Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software has gained momentum as an increasingly popular choice for healthcare organizations looking to improve their management of human and material resources. From providing a better employee experience to more effectively managing the supply chain, these solutions are able to help streamline your internal operations and cut down time spent on administrative tasks.
By implementing an ERP system, healthcare organizations can enhance their operational efficiency, achieve better financial control, and make faster, more accurate decisions. In this guide, we will explore the key steps healthcare organizations need to take in order to successfully implement an ERP solution into their own practices.
General Benefits of a Healthcare ERP Systems:
Before we cover specific benefits, let’s first discuss how they can assist your organization at the highest level.
One of the most significant benefits of implementing an ERP at your healthcare organization is that it creates more time for your team to focus on the most important aspect of your operations: providing an excellent patient experience.
With an ERP system in place, your team can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time developing relationships with patients, researching new treatments, and improving the quality of care overall.
In addition to creating more time for patient care, healthcare ERP solutions can also help you achieve better financial control over your operations. By automating tasks and improving cross-department communication, you can avoid errors and duplication of effort that can lead to wasted time and money.
Lastly, but certainly not less importantly, the ERP system allows you to view all aspects of human and material resource management from a single source. Rather than overseeing everything from multiple software platforms, you can view everything in one unified hub that provides a holistic overview of everything that you need to know to manage this critical aspect of your organization effectively.
How Healthcare ERP Implementation Benefits Specific Areas of Your Practice
Supply Chain Management
In healthcare, ERP systems can help to improve communication and coordination between different departments and units, while also providing a central platform for requisitioning and managing inventory.
By streamlining these processes, healthcare ERP systems can help to improve the overall efficiency of supply chain management for healthcare organizations. Furthermore, by integrating with eCommerce platforms and other digital tools, healthcare ERP systems can provide a more holistic view of your entire supply chain, allowing for more informed decision-making about requisitions and inventory levels.
Human Resources
Human resources departments are responsible for a wide range of critical functions, from recruiting and onboarding new employees to managing payroll and benefits. With so many moving parts, it’s important to have a streamlined system in place to help keep track of everything.
That’s where ERP systems come in. By integrating all of your HR data into one central platform, you can reduce back-office costs, improve employee recruiting and development, and assist with payroll, employee self-service, and time and attendance.
Not only can this type of solution save on back-office expenses, but it also generates more value for your investment in quality HR. By reducing the administrative load, you receive more value from the time that your HR staff spends on other more critical aspects of their roles.
IT & Systems Management
Healthcare IT teams shoulder a large burden for any organization. They are often turned to as the in-house experts for anything software-related. ERP systems are designed for both highly technically proficient individuals and those with limited knowledge.
The user-friendly interface that an ERP system can provide both empowers other teams in your organization and lightens your IT team’s workload from managing non-core operations. Instead, your other staff members will be able to manage many of the once-difficult technical aspects of their positions more effectively with a single, central suite.
Implementing Healthcare ERP Systems at Your Organization
When introducing any new system into your operations, expect some time for training. However, over time, your investment will begin to show benefits as the system becomes more utilized across your entire organization.
Here are five tips to help your healthcare organization effectively implement an ERP system:
1. Define your goals. Before you can start implementing an ERP system, you need to first define your goals. What do you hope to achieve by implementing an ERP system? Once you have a clear idea of your goals, you can develop a plan that will help you achieve them.
2. Choose the right platform. Not all ERP systems are created equal. When choosing an EHR system, be sure to select a platform that offers the features you need to accomplish the goals that you need it to.
3. Train your staff. One of the most important steps in implementing an ERP system is training your staff. Be sure to provide adequate training on how to use the system so that they can be confident in their abilities when it goes live. Also train your IT staff so that they can provide initial support in the early stages of launching your new solution.
4. Go live gradually. Going live with an ERP system all at once can be overwhelming for an organization. To avoid any disruptions, go live gradually by rolling out the system in phases. This will give everyone time to adjust and get comfortable with using the new software.
5. Lead by example. As a leader within your organization, make sure that you are using your ERP system and reviewing it regularly. You can also include the data that it generates in meetings and formal reports to further integrate it into your operations.
Implement an Advanced Healthcare ERP System Today
At Harris Integrative, we equip rural and community hospitals with specifically developed, tightly integrated, comprehensive ERP software to more effectively manage their human and material resources. Our solution includes full HR/Payroll/Finance functionality for more thorough transparency to help you make more informed decisions as a leader within your organization.
To learn more about how our ERP solution can assist you in your own operations, schedule a 15-minute call with us today.