Unlock Efficiency by Integrating Disparate Systems into One Comprehensive ERP Solution

The following is a guest article by Joe Clemons, Vice President of ERP at Pivot Point Consulting.

Picture it: the year is 1995. You’re sporting the latest Palm Pilot PDA for scheduling, a flip phone for calls, and a digital camera for taking pictures. You may even have a pager, or as they were called back then, a beeper! At the time, all of these were considered cutting-edge devices that made your job and life easier!  

They also represented single-point solutions that addressed only a specific need. Today we have smartphones, with the power of a supercomputer in the palm of our hands, that do all the above and more – at your fingertips you can find information, get directions, make purchases, play music and videos, perform calculations, provide weather updates, etc. These mobile devices have streamlined our lives by consolidating useful features and functionality into a single, user-friendly platform. 

Unfortunately, healthcare organizations in the business systems space may still find they, too, are still stuck in the ‘90s. Many organizations continue to deploy multiple paper and disparate systems to serve a specific need. For example, they may have one system devoted solely to human resources, another to financial planning, another to the supply chain, another to payroll, another for benefits administration and even more to cover all the various aspects of their business operations. And sadly, in many cases the solution of choice for many of the above is an Excel spreadsheet or paper form!

Running multiple systems in mission-critical business operations departments creates more work for providers and payers, perpetuating inefficiencies that undermine business goals. Further, healthcare organizations using multiple systems are missing out on the strategic and operational advantages of a unified, cloud-based ERP solution.

Below are three benefits healthcare organizations can derive from a comprehensive ERP solution.

Unlocked efficiencies

Business systems that silo data make it harder for healthcare organizations to run efficiently, which can hurt margins and, ultimately, impact the ability to efficiently provide quality care.  Stand-alone systems hinder administrative processes, which create more work for already overburdened healthcare staff, increasing the risk of turnover due to low employee satisfaction.

By deploying a single cloud-based ERP solution that is interoperable with other IT systems, particularly the electronic health records (EHR) platform and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, healthcare organizations can unlock efficiencies that drastically reduce waste and redundancy in operations. This enables organizations to do more and redeploy the focus of employees to more important tasks because 1) fewer systems specialists are needed and 2) basic-but-necessary maintenance is performed for a single system instead of four, six, or more.  

There is, however, a caveat: your healthcare organization’s ERP must be well-designed and well-integrated with other systems to produce benefits. A poorly designed ERP solution can make things problematic. Automating bad business processes can exacerbate existing challenges and, in many cases, make things even worse.  Healthcare organizations should work with a trusted partner to plan, customize and develop their ERP implementation.

Increased employee retention

The Great Resignation – also called the Great Reshuffle – has left many healthcare organizations severely understaffed. It is critical, therefore, that providers and payers ensure their technology tools make it easier for employees to do their jobs. 

Technology burdens are a major cause of burnout in the healthcare sector. Inefficient workflows, excessive and nonintegrated point solutions, and user-unfriendly digital tools consume an increasing share of healthcare workers’ time and energy. 

A single, cloud-based ERP portal eliminates fragmentation issues that are endemic in environments with multiple system setups – each of which can often require separate logins and maintenance. Liberating healthcare workers from retrieving information from disparate systems improves employee engagement and satisfaction because employees no longer have to do frustrating work that should be avoidable or tedious jobs that leave them unfulfilled. Having a single ERP solution that serves the teams’ comprehensive needs can drive enhanced employee engagement – a crucial metric for retaining talent. 

A stronger supply chain

The pandemic devastated global supply chains in 2020, making it harder for healthcare organizations to find and obtain badly needed medical supplies to cope with the millions of COVID-19 patients flooding hospitals and clinics. And while a global health crisis can’t help but be disruptive, it also exposed weaknesses in the supply chains and demand forecasting of many healthcare organizations. 

A cloud-based ERP solution that integrates supplier data with demand-planning platforms can help healthcare organizations avoid the lack of supply chain transparency that inevitably leads to unanticipated shortages or over-purchases. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can be used by providers to increase supply chain visibility, predict usage, reduce costs and respond instantly to sudden disruptions. 

Conclusion

Healthcare organizations operate on razor-thin margins. A unified, cloud-based ERP solution that unlocks efficiencies, increases employee retention, and strengthens the supply chain can make a healthcare organization financially stronger. Think of what good can come from those savings – they could mean the purchase of a new ambulance or a new MRI machine – money that otherwise would be eaten up by the process inefficiencies inherent in environments with multiple business systems. 

Just as modern consumers no longer have to cart around five or six digital devices when they only need a smartphone, healthcare organizations do not have to struggle with multiple business systems that create chaos, inefficiency and extra work when a single cloud-based platform is available. It’s not 1995, after all.

About Joe Clemons

Joe Clemons is the Vice President of ERP at Pivot Point Consulting, where he contributes practical experience and guidance to his clients. With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare IT strategy, ERP planning and implementation and more, his expertise drives organizational strategy and value. Joe routinely contributes to industry articles, podcasts, video interviews and the development of methodology and best practices. He currently serves on the Oregon Chapter of HIMSS Board of Directors as the Sponsorship Chair.

   

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