In the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, major technological shifts are occurring. Adapting to these new technological trends is essential. Healthcare managers face a lot of important decisions that are to be made quickly and efficiently to attain a well-tuned management workflow.

Advent of new technologies made creating more patient-centric and employee-focused systems possible. For instance, a study on the adoption of Electronic Health Record adoption conducted in 2017 indicated that 86% of healthcare managers have adopted EHR as their main record keeping solution. Yet, implementing these systems is often considered a pain point for healthcare managers.

Why you should consider developing a customized software for your healthcare facility

Employees and patients represent the very heart of any healthcare facility. With an efficient customized software in place, you can positively affect their experiences and engagement.

Key benefits:

  • Save on resources: Automating routine process helps you save time and lower your costs and paperwork. For example, having a software in place that allows patients to book an appointment remotely, while automatically assigning an employee to the forthcoming booking can prove a huge time saver.
  • Increase engagement: Having a customized software in place can facilitate cross-department collaborations, which in turn can significantly boost your employees productivity.

Discussed below are actionable steps a healthcare manager should follow to effectively and successfully navigate a hospital software development project.

Step 1: Hire an experienced Software Development Team

Having an experienced software development team is the key to complete your project. You do not want to provide your facility with an inefficient, error-prone or unfinished software system.

An inefficient software can impede your healthcare facility’s workflow and negatively impact both your patient and employee experience. The team working on your project should be able to install a robust, efficient and user-friendly software. A secure framework is vital to safeguard all the data collected. It is always better to take a thorough look around the market and find a team that has a relevant portfolio to bring your project to life.

Step 2: Narrow down on your requirements

First of all, it is crucial not to waste time on features that you don’t need. More features means a longer turnaround time, which may affect the delivery timeline. You may need to have an extensive discussion with the development team to inquire about what features would be best for your facility. Seize this occasion to set your expectations and share any ideas you may already have about the project. If you still cannot decide, narrow down on features that would bring immediate benefits to your facility, such as developing a timeclock app for your staff.

Step 3: Communicate your requirements effectively

Effective communication is crucial when heading a development project. Take the time to create a proper guideline for the software development team to follow. Clearly reiterate all expectations from the very start to avoid unnecessary roadblocks down the road. Prepare your own agenda to routinely check for updates and the progress of your project. Try not to be too overbearing, allow the development team some time to make progress to enhance the workflow of the project.

Step 4: Map out the development phases

This step is very important as it sets the tone for the entire course of the development project. Usually, this process consists of a planning/ideation phase followed by a development phase, a beta testing phase, and final testing before the project is brought into action. It is normally common practice to work based on milestones with the development team, this ensures that all parties are going in the same direction.

Step 5: Begin development

Once the development phases or milestones have been set, you can begin the development project. As mentioned earlier, expect regular updates and stay informed of the project’s progress. Be on standby to answer any queries when necessary and ideally, keep a written record of any key decisions taken. Usually the simplest way of doing this is by sending a follow-up email to the concerned parties, which includes any agreement or changes you have consented to. It is important that you stay calm and let the developers do what they’re best at.

Step 6: Test before launch!

You cannot launch without testing. This step allows you to pinpoint issues or loopholes. Keep in mind that finding bugs is common during the test phase, and should be addressed appropriately. Remember, as a healthcare manager it is imperative that you oversee this entire process to ensure that no stone is left unturned as this can directly impact your healthcare facility.

Off you go

With the technology available currently, you can easily develop and implement a customized software with all the features you feel will bring more value to your facility. Completing a software development project as a healthcare facility manager is a challenge. However, successfully implementing a customized software with carefully selected features can take your facility to the next level. The COVID-19 hit has exposed how unprepared most healthcare organizations are when faced with an unexpected situation, but has at the same time forced health stakeholders to rethink their current working processes.

 

Derek Jones

Derek spearheads key initiatives at Deputy, a global workforce management platform for employee scheduling, timesheets and communication. With a focus on Healthcare, Derek helps business owners and workforce leaders simplify employment law compliance, keep labor cost in line and build award-winning workplaces. Derek has over 16 years’ experience in delivering data-driven sales and marketing strategies to SaaS companies like MarketSource and Griswold Home Care.