
Relationships are a two-way street. In order for them to be successful, it is vital that both parties are compatible. From client to company, student to teacher, or patient to doctor, they all need to be the right fit for each other in order for them to continue a successful professional relationship. Through our engagement with healthcare organizations all over North America, we have learned this is especially true of our relationships with those facilities. This article will discuss the limitations of healthcare policy management software so you can decide whether it’s a good fit for your organization, or not. We understand that this can sometimes be a difficult thing to ascertain but hope that this article will help you make that assessment.
Limitations Of Healthcare Policy Management Software
Just like any other product in the healthcare sector, Policy Management Software has its own limitations. Identifying these limitations is the first step in figuring out if policy management software is the right fit for your healthcare organization.
Work-Place Restrictions
In today’s technologically-savvy age, more and more visitors to hospitals are being encouraged to use their mobile devices to connect with their loved ones. On the other hand, healthcare workers are discouraged to use mobile devices which does not allow them to use policy management software as frequently as they would like. Thus, due to the limitations of a healthcare work environment, policy management software has not been able to adapt itself as a mobile friendly application. Sadly, this is the case despite a rising trend, where more and more professionals in other industries have adapted to mobile technology. It will surely only be a matter of time before the healthcare space follows suit. Part of the reason behind this limitation is that the healthcare industry is generally considered to be late adopters of new technology and methods of communication.
Hesitation Towards Adapting To A Cloud-Based System
Many healthcare facilities are hesitant to adopt a cloud-network due to the misconception of it being prone to cyber-attacks and, therefore, not being safe. Due to this hesitancy, many facilities would rather adopt a system with a traditional model in which it is installed on a local server. At PolicyMedical, we have adapted to the cloud-network and have discontinued the use of installing our software on local servers. This is partly done due to the fact that cloud-networks are efficient, effective, and they do not hog up any physical space at the facilities.
E-Learning Component
Most hospitals have an existing e-learning platform. That being said, there is a small gap in which the hospitals lack effective learning material specifically directed at policies and regulations. Due to the existing e-learning platform at many healthcare facilities, most of the policy management learning tools provided by vendors are usually under utilized. The lack of need for such a platform discourages many vendors to invest in their e-learning tools. Despite the lack of demand, at PolicyMedical, we have various resources that act as e-learning tools to effectively manage policies and encourage frequent use of them.
Lack Of Availability Of Integrated Tools
Due to an increasing need to collaborate and share, there has been a rise in the demand to integrate applications such as Drop Box with policy management software. Such integrations are being considered at PolicyMedical as we strive to ease the experience of users as much as we can.
What Does PolicyMedical Not Do As A Company?
Now that we have established the limitations of policy management software, you can determine if it’s the right fit for you. If it is, the next important step is to establish which software vendor will provide the offering that is most suitable for you. We cannot speak for other vendors so we thought it would be easiest to set out what we don’t do, so that you can decide if our healthcare policy management software will work for your needs.
We Don’t Utilize Unethical Practices
We don’t use high-pressure sales tactics to pressure you into purchasing the product. By not force-fitting our product, we save our clients, and ourselves, the trouble and stress that arise as a result of a bad marriage between two businesses.
Secondly, we don’t associate with companies who have unethical business practices. For example, a small chain of hospitals that was growing quickly decided to buy our product. At first, the deal seemed to go smoothly with no bumps, however, we soon found ourselves being reverse engineered by the client. They were essentially trying to mould our application in a manner that would cause them to not need us in the future. However, what truly led us to break our ties with the client was their unethical business model of how they acquired smaller hospitals. The culture of the company did not align with our own and they were not an organization we wanted to be associated with. Their poor integrity and questionable business ethics, coupled with incompetent members of staff, meant it was difficult for us to work with them. The bottom dollar for this healthcare group was the most important factor for them and this meant cutting corners. For us, we need to support customers properly and if we cannot achieve this it will never be a good match. For our company, the quality of the product and the service we offer is paramount to us, so we know instantly it won’t be a right fit if a company asks us to cut corners in order to save money. After all, in terms of time and money, what you get out of policy management software is what you put into it.
What Healthcare Organization Is The Best Fit for Us?
Organizations that benefit the most from our product are the ones that require the management of policies and procedures in order to comply with security, risk and compliance strategy. Other organizations that merely buy our product to organize and manage policies and procedure manuals may not be the best fit. At PolicyMedical we will endeavour to help you with selecting the healthcare policy management software that is the right fit for you. We will do this to the best of our ability, even if it turns out the best product for you is from another vendor. If you would like to see our software in action, please ask for a free demonstration or contact us to find out more.
Written By:
Saud Juman
President and CEO
Email: sjuman@policymedical.com
Phone: 1-888-697-6331