more we can do with a website! I am sure if given an opportunity we can make it much more than just a visiting card on the internet. Coming soon, www.websitefordoctors.in by Plus91
Monday, October 19, 2009
Accounts: A Doctor's nightmare - Made easy by Plus91
While doctors love earning money, they hate keeping accounts ; and interactions with accountants are high on a doctor’s “hate to do” list. A doctor who owns his own clinic has the thankless job of having to maintain accounts. Most doctors have varied methods of maintaining financial records, but all of them get the jitters when it comes to filing their income tax returns. So much paper work and so much time wasted ! Isn’t there a simpler way of managing your accounts? Well technology and softwares run banks, so why not your clinic as well ?
Plus91 has integrated its Practice Management EMR solution with a simple and effective accounts module which manages earnings, general payments, HR payments and referral payments . Here’s how Plus91’s billing module helps you keep your accounts.
My patients usually come in one after the other. It is difficult to keep track of how many came in and also their billing status. Making the receipts is a very cumbersome process for my secretary. What do I do?
The accounts module in our software packages is integrated with the visit management, and allows you to automatically create bills and receipts during the patient visit within seconds. It accepts inputs from the EMR and auto generates the bill with rates you have entered earlier, so that no time is wasted in billing. This means you no longer have to go through multiple screens just to prepare a bill for a patient. Plus91 allows you to generate the bill during the patient visit within seconds. You can also keep track of the bill amount and payment status in a single window , thus making life simpler for you and your secretary.
Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image.
A lot of time my patients pay their bills piecemeal This means that their payments for earlier visits is often pending when they come for a followup visit. How can I collect the pending payments more efficiently ? It is irritating to go back to the old account books and make a list of payment pending entries. I need something which is more efficient !
Yes, making lists of pending payments can be quite cumbersome, which means a lot of time the patients default on their payments and you lose this income. Plus91 remembers which bills have been only part-paid. This means creating an unpaid bills report ( accounts receiveable) is just a simple click away. When the patient pays the remainder due, you just need to update his billing record, and his name is automatically cleared from the pending list !
My CA ( chartered accountant) insists he wants all income and expenditure neatly filed under various heads and given to him in an Excel sheet. It is tough enough to put everything down on paper – putting everything on Excel is twice the work ! Can software help me overcome this problem?
Many doctors cancel their appointments and stop seeing patients for 2-3 days every year when they are stuck at their CAs. The reason they waste so much time there is simply books are a disorganized mess of registers, papers and bills. Going electronic allows our intelligent software to do the work for you , so you can earn more money seeing more patients ! Once you start using Plus91, the amount of time you will save in interacting with your accountant will more than make up for the cost of the package in the first year itself !
Plus91’s accounts package allows you to create ledgers ; profit and loss statements; and allows you to export all this into formatted excel sheets, making your life much easier. Soon, you will be able to export this into Tally , making sure your CA votes you as being his favourite client !
How do I make sure my staff hands over my daily collections to me ? How can I monitor them more closely to make sure they aren’t siphoning off my heard earned money ?
Even though doctors are daily wage earners, they are surprisingly naive about handling money. A lot of their income is in cash; and because they are so busy, they often have to trust a clerk or secretary to collect their fees. This makes them easy targets for embezzlement; and the embezzling is usually done by their most trusted staff member ! What do you do if he “forgets” to enter a patient in your register ? Or if he fails to prepare a bill and pockets your money ?
With Plus91, each patient you see is present in the system , so it is easy to keep track of how many you have seen. Since creating the bill in part of the clinic process flow , this allows you to track the status of each patient with respect to their payments !
I don’t want all my staff to know how much I earn ? If I keep all my financial transactions on Plus91, then every one will know what my income is !
Plus91 allows you to set passwords, so that privileges are set for each user. This ensures that your staff has access only to what information you want them to see. You can keep whichever part of the record you want confidential and do not need to share it with them if you do not want to .
Many of patients have health insurance and I need to get the TPAs to pay my bills. They want me to format my bill according to various heads – and these rules vary from TPA to TPA ! If I want prompt payment from the insurance company, I need to do this. Will Plus91 help me?
As health insurance takes center stage in India, TPAs are insisting that the bills you submit to them for reimbursement be created in a certain format. Because they control the flow of money, they can pretty much demand this, and doctors will have to comply.
Plus91’s claims package has integrated these formats into its solution. By choosing the correct option, you just need to fill in the appropriate fields and you will be able to complete the formalities in a jiffy. What’s more the software allows you to re-format the bills as needed, allowing a lot of flexibility.
I need my inventory and other payments to be managed directly, without having to make entries twice. Having different programs to do this reduces my efficiency !
When you purchase medical equipment ( ranging from a chair to office stationary), you have to create a voucher for the same; make a debit entry in your ledger and also make an entry in your inventory register. That’s two steps too many for a simple purchase ! Plus91 allows you to do all this automatically by filling one quick form. Just add your voucher and let the software do the rest.
I have to track doctors who refer patients to me . I need to be on top of this so that I do not lose out on patients. Can you help me with this?
Referrals are an integral part of the Indian Healthcare system. There’s no need to waste time doing these calculations if you use Plus91 ! Plus91’s referral systems keeps tracks of all the patients referred to you by various doctors. You can generate month end reports in excel and send them to your referring doctors.
My billing needs to be very flexible, as I often have to give a discount to poor patients. How can you help me to manage this ?
Plus91’s billing module allows you to be very flexible . You can add a discount or a tax as needed; or charge different rates for each of the procedures you perform.
Plus91 has integrated its Practice Management EMR solution with a simple and effective accounts module which manages earnings, general payments, HR payments and referral payments . Here’s how Plus91’s billing module helps you keep your accounts.
My patients usually come in one after the other. It is difficult to keep track of how many came in and also their billing status. Making the receipts is a very cumbersome process for my secretary. What do I do?
The accounts module in our software packages is integrated with the visit management, and allows you to automatically create bills and receipts during the patient visit within seconds. It accepts inputs from the EMR and auto generates the bill with rates you have entered earlier, so that no time is wasted in billing. This means you no longer have to go through multiple screens just to prepare a bill for a patient. Plus91 allows you to generate the bill during the patient visit within seconds. You can also keep track of the bill amount and payment status in a single window , thus making life simpler for you and your secretary.
Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image.
A lot of time my patients pay their bills piecemeal This means that their payments for earlier visits is often pending when they come for a followup visit. How can I collect the pending payments more efficiently ? It is irritating to go back to the old account books and make a list of payment pending entries. I need something which is more efficient !
Yes, making lists of pending payments can be quite cumbersome, which means a lot of time the patients default on their payments and you lose this income. Plus91 remembers which bills have been only part-paid. This means creating an unpaid bills report ( accounts receiveable) is just a simple click away. When the patient pays the remainder due, you just need to update his billing record, and his name is automatically cleared from the pending list !
My CA ( chartered accountant) insists he wants all income and expenditure neatly filed under various heads and given to him in an Excel sheet. It is tough enough to put everything down on paper – putting everything on Excel is twice the work ! Can software help me overcome this problem?
Many doctors cancel their appointments and stop seeing patients for 2-3 days every year when they are stuck at their CAs. The reason they waste so much time there is simply books are a disorganized mess of registers, papers and bills. Going electronic allows our intelligent software to do the work for you , so you can earn more money seeing more patients ! Once you start using Plus91, the amount of time you will save in interacting with your accountant will more than make up for the cost of the package in the first year itself !
Plus91’s accounts package allows you to create ledgers ; profit and loss statements; and allows you to export all this into formatted excel sheets, making your life much easier. Soon, you will be able to export this into Tally , making sure your CA votes you as being his favourite client !
How do I make sure my staff hands over my daily collections to me ? How can I monitor them more closely to make sure they aren’t siphoning off my heard earned money ?
Even though doctors are daily wage earners, they are surprisingly naive about handling money. A lot of their income is in cash; and because they are so busy, they often have to trust a clerk or secretary to collect their fees. This makes them easy targets for embezzlement; and the embezzling is usually done by their most trusted staff member ! What do you do if he “forgets” to enter a patient in your register ? Or if he fails to prepare a bill and pockets your money ?
With Plus91, each patient you see is present in the system , so it is easy to keep track of how many you have seen. Since creating the bill in part of the clinic process flow , this allows you to track the status of each patient with respect to their payments !
I don’t want all my staff to know how much I earn ? If I keep all my financial transactions on Plus91, then every one will know what my income is !
Plus91 allows you to set passwords, so that privileges are set for each user. This ensures that your staff has access only to what information you want them to see. You can keep whichever part of the record you want confidential and do not need to share it with them if you do not want to .
Many of patients have health insurance and I need to get the TPAs to pay my bills. They want me to format my bill according to various heads – and these rules vary from TPA to TPA ! If I want prompt payment from the insurance company, I need to do this. Will Plus91 help me?
As health insurance takes center stage in India, TPAs are insisting that the bills you submit to them for reimbursement be created in a certain format. Because they control the flow of money, they can pretty much demand this, and doctors will have to comply.
Plus91’s claims package has integrated these formats into its solution. By choosing the correct option, you just need to fill in the appropriate fields and you will be able to complete the formalities in a jiffy. What’s more the software allows you to re-format the bills as needed, allowing a lot of flexibility.
I need my inventory and other payments to be managed directly, without having to make entries twice. Having different programs to do this reduces my efficiency !
When you purchase medical equipment ( ranging from a chair to office stationary), you have to create a voucher for the same; make a debit entry in your ledger and also make an entry in your inventory register. That’s two steps too many for a simple purchase ! Plus91 allows you to do all this automatically by filling one quick form. Just add your voucher and let the software do the rest.
I have to track doctors who refer patients to me . I need to be on top of this so that I do not lose out on patients. Can you help me with this?
Referrals are an integral part of the Indian Healthcare system. There’s no need to waste time doing these calculations if you use Plus91 ! Plus91’s referral systems keeps tracks of all the patients referred to you by various doctors. You can generate month end reports in excel and send them to your referring doctors.
My billing needs to be very flexible, as I often have to give a discount to poor patients. How can you help me to manage this ?
Plus91’s billing module allows you to be very flexible . You can add a discount or a tax as needed; or charge different rates for each of the procedures you perform.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Medical Softwares of Old: Slow to catch up
Technology infiltrated medicine a long time back. On the hardware and pharma front it was growing leaps and bounds before software even had it boots on. So why did software get left behind. Well my version of the story is that it didn’t get left behind it was just slow to learn and grow. Since the time the PC was invented and programs to go with it, something was being developed for the medical front. It began with some very specialized sections which are today well entrenched in the practice, eg. Imaging softwares for a radiologist, however the major portion was just left behind and slow to adapt.
Focusing on India, our culture dictates the doctor to be a know-it-all but with a human touch. How then can he peer into a screen and provide good service and also need to peer into a computer in the first place. While technology from the outsourcing point of view was quick to catch on, its entry to main stream lives has still been slow. Today doctors are finally waking upto the possibility of softwares enabling to service the patients better. The softwares on their part are adapting to the working style of the doctors using newer concepts and clearer process mapping. This reduces the direct use of PCs during an examination or consultation, and more importantly people have begun to understand that using the software helps provide better service and not as a replacement for the doctor.
So why were the old software not too keenly looked at by the doctors. It is only in the last 2 years that great interest is being generated. In the next few years there could be the boom of Healthcare IT, but what went wrong before. The major reasons were:
a. Unfriendly and complicated user interfaces: Medicine is complicated so the software should also look complicated
b. Rigid work flows: Dictating terms to well settled practices never really got any one to happy
c. Large learning curves: No time to learn and use a software especially if it is complicated or not as per my work flow
d. System requirements: Softwares worked on some PCs and some configurations. Investment then into something like this was not a small amount.
e. Too narrow in capability: Softwares did such specific tasks that it required two separate ones or paper work to be done side by side for managing the entire setup.
f. Paper is King: Government regulations required strict paper storage policies to be implemented. They weren’t aware of the possibility of EMRs.
g. Game changing features: Were too few and up to the mark. Today innovation in this field is lighting up a lot of doctors’ faces. Eg. The practicality of providing online EMR for traveling patients is important, and it wasn’t available few years back.
h. Time to customize: Was slow and time consuming. Hence deterring a lot of doctor’s from taking the plunge or quick and innovative development from taking place
i. Sales avenues for softwares: Sales channels were not well defined in the nascent market. Today the internet, ease of buying and carrying laptops and also ability to provide videos, demos, and literature goes a long way in educating and finally selling softwares.
Focusing on India, our culture dictates the doctor to be a know-it-all but with a human touch. How then can he peer into a screen and provide good service and also need to peer into a computer in the first place. While technology from the outsourcing point of view was quick to catch on, its entry to main stream lives has still been slow. Today doctors are finally waking upto the possibility of softwares enabling to service the patients better. The softwares on their part are adapting to the working style of the doctors using newer concepts and clearer process mapping. This reduces the direct use of PCs during an examination or consultation, and more importantly people have begun to understand that using the software helps provide better service and not as a replacement for the doctor.
So why were the old software not too keenly looked at by the doctors. It is only in the last 2 years that great interest is being generated. In the next few years there could be the boom of Healthcare IT, but what went wrong before. The major reasons were:
a. Unfriendly and complicated user interfaces: Medicine is complicated so the software should also look complicated
b. Rigid work flows: Dictating terms to well settled practices never really got any one to happy
c. Large learning curves: No time to learn and use a software especially if it is complicated or not as per my work flow
d. System requirements: Softwares worked on some PCs and some configurations. Investment then into something like this was not a small amount.
e. Too narrow in capability: Softwares did such specific tasks that it required two separate ones or paper work to be done side by side for managing the entire setup.
f. Paper is King: Government regulations required strict paper storage policies to be implemented. They weren’t aware of the possibility of EMRs.
g. Game changing features: Were too few and up to the mark. Today innovation in this field is lighting up a lot of doctors’ faces. Eg. The practicality of providing online EMR for traveling patients is important, and it wasn’t available few years back.
h. Time to customize: Was slow and time consuming. Hence deterring a lot of doctor’s from taking the plunge or quick and innovative development from taking place
i. Sales avenues for softwares: Sales channels were not well defined in the nascent market. Today the internet, ease of buying and carrying laptops and also ability to provide videos, demos, and literature goes a long way in educating and finally selling softwares.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Software Features Most Appreciated by Doctors!
I come from a company and a team of of very innovative people. Since the last 3 years we have tried to include, in most cases successfully and in some cases still trying to introduce game changing features into our softwares. These software products are specifically targeted at doctors and hospitals in the Indian Market. We have tried to keep a realistic outlook towards usability and need in developing these features, though some are for the pure thrill of it. Below I have listed some of the features we offer that are really being appreciated by the Doctors.
1. SMS and Email integration - Simple, yet effective in communicating with patients and doctors alike. Today India communicates on the Mobile so why not the doctors.
2. Data Protection - Online back up to save data and download it any time in case of a crash or back your entire PC onto a device provided by us. Keeping the data safe has always been a priority for doctors and hospitals, now you can.
3. Point and click interfaces - Simple Graphical User Interfaces makes life and learning simple for the doctor. Minimal learning curve ensures that the doctor and his staff are using the software within days to its maximum benefit
4. Online EMR - Offering doctors the expertise to offer patients their records online for easy access, especially patients from far away or constantly traveling. Takers for this are few and far, but those who understand the implications of this, really appreciate the scope of the progress that is being made.
5. Online Support and Updates - Now no more waiting for help to arrive is how I best pitch this service. But trust me, one actual live use of this service and the doctor is sold on it for life.
6. Structured Reporting - For every specialty in medicine we support, we appreciate that the potential outcomes are numerous. That these outcomes can be displayed in a structured way to quickly select, display and publish reports to make this a mundane and quick task is a vital feature in our PMS. Doctors increasingly appreciate this intelligence structure to help them quickly select report templates and publish reports.
7. Referrals - Referral management module has been a boon to those doctors which keep track of who is sending them how many patients and any monetary implications of the same.
8. Exporting Data - Export to Excel feature is very well appreciated by Doctors as it helps them to send data to CAs and other external sources without any headache. Soon to come, export to Tally.
9. Auto-Complete and Auto-Add Drop downs - A simple technical mechanism to help manage drop downs better. Increases data entry speed and also makes the software User Friendly. Doctors immediately recognize this and appreciate the capability.
10. Adding attachments - Scan or capture and attach videos, images and documents to the patient record. This feature proves worthwhile for a myriad of reasons. Doctors are happy to be able to be flexible in their approach and attach everything in a single location.
1. SMS and Email integration - Simple, yet effective in communicating with patients and doctors alike. Today India communicates on the Mobile so why not the doctors.
2. Data Protection - Online back up to save data and download it any time in case of a crash or back your entire PC onto a device provided by us. Keeping the data safe has always been a priority for doctors and hospitals, now you can.
3. Point and click interfaces - Simple Graphical User Interfaces makes life and learning simple for the doctor. Minimal learning curve ensures that the doctor and his staff are using the software within days to its maximum benefit
4. Online EMR - Offering doctors the expertise to offer patients their records online for easy access, especially patients from far away or constantly traveling. Takers for this are few and far, but those who understand the implications of this, really appreciate the scope of the progress that is being made.
5. Online Support and Updates - Now no more waiting for help to arrive is how I best pitch this service. But trust me, one actual live use of this service and the doctor is sold on it for life.
6. Structured Reporting - For every specialty in medicine we support, we appreciate that the potential outcomes are numerous. That these outcomes can be displayed in a structured way to quickly select, display and publish reports to make this a mundane and quick task is a vital feature in our PMS. Doctors increasingly appreciate this intelligence structure to help them quickly select report templates and publish reports.
7. Referrals - Referral management module has been a boon to those doctors which keep track of who is sending them how many patients and any monetary implications of the same.
8. Exporting Data - Export to Excel feature is very well appreciated by Doctors as it helps them to send data to CAs and other external sources without any headache. Soon to come, export to Tally.
9. Auto-Complete and Auto-Add Drop downs - A simple technical mechanism to help manage drop downs better. Increases data entry speed and also makes the software User Friendly. Doctors immediately recognize this and appreciate the capability.
10. Adding attachments - Scan or capture and attach videos, images and documents to the patient record. This feature proves worthwhile for a myriad of reasons. Doctors are happy to be able to be flexible in their approach and attach everything in a single location.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Initiating Online Installation and Support
As I write this blog entry I am traveling back from Bhandara near Nagpur having completed an installation of Ultrasite with a diagnostic center. It has been an effort to do so. In the long the run maybe the experience is worth it for me personally but the it just goes to prove that the alternative is much more effective. In the last week we completed two installations at Varanasi and Solan without visiting the locations.
I think the era of using the online methodology just not to market but also to deliver and deploy is here. And people in India, at least all doctors I have interacted seem comfortable with the whole prospect. So the biggest hurdle seems to be clearing itself. But thats just half the problem solved. How does one tackle delivery, technology, training, information exchange and also payment online.
For one thing its vital to have a good site which promotes information sharing easily between clients, potential clients and yourself. Secondly it is vital to have a good software setup which allows remote management. Teamviewer, Log me In, even Windows tool are quite effective. Next, your process flow for installation or providing support should be simple and well practiced by you. At Plus91 we take about 10 minutes to complete an installation.
Now things we have learned here are: Some times if the clients net connection isn't fast it makes sense to courier him a CD with the executables or ask him to download it from secure temporary links on his own free time. However our files aren't so big but then again the Internet speeds in India arent brilliant everywhere either. Next it is vital to be able to provide training remotely. We have devised online training tools on our website. A comprehensive help manual and most important of all Audio Visual Help files which run like videos going over each activity in the software. I still get the occasional confused call but its reduced considerably.
Email and chat are the best ways to exchange information and track any changes required. A formal system on the website is also a good step. Lastly payment by Neft nowadays is a very simple process with each branch of each bank connected. Doctors usually never have a problem with this part though they do argue about the pricing :).
Over all I think my company with its small sales force has been able to serve, cater to and also manage sales far away due to this method. My cost is minimal with investment in a good remote software, time for formalizing and practicing my process. But dividends are rich, I have clients in remote areas, some whom I haven't even met. The buck doesn't stop here though there is till room to improve and streamline. May be in a couple of months Ill come back to this topic and mention what we have learned.
I think the era of using the online methodology just not to market but also to deliver and deploy is here. And people in India, at least all doctors I have interacted seem comfortable with the whole prospect. So the biggest hurdle seems to be clearing itself. But thats just half the problem solved. How does one tackle delivery, technology, training, information exchange and also payment online.
For one thing its vital to have a good site which promotes information sharing easily between clients, potential clients and yourself. Secondly it is vital to have a good software setup which allows remote management. Teamviewer, Log me In, even Windows tool are quite effective. Next, your process flow for installation or providing support should be simple and well practiced by you. At Plus91 we take about 10 minutes to complete an installation.
Now things we have learned here are: Some times if the clients net connection isn't fast it makes sense to courier him a CD with the executables or ask him to download it from secure temporary links on his own free time. However our files aren't so big but then again the Internet speeds in India arent brilliant everywhere either. Next it is vital to be able to provide training remotely. We have devised online training tools on our website. A comprehensive help manual and most important of all Audio Visual Help files which run like videos going over each activity in the software. I still get the occasional confused call but its reduced considerably.
Email and chat are the best ways to exchange information and track any changes required. A formal system on the website is also a good step. Lastly payment by Neft nowadays is a very simple process with each branch of each bank connected. Doctors usually never have a problem with this part though they do argue about the pricing :).
Over all I think my company with its small sales force has been able to serve, cater to and also manage sales far away due to this method. My cost is minimal with investment in a good remote software, time for formalizing and practicing my process. But dividends are rich, I have clients in remote areas, some whom I haven't even met. The buck doesn't stop here though there is till room to improve and streamline. May be in a couple of months Ill come back to this topic and mention what we have learned.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Top 10 reasons why doctors say NO
Doctors being in the business they are, are pretty straight forward people. So selling softwares to them can get interesting especially if they are not interested. The healthcare IT and medical software market in India is still very nascent. Doctors are just waking up to the fact that some thing exists. Also the ones who have taken up some softwares usually find themselves using products that do not satisfy their needs. The medical software market is slowly coming to terms with the complex work flows which needs to be displayed for quick entry while the doctor caters to a patient. Hence, there are issues there too which are sorting itself out albeit slowly.
So the top 10 reasons why Doctors say NO to medical softwares in India are:
1. I am not IT savvy and do not want to invest is buying and learning new stuff (Here is a good opportunity to actually make some one realize the potential technology can make)
2. I am too old or old fashioned to invest in a software now (Probably the toughest lot to convince, usually unless you see some hope during your interaction should be left alone)
3. I already have a software and I quite like it (Can be tough to convince if they are in love with their old software, but there are methods to convince especially if your product is better)
4. I bought a software but i wasted time and money, was of no use. (Require to prove your credentials through references, product demo, hand holding. A lot of my conversions have happened from this category)
5. I am not to keen to introduce a software in my work flow, do not have the time (Here its all about your software workflow and convincing power, the aim to prove that once settled this can make you see more patients, if your so inclined to your business we can actually improve it)
6. I do not think the software meet my requirements, I want more/less/something different (Well our paradigm is simple, each doctor is his own boss so they tend to want it their way, so how do we make this feasible, by letting our technology let us develop and modify quickly, so usually we say yes we can)
7. I do not want to meet you, as I am not interested (This is a tough one, because unless I can talk or show my demo its a zero percent chance, usually we leave behind video demos, brochures or cards, for later reference)
8. I prefer the cheaper or free option I am getting from my relative/pharma company/local provider. (Show them a feature, ease of use and cost benefit analysis vis a vis your product. Also offer them pre-determined discounts showing you care and understand where they come from. But keep a base level beyond which you do not compromise,tell them they have to pay for better quality and service. Show them you are better and confident about it, with respect comes a change of heart, well sometimes)
9. I like to use my writing pad (Tablet PCs, intelligent forms and voice transcription are here, and they are getting cheaper, pretty soon I know my company is going to render this excuse obsolete)
10. I do not have a PC (Offer them good deals through your vendor, hand hold them initially in case you see a glimmer of hope, because if they like you first time, they are your customer for life)
So the top 10 reasons why Doctors say NO to medical softwares in India are:
1. I am not IT savvy and do not want to invest is buying and learning new stuff (Here is a good opportunity to actually make some one realize the potential technology can make)
2. I am too old or old fashioned to invest in a software now (Probably the toughest lot to convince, usually unless you see some hope during your interaction should be left alone)
3. I already have a software and I quite like it (Can be tough to convince if they are in love with their old software, but there are methods to convince especially if your product is better)
4. I bought a software but i wasted time and money, was of no use. (Require to prove your credentials through references, product demo, hand holding. A lot of my conversions have happened from this category)
5. I am not to keen to introduce a software in my work flow, do not have the time (Here its all about your software workflow and convincing power, the aim to prove that once settled this can make you see more patients, if your so inclined to your business we can actually improve it)
6. I do not think the software meet my requirements, I want more/less/something different (Well our paradigm is simple, each doctor is his own boss so they tend to want it their way, so how do we make this feasible, by letting our technology let us develop and modify quickly, so usually we say yes we can)
7. I do not want to meet you, as I am not interested (This is a tough one, because unless I can talk or show my demo its a zero percent chance, usually we leave behind video demos, brochures or cards, for later reference)
8. I prefer the cheaper or free option I am getting from my relative/pharma company/local provider. (Show them a feature, ease of use and cost benefit analysis vis a vis your product. Also offer them pre-determined discounts showing you care and understand where they come from. But keep a base level beyond which you do not compromise,tell them they have to pay for better quality and service. Show them you are better and confident about it, with respect comes a change of heart, well sometimes)
9. I like to use my writing pad (Tablet PCs, intelligent forms and voice transcription are here, and they are getting cheaper, pretty soon I know my company is going to render this excuse obsolete)
10. I do not have a PC (Offer them good deals through your vendor, hand hold them initially in case you see a glimmer of hope, because if they like you first time, they are your customer for life)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Taking Indian Healthcare Online: Are we ready yet
A lot of websites today claim to offer a host of services for doctors and patients online. Some of these sites are very innovative. They all looks good and give you the feeling that Indian Healthcare is definitely going in the right direction. But how effective is their approach from the business reality point of view. How much of this is going to work today and not in 3 years?
From the business perspective I think it’s a little early to go completely online, a company only offering web based services through a portal. The biggest in road you can make today with doctors in India is offering them local solutions which have an internet backdoor offering them additional services like Online EMR, record transfer and online scheduling etc.
Of course the ultimate aim is to take it all online (our own infinitehealth which is in internal testing at Plus91 is a step in that direction) but a complete model based only on online services is still some time away in gathering steam with the Indian crowd. Just few days ago I got a beauty and slimming clinic currently using an online billing, form handling and CRM software coming to me for a local solution where they can access parts over the net. Their biggest gripe Internet speeds and flexibility levels.
I rather think it makes more sense to build technology which can be internet friendly and also highly flexible giving a low customization time and cost to incorporate. This not only makes business sense but also gives the doctor the joy of getting what he wants (A very very important factor when considering Indian Doctors).
On the online medical record transfer front there is a constant debate about how to best attack and monetize it. Today offering someone the hypothetical solution of transferring data online will not sell so easily and will not be effective unless a large number of people sign up in a closed area. I have in Pune, clients in one area, a lab, a diagnostic center and a mid size hospital. Prototyping the technology to manage the record transfer for this local group and marketing it to them seems worthwhile. Selling solutions like record transfer will only work when sold as a cross service to existing practice management clients to ensure growth as they get maximum benefit. On the other front I get actual solid clients for this rather than someone signing up the first time because it’s a new service and never using it. Much like the way some of these websites seem to be managing.
From the business perspective I think it’s a little early to go completely online, a company only offering web based services through a portal. The biggest in road you can make today with doctors in India is offering them local solutions which have an internet backdoor offering them additional services like Online EMR, record transfer and online scheduling etc.
Of course the ultimate aim is to take it all online (our own infinitehealth which is in internal testing at Plus91 is a step in that direction) but a complete model based only on online services is still some time away in gathering steam with the Indian crowd. Just few days ago I got a beauty and slimming clinic currently using an online billing, form handling and CRM software coming to me for a local solution where they can access parts over the net. Their biggest gripe Internet speeds and flexibility levels.
I rather think it makes more sense to build technology which can be internet friendly and also highly flexible giving a low customization time and cost to incorporate. This not only makes business sense but also gives the doctor the joy of getting what he wants (A very very important factor when considering Indian Doctors).
On the online medical record transfer front there is a constant debate about how to best attack and monetize it. Today offering someone the hypothetical solution of transferring data online will not sell so easily and will not be effective unless a large number of people sign up in a closed area. I have in Pune, clients in one area, a lab, a diagnostic center and a mid size hospital. Prototyping the technology to manage the record transfer for this local group and marketing it to them seems worthwhile. Selling solutions like record transfer will only work when sold as a cross service to existing practice management clients to ensure growth as they get maximum benefit. On the other front I get actual solid clients for this rather than someone signing up the first time because it’s a new service and never using it. Much like the way some of these websites seem to be managing.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Technology and Doctors in India: The love hate game
When a transition starts it’s always said to be a confusing and muddled place. In the Indian medical sector as technology and healthcare begin to mix in India at a grass root level this is seen by the demands and concerns doctors have in accepting technology.
Over the last 3 years I have had a pleasure of meeting a whole range of doctors, from various cities and expertise in multiple disciplines. I make and sell softwares to Indian Doctors. Without delving too much into the products they are simple, process oriented and with a lot of value-adds. So should I be selling well in this unstructured and nascent market? The answer is not really, the reason is the transition. As doctors come to grips with the fact that technology is now not replacing them but making them adhere to a new set of rules and processes which they never have followed before they resist accepting it.
A large part of the blame also falls on the original providers of software, a lot of it was not from the point of view of the doctor. Bulky and cumbersome process took away time from the doctors core business interest his patient. So whatever the software needed to do, it needed it to be done seamlessly and easily. Today with hardware and also software technologies this problem is finally being overcome. But the doctors, now once bitten are twice shy.
The second issue is that the Medical domain is a one of grey heads, ie the major professionals who can or require to invest in a software today are 35 and above. The younger lot is still studying or working in public/private hospitals where decision making is still not upto them. So largely, we are dealing with a set of doctors in India who aren’t exactly tech savvy. This does hurt the numbers in the overall scheme of things. Though it is not the 100% rule, it does take away sizeable chunk of the population. However there are ways and means in overcome this problem. Doctors are after all people and people like to put their noses everywhere, especially if it benefits them.
Today, about 3 years into my business I have formulated some game plans to counter the usual reasons for not going ahead for IT enabling one’s setup. For hospitals, chains or even polyclinic where there is management involved it far easier. The real challenge lies in convincing 400000 doctors who run clinics and small practices in India. Whoever convinces them first gets a big bonanza, because mind you once this lot starts they will not stop. Trust me, I’ve lived with two doctors all my life.
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