Doctors might be trusted with our health, but can their systems be trusted with our data?
Medical records often hold some of our deepest darkest secrets and the importance of reliable systems to store those little secrets as well as deliver care is critical.
Despite this, the Australian healthcare industry is lagging pretty significantly in this space. The biggest obstacles to taking control of it? Firstly a lack of understanding and next, a lack of dedicated IT staff.
That’s where teams like ours can help. Well actually, they’re crucial. To help avoid a code yellow in your business, we’re sharing some of the benefits to Medical IT support with these 6 reasons for engaging a pro.
1. Stay compliant and secure:
Health service providers consistently top the list of sectors notifying the Government of data breaches – 42% of them resulting from cyber security incidents (OAIC, 2023). How are you managing the security of patient data in your business? Is your data stored on-site in physical back ups? Or do you have a cloud system? Can your team identify and avoid a phishing email? You might think so, but McAfee suggests 97% of people can’t if it’s at all sophisticated (McAfee, 2024). It’s easy to be compliant and respectful of your patient’s privacy when you engage a professional managed IT provider, with specific medical experience.
2. There’s 24/7 monitoring and support:
Technical glitches, out of order phone systems, general down time? There’s no room for these when it comes to providing quality care to your patients, not to mention ensuring they come back to use you again. If you’re on a weekend shift but your in-house “tech wizard” isn’t, you’ll still have a point of contact that really knows what they’re doing waiting to take your call. Even better, with round the clock monitoring of your systems and proactive maintenance along the way, many IT issues will be resolved before you even know they exist.
3. Be prepared for the future and nimble to scale:
We’ve seen the flex required to accommodate spikes in patient volumes. Not to mention the fact adopting new technology and innovative treatments is what sets the best of the industry apart. With professional IT support, your medical practice can grow, evolve and even contract seamlessly thanks to solutions that can scale. Whether you’re leveraging the cloud, taking virtual consultations or digitising other systems, optimising your IT environment professionally will mean you’re preventative rather than curative as your world changes.
4. Keep your world spinning, even if disaster strikes:
Although malicious or criminal attacks are the most common cause of data security breaches for health care providers, human error is almost on par. Even the most well-intentioned team member could wreak havoc on your systems and as a result, your whole operations. Think of professional IT support as your very own emergency service, ready to keep you going no matter the disruption and minimise the business impact.
5. Less admin, more healthcare:
Alleviate the administrative load on your team by tasking the professionals with integrating your electronic health records (EHR), practice management software, medical billing systems and more. By removing this distraction from your core business, you’ll be free to provide better quality care to your patients. Not to mention keeping and attracting happier staff.
6. We saved the best for last – cost efficiencies:
Even though care’s at your core, most healthcare businesses aren’t charities. With so many overheads rising, professional IT support is actually a cost-effective option to get a great outcome for many businesses. There’s no need to hire or train a permanent resource, plus flexible products and service options mean your unique requirements and budget can almost always be accommodated.
Don’t just take it from us, why not hear from one of our favourite medical customers here – Mead Medical.
Will 2024 be the year you take control of your business’ IT environment? Xenex Systems has worked with a number of medical centres and allied health businesses across Perth and continue to be referred to more.
Reach out to us today for a free audit of where you stand and how we could help you dodge that code yellow in your business.