When searching for software, almost everyone looks for free ones. If you simply type in the name of any random software, you’ll probably see a google autocomplete suggestion “free download”. In some cases, it does make a lot of sense in using free software. Why pay for something when you can get it for free? 

Searches for downloading free EMR software have increased with government legislation mandating their use in hospitals. Let us look into why this is a bad idea.

If you’re not paying for it, you’re the product

As a general rule, nobody ever gives you something for free. As economists would say, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product”. In the case of most free software, this is the case. Recently it was found that most of the free antivirus apps in the Google Play store actually did nothing. Their purpose? Probably to collect data from your device. This may not affect an average person very much, but if you’re concerned about privacy, you should probably stay away from these software. And when you’re dealing with a hospital management software, this is a key aspect. Data security is a very important aspect especially when you handle patient data. A data leak, however small has the potential to damage the reputation of your hospital. 

Lack of accountability

A hospital management system has to have certain qualifications that assure you that a particular software can fit your needs. When you purchase a software, it is possible for you to verify if these software fit the criteria. But when you download a software for free, there is no way for you to be sure if these software fit the criteria. And since there is no monetary transaction between you and the software provider, it will be difficult to hold them accountable. 

The lack of accountability will be an issue if the software faces any glitches. If the software crashes, customer support is not provided for the system, and you will be on your own. A software glitch in a free android app may be annoying, and will not cause any huge problems even if is not resolved. In case of a hospital, the software handles sensitive patient information and a software glitch can compromise this data, and with no tech support from the providers, it can cause a lot of problems. 

Upgrades? Nope

As government regulations change, and as the technology improves, you may face the need for a better software. If you’re relying on a free software for very important tasks, such as managing your hospital, you may find yourself stuck with an old software. Free software rarely provide any upgrades for long durations. And when you want an upgrade, you may find yourself searching for a new software, and you’ll have to import the existing data into the new software which will require additional resources. 

The story of the open source software

A commonly trusted free software are the open source software. Ubuntu is an example of an open source software. They are usually made by developers across the world, and their source code is available for free, and you’re free to change or modify the code as you wish. Since the source code is available for everyone, it is unlikely that the software can have malicious intents. And as long as the developers continue to improve the software, it will remain up to date with the required features. Open source software appears to offer a very good deal, and they do, in the case of most of the software. But in the case of a hospital management system, it is never a good idea to use an open source software. This is because of a combination of reasons discussed above. First of all, there are no hospital management software with the kind of community that a software like Ubuntu has. If you face any issues, you’re on your own. In the case of popular softwares, there may be forums in which users can discuss issues, and they may get resolved. But for a hospital management software, there are no such forums, and when you’re managing a hospital, you cannot afford to wait for a solution that may never come. And as we discussed, updates will be available for open source software only as long as the developers are working on the project.

What about the free trials?

If you have been looking for free HMS downloads, you may have come across many SaaS healthcare software companies offering lite or trial versions of their software for free, or maybe the complete version of their software, but for a limited time period. These software are generally secure and will be much more robust than software from other software providers. They may even offer regular updates. But remember that these trial versions are just for that. They will be severely limited in their capabilities, and you will definitely have to upgrade at some point. And the providers may not provide tech support if you’re using the free version. But they do provide an easy way to evaluate a software and if available, they serve as a demo for the complete version. 

Lack of customization

Generally across hospitals, or even across departments, there is no uniform workflow. Each department head has their own workflows, and this is the reason why hospital management systems are highly customized. However such customization is not at all possible in a hospital management system, and if implemented, could affect the functioning of the hospital and may prove to be counterproductive. 

To know more about hospital management software, visit MocDoc Hospital Information System.

HMS covers three aspects of managing the hospital; they are Operational, Financial, and Clinical Aspects. If you look at the Doctor Management System, most of the software covers only operational and financial aspects like billing, inventory management, patient registration, scheduling, and workflow management. When evaluating HMS software, hospitals give much importance to operational and financial aspects and less importance to clinical records.

This blog discusses the importance of focusing on clinical records, otherwise known as Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in HMS.

What is EMR?

EMR is called Electronic Medical Records (EMR), which include information regarding the patient's medical history and treatment as discrete medical practices possess them.

When considering individual patients, the EMR will include information like patient contact information (emergency contact), physician orders, allergies, insurance, and other billing information, surgical notes on various medical progress, prescriptions, vitals like weight, height, body temperature, BMI (Body Mass Index), etc., release information forms, medical facility appointments on past and future, treatment plans and Discharge summaries, etc. 

EMR constitutes different characteristics considering the medical practices, which include their functioning system to all other medical care procedures.

Apart from the benefits of the software platform, the Electronic Medical Record Systems also provides much other prominent information for care.

Coordination procedures connecting reception information and transfer departments, the software, personal use rules of the organizations, training, and education established plans are some of the well-established components of the Electronic Medical Record System.  

Benefits of EMR for the Medical Practice

Below are some of the advantages of Electronic Medical Records to Medical Practices.

• Capable of quickly transferring patient information from one department to the other.
• The digital record environment helps to save much space.
• Through EMR, you can quickly enhance the number of patients for improved productivity and workflow of the patients daily.
• Medical practice with reduced errors leads to a vast improvement in patient care and result management.
• The operational cost is much reduced with EMR, especially for expenses made for overtime labor and transcription services.
• With EMR, electronic medical records can be customized and are scalable.
• The capability of providing advanced clinical documentation and e-prescribing. 
• The efficient and accurate process of billing with their advanced healthcare practices.

What Benefits does EMR provide for the Patients?

• Improvement in Patient Treatment and other Diagnoses of diseases.
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• Rapid decision-making responses and patient care from different medical professionals assigned to individual patients. No chances for significant errors in a patient health record.

What are the Essential Core Capabilities of the EHR?

The Electronic Medical System indulges seven different core capabilities, namely.

Health Information and Data:

With EHR, you can quickly access essential information about the patients, their allergies, diagnosis of their diseases, medications, lab test results, etc., which provides a clear idea for the custodian or minder to decide on the treatments promptly.

Result Management:

People who take care of the patients are provided with multiple settings regarding patient care. This will undoubtedly improve the effectiveness of the care and safety of the patients reliably through quick access to past and new test results.

Decision Support:

The computerized EMR system makes use of Prompts, reminders, and alerts for various benefits like providing complementary clinical practices with improved compliances, possibilities of regular screenings, and capability of taking other vital methods, natural treatment, and diagnosis and also helps to identify the possible interaction of the drugs, etc. precisely.

Electronic Connectivity and Communication:

Improved care continuity, enhanced timeliness of the treatment and diagnosis of diseases, reduced events frequency, etc., are some of the critical benefits of the Electronic Medical System for secure, efficient, and accessible communication between patients and providers.

Patient Support:

The various tools provided for the patients, like easy access to their health records anytime, interactive health table and patient education, self-testing and home monitor methods, etc., help to keep their diabetes and other chronic diseases under control.

Reporting:

Electronic Medical System has plenty of advantages indulged in the HMS. One of the critical reasons 90% of clinicians choose EHR is their reduced human errors.

As a whole, EHR security needs a fine tune in case of the substance abuse records and terms of the behavioral actions. By doing so, they can calculate the patient's body conditions efficiently. E.g., if nurses and physicians have every minute detail regarding their patient's history at their fingertips, there might be no massive chances for critical care and emergency treatment.

The detailed history of the patients will help in finding a new healthcare provider through the patient's current health state and the medical record. They also support exchanging patient information with healthcare facilities if the patients have not requested them.

Integration

Electronic medical record (EMR) is not a standalone system. Instead, it is a complete ecosystem with several integrations, making it a holistic solution for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care, and management of medical conditions.

To learn more about the MocDoc Healthcare System.

HMS (MocDoc HMS) otherwise known as HMIS (Hospital Management Information System) is a medical informatics solution element that mainly focuses on hospital administration requirements. The HMS is a web-based or computer application that takes care of the complete hospital functionalities. The integrated system can be customized and are developed to control all hospital operations like patient details, appointment booking, billing, drug management, Electronic Medical Record, administration, Patient medical history, inventory management, bed management, revenue management, and so on. 

A Hospital Management System is essential and mandatory for healthcare establishments like nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, clinics, hospitals, health clinics, dispensaries, and more. Some of the top benefits of implementing an HMS are role-based access control, data accuracy, revenue management, appointment booking, overall cost reduction, and data security. 

Benefits of Hospital Management System:

Revenue management: 

A medical center or hospital serves humanity. Apart from that, profit is more important as it is also considered to be a business.  Revenue management is one of the significant elements as it needs the fortune to manage a hospital. Also, it's not possible to track the identical thing with the help of the old-age manual system. An Automated HMS that caters to the needs of the business can help in solving the purpose efficiently. 

It provides accurate and rapid management and transactional reports, which offer a clear view of how your business is performing. What are the debts and interests, pending invoices, and outstanding amounts?

Apart from that, there is also a decrease in the operating cost because of actual operational effectiveness. When processes and systems are automated, there is no need for higher resources to manage the operations. It means the faster break-even point and improved ROI can be achieved easily.

Enhanced decision-making in clinics:

An accurate Hospital Management System ensures that decision-making in clinics is made precise, fast, and useful. With a single view and easy availability of data points, medical support staff and doctors are facilitated.

Obtain the best quality ratings: 

When your clinics or hospital needs to be the top-rated and top-preferred ones by insurance companies, then you must implement a Hospital Management system in your hospital. Insurance companies and medicare companies depend on digital data only when there is an automated system in the hospital.

If your clinic is capable of sending and receiving the information of the patients, and their medical records digitally, then it means your hospital is going to be the highest preference among the patients. An accurate and rapid Hospital Management System stands out at the top among other nursing homes, medical centers, and other hospital competitors. It adds significant value to your hospital and also provides a reputation in the market. 

Nullify every error and track complete details: 

Managing a hospital is not easy, and there are chances for some mistakes to occur. A manual system can ensure 100% accurate processing and foolproof. There are higher chances for mistakes and errors in this case. To eradicate this, the best decision is to install an automated hospital management system that highly nullifies every mistake, and also you can avoid lawsuits and compliance issues, which are considered to be the two most significant drawbacks of hospitals and medical centers. 

Apart from this, tracking the accurate details of staff availability, operational information, and room occupancy can also be readily available at your fingerprint by using the automated Hospital Information System. 

Enhanced data security:

The experts have reinforced and highlighted the fact that hospitals, medical centers, and clinics depend on manual systems. It can lead to higher data leakage and theft when compared to automated ones. Installing a complete and automated HMS indicates that your pieces of information stay safe and protected from any unauthorized sources and accesses. 

Significantly, you make use of the state-of-the-art system with centralized controls. Make sure you are not implementing a standalone home-grown one. There are no chances for errors when an access-controlled system manages everything as the information availability relies on user rights. It's also one crucial reason why hospitals, rehabilitation centers, clinics, trauma centers, and nursing homes make use of the high-quality and automated Hospital Management System. 

Bottom Line: 

The Information Technology advancements in the last few years are high, and there is a revolutionary change, especially in the management and automation system of hospitals. They provide intelligent and accurate management information systems apart from handling the mundane operational staff that is developed by hospital information systems. 

Hospital Management System offers a better-concerted atmosphere between doctors, patients, hospital staff, groups, and managing workflows. The portal solutions are capable of unifying the legal objects, and applications from other portals and also manage multitudes of user requests, which results in reckless information flow between patients, doctors, and staff. 

Eager to know more benefits of implementing a Hospital Management System for your hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, or medical centers? Contact us today!