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Medical Computer Systems
There has been a significant shift in how we provide medical assistance in recent years. Unquestionably, the widespread adoption of cutting-edge innovations and medical devices is to blame.
The conventional approaches to providing medical care are being phased out in favor of more modern ones primarily based on technological advancements. One of the most significant advancements that have taken place in this day and age is the utilization of medical computer systems.
Simply put, medical computer systems have expedited operations and enhanced data management. Consequently, administrative tasks are being met with an increased level of efficiency and precision with these digital records. This transition benefits patients and healthcare providers by allowing everyone to offer treatment more timely, cost-effective, and convenient.
What Are Medical Systems?
However, in their most basic form, these computer-based medical systems may be seen as technological devices that enable healthcare workers to offer excellent care to their patients. EMR and EHR play a significant part in efficiently running any healthcare facility. These systems are crucial because they are responsible for storing and maintaining patient data, patient scheduling, and enabling communication between staff members in some cases.
In addition to boosting the performance of the medical facility as a whole, other medical computer systems may also offer a variety of significant features for medical practitioners and their patients. For instance, some systems are equipped with patient monitoring functions, making it possible to monitor patients being treated for chronic ailments or assess how well the therapies work.
Medical computer systems aim to optimize the quality of services more practically and conveniently for all parties involved.
The Differences Between EMR and EHR Systems
EMR and EHR are electronic medical records, but there is a big difference between the two.
The terms “electronic health records” (EHR) and “electronic medical records” (EMR) are often used interchangeably. Although they are used for storing and managing patient records, there are several significant distinctions.
A single doctor or clinic primarily utilizes electronic medical records (EMR). A patient’s pertinent clinical information, including medical history, demographics, test results, and more, is stored in the system. It’s a digital alternative to the traditional paper medical chart. The system can also monitor vital signs or a patient’s general health condition over time and identify patterns or shifts is a significant perk of electronic medical record systems.
An electronic health record system (EHR) is superior to an electronic medical record (EMR) system in that it contains a patient’s whole medical history instead of only the data of a single provider or clinic. An electronic healthcare records (EHR) system stores information on individuals, including clinical data, demographic information, patient notes or prescriptions, allergies, vaccines, and more. This data is kept in a centralized repository, from which authorized healthcare professionals in various hospital settings can get it.
An electronic health record (EHR) system’s primary advantage is that it provides medical professionals with a complete overview of the health of their patients. This may be useful when a patient gets treatment from various physicians or experts. They can quickly access a patient’s medical history and make well-informed choices regarding their treatment.
Other Hospital Systems Being Used Today
There are a wide variety of systems or medical software that are used nowadays. Before settling on one that will best serve the needs of any medical facility, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each system.
In addition to electronic medical records and electronic health records, the following are some of the most common software options that are used in hospital settings today:
Clinical Decision Support Systems
Medical professionals rely on these systems because they can analyze data from various clinical and administrative databases. With this information, doctors can be ready to make diagnoses and plan for potentially dangerous medical situations, like drug interactions. The filtered data these systems offer improve the quality of care they deliver to their patients.
Financial Record Software or Accounting Software
Keeping accurate financial records is crucial in the healthcare industry. Software designed specifically for financial records facilitates this procedure by serving as a centralized database for all such documents. These include medical insurance claims, hospital costs, and patient billing systems.
With everything in one location, keeping tabs on payments and ensuring the invoices are paid on time is much less hassle. The hospital may also save money long-term due to the financial record software’s ability to detect and report errors and anomalies.
Practice Management Systems or Practice Management Software
An efficient PMS may automate daily administrative tasks, coordinate patient scheduling and data, and keep everything running smoothly in a medical office. When staff spends less time on these non-clinical activities, they have more time to devote to the patients.
Errors are minimized, and communication is facilitated across a healthcare institution when a PMS is implemented. Therefore, a robust Practice Management System may play a critical part in guaranteeing top-notch treatment for patients.
Patient Engagement Software
Now more than ever, healthcare providers expect patients to take an active role in their healthcare instead of merely receiving treatment. Thus, healthcare facilities increasingly rely on Patient Engagement Software (PES) to cater to patients’ needs.
PES has several advantages for both patients and doctors. Patients may benefit from PES in several ways, including receiving individualized treatment plans, medication reminders, and appointment scheduling. Providers may use PES to better connect with their patients, monitor their engagement, and simplify their operations. Patient Engagement Software may also reduce costs by lowering the frequency of unneeded testing and doctor’s visits.
Dental Software
Dental software is a dental office management software that helps with patient data, scheduling, billing, and other back-office operations. Though most dental offices still rely on paper records, there are several benefits to switching to dental software.
These include increased productivity, better data quality, and simpler adherence to regulations. Additionally, dental software has key features that may facilitate communication with other healthcare professionals, such as general practitioners and specialist referral networks. Therefore, dental software has the potential to contribute to the enhancement of care provided to patients significantly.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine is medical treatment delivery across long distances using electronic methods, such as the Internet, telephones, and videoconferencing. Patients in rural and underserved regions, in particular, benefit from the increased availability of this service.
By eliminating the need for patients to travel to see their doctors, telemedicine has the potential to cut down on healthcare expenditures significantly. Additionally, telemedicine has shown to improve patient outcomes by expeditiously connecting patients with specialists. Although telemedicine has the potential to improve healthcare delivery in many ways, it is important to view it as distinct from face-to-face interactions. Instead, we must see it as a supplementary resource for improving patient access and outcomes.
E-Prescribe Tools
Medical practitioners and other types of healthcare professionals actively use e-prescribe tools to digitally transmit prescription orders to pharmacies. Writing out or phoning prescriptions is often a slower and less efficient procedure, and this method may help decrease the number of mistakes in the process.
E-prescribe tools often consist of a software program downloaded onto the provider’s computer. Then, a link to the systems used by the pharmacy. Patients may also gain electronic access to their medications through their health records or portals. E-prescribing may contribute to improved communication between healthcare practitioners and pharmacies, which may enhance patient treatment quality.
The Outlook for Medical Systems
The continued rise in the population’s average age will likely keep driving up the demand for medical services. Together with changes in medical technology, this will lead to a need for more advanced medical systems.
That’s why the healthcare industry has been investing in innovative business intelligence tools to boost clinical performance. This includes cloud-based services and custom software solutions. Artificial intelligence or AI will also have a role in the future of medicine. Particularly in the diagnostic and therapeutic decisions made by clinicians. In light of this, the medical software market has a bright future.
However, it’s essential to remember that the market is quite competitive. Various companies provide software options, services, and goods that are functionally identical. Because of this, primary care physicians or healthcare practitioners should seek trusted and experienced service providers who can provide valuable help. It is critical to research, get feedback, and only engage with a reputable IT support provider.
Why Does it Seem Like the Printer is Always Broken?
Printers are a necessity in the office. When they work properly, everything in the office seems to run smoothly. Unfortunately, it seems like the majority of the time, the printers are jammed, whether it be paper jam, low ink, toner… the list goes on and on. As soon as the printers stop working, it seems like things get a little more hectic. Continue reading to learn more about the various factors that can interfere while using the printer.
Typically, there are three categories that the majority of printer failures can be classified under. These include software issues, issues with the actual supplies that a printer might require, or an issue with a printer’s connectivity to the network and/or your computer or device.
Software Issues
Missing or outdated drivers can be the culprit that can result in printing issues. It is easy to forget that printers rely on software in order to properly function. Eventually, that software may need to be updated. This can be done through the use of drivers. A driver is a type of software that assists the printer in communicating more effectively with a computer’s operating system.
Unfortunately, many people do not know that drivers can all of a sudden be incompatible with your system. This can be due to the operating system not being updated. Sometimes, operating system updates can be problematic with the printer’s installed drivers. It is important to also update or reinstall the driver as well after doing an update on the system.
Printer Supplies Issues
Paper and ink are absolutely vital for a printer to work properly. Something that customers are unaware of is printer manufacturers don’t necessarily make money from the sale of the printer itself, but from the proprietary ink refills that are required to continue using the printer. In addition to the ink supplies, printer paper can get pricey. The paper can also cause issues with the printer, especially if the paper you have is the wrong size or thickness, is unable to align with the printer, or the rollers in the printer end up getting blocked.
Printer Connectivity Issues
Printers can often be loud, creating a distraction in the work environment. Oftentimes, employees are constantly printing pages on top of pages. So printers are constantly making noise throughout the work day. Many people are tempted to hide the printer, either in a cabinet or underneath a desk, to keep it from making such a loud distraction.
It is highly recommended that printers not be kept hidden as it can cause connection issues such as interruption of wireless signals due to being placed under a desk or in a cabinet. It is recommended that all network equipment is centralized and kept out in the open within the work area, allowing to optimize the available signal.
We Are Here To Help!
Whether you have issues with your printer, supplies, or any other part of your IT infrastructure, we at WheelHouse IT can help. Contact us today for any assistance you may need with any aspect of your technology. You can reach us at 954.474.2204.
Integrating New Hardware Solutions Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult
Your business might find itself in a position where it needs new hardware solutions. You must make educated decisions about which hardware to acquire and when, but unless you are a tech guru, you probably need a hand figuring out how to get the most value.
That’s where we come in.
Here are some of the challenges that your business might face when implementing new hardware solutions.
Before getting too far, however, it’s helpful to have an idea of what not to do when replacing your technology. Many businesses will fall into the category of break-fix, meaning that they only replace technology when it has already broken down, often beyond repair entirely. Imagine the downtime that this practice can cause for businesses and the amount of money wasted on it. It’s a serious problem.
To illustrate this severity, consider a server unit that might fail before you replace it. How is everyone accessing the data found on this server? If your workstation breaks down, that’s one thing, but if the device used for business-wide data transmission breaks down, your entire business could be stuck in the mud until the issue is resolved. Meanwhile, you are wasting both time and money figuring out how to resolve the issue when preventative maintenance could have prevented all of this.
First, you must ask yourself, “Should I consider new hardware solutions in the first place?” Sometimes you might upgrade even if you don’t need to, simply because there is a more up-to-date model for a particular device that you have your eye on. Chances are that there is no need to upgrade immediately, especially if your current systems work perfectly fine. You should only consider upgrading away from your current systems when your technology is either causing disruptions to operations or if failing to upgrade will cause problems for you in the near future.
The second question you must ask is “What will I use this hardware for?” For example, if you try giving your video editor a thin unit or a standard office workstation, they are not going to have a good time going about their day-to-day tasks–tasks that are graphic-intensive and require more powerful machines. The idea here is to know what the technology is going to be used for before you implement it. Having unrealistic expectations for how your employees will use the technology is not going to help anyone.
Finally, you must also ask, “What is the timeline for replacing this hardware?” Remember that it is incredibly important to have a technology roadmap that lays out the timeline for when and how you should implement new hardware and other technology solutions for your business. This might include regular hardware refreshes to avoid the risks of hardware failure. At first glance, it might seem like you are replacing technology prematurely, but the difference here is that these are planned occurrences rather than purchases that come out of necessity.
Ultimately, the best way to implement new hardware solutions is to work with a professional like one of our trusted technicians. We can help you stay on the right path when implementing new technology. To learn more, reach out to us at (954) 474-2204.
When is it Time to Upgrade Your Technology?
It can be difficult to know when to upgrade your technology in today’s ever-changing business technology landscape, especially when there are so many options available. How do you avoid getting caught up in the excitement of every new thing? It starts with knowing where your organization is and whether you need to change.
Where Are You Right Now?
Let’s say you want to upgrade your workstation to a newer model with more powerful components. Consider what this might entail and whether the upgrade will make an impact on your day-to-day tasks. Perhaps upgrading your graphics card will help you be a more effective graphic designer, or more RAM might mean you can multitask more often. These are great, but in specific contexts, your average sales representative, for example, doesn’t need a video editing rig.
Your Operations Are Suffering
The major telltale sign that your organization should upgrade its technology is that operations are suffering in a significant way. Let’s say that you have your entire staff accessing the same network infrastructure from an antiquated server unit. The workstations themselves are working quite well, but the server unit is outdated and runs at a sluggish pace. This impacts not just one or two employees but your entire workforce. In situations like this, you absolutely do want to upgrade when possible.
Your Operations Will Suffer in the Near Future
The other situation when you might consider upgrading your technology is if your operations will be impacted sooner rather than later. A perfect example of this is when your operating system is about to reach its end of life and will no longer be supported by patches and security updates. You want to take care of this before you experience issues related to this lack of updates rather than after the fact.
In other words, it’s all about being proactive with your upgrades but not being impulsive with them. If you have trouble with this concept, don’t worry—we’ve got your back!
If you need help when it comes time to upgrade your technology, WheelHouse IT can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (877) 771-2384.