Hospital Management Software

What is Hospital Management Software?

Hospital management software is a comprehensive, integrated information system for hospitals and medical centres. Total hospital management software helps medical centres in improving their administration & in managing the different verticals of a hospital's operation. It contains modules for managing the front desk, patient appointments, OPD & trauma, operation theatre, pharmacy and inventory, among others. A hospital management software is also referred to as hospital information software, in some circles.

Who needs Hospital Management Software?

Hospitals, medical centres and other large-scale medical service providing businesses benefit from using a hospital management software. Different types of hospital like multi-specialty hospitals, trauma centres, rehabilitation centres, childcare hospital, geriatric hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, maternity clinics, etc, can all use hospital management software. This solution helps with essential functions like patient management, stocking and tracking medical supplies, operating room scheduling, employee management, tracking pharmacy stock etc.

Why you need Hospital Management Software?

With a hospital management software, medical establishments can improve their daily operations and automate a lot of redundant tasks. Activities like appointment scheduling, invoicing, stock tracking, reporting and analysis, are easy to automate with a hospital management software. Not only does it open your hospital manager & employees’ time to let them focus on more important activities but also minimises the need for manual intervention. Consequently, this reduces the likelihood of errors in the absence of manual process.
A hospital management software can also be scaled up as your business grows. You can customise it as per your business requirement and upgrade it at a later date to include new software additions. Best hospital management system is available in both on-premise & cloud versions. Cloud model is the recommended option because, in case of property damage caused by earthquake, flood, fire etc, your hospital administration’s data is safe and secure. A cloud solution stores your data in a remote server, which ensures that you don’t lose your data and can copy it into a new system.
Most hospital management software are mobile responsive, so you can access your hospital’s data even when you’re not physically inside the premises.

Modules in Hospital Management Software

Hospital management software has a lot to offer to medical establishments. Some of its important modules have been listed below:

Front Desk/ OPD Management

Patient registration is a crucial part of any hospital’s day-to-day operations. Every day, scores of patients walk in and out of a hospital, and the administration must ensure that each of them is accounted for. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if a patient, who’s assumed to be admitted, has walked out and left the hospital. Knowing where patients are, helps doctors and nurses in charting out the day and in creating treatment plans.
The front desk management module of top hospital management software performs the entirety of patient registration. From their personal details (name, address, phone number, emergency contact details etc) to medical information (reason for visit, past visits, any medical conditions, allergies etc), all of it is recorded via hospital management software. It can also record appointment details and convey the same to doctors and physicians. The pain of manually entering details and generating patient IDs is completely negated. The software can record all details, generate IDs and appoint doctors and medical staff to the patient.

Medical Inventory Management

Hospitals have some of the fastest consumed products in their arsenal. Every day, dozens of gloves, syringes, needles, surgical masks and medicines are used by doctors and nursing staff. Added to these, there are a lot of instruments that are in use on a regular basis, which have a limited shelf-life. The inventory management module of a hospital management system helps in keeping a detailed track of supplies in stock.
When a product is taken from supply closets/rooms, an entry is made into the system which automatically marks the status of the product as in-use. Consequently, the system tracks different items and helps hospitals in maintaining a constant supply of necessary items. Aside from these, you can also use this module to assign supplies to rooms and better plan your storage arrangements.

Patient Billing & Invoicing

The billing & invoicing module of hospital management software, as the name suggests, improves the billing process with automation. It performs all the calculations and generates invoices. Hospital accounting software takes insurance claims into consideration when performing calculations and accordingly prepare an invoice.
The medical billing software can also be used by hospitals to perform bookkeeping. This module does so by keeping detailed records of transactions, taxes and expenses. Different accounting functions, such as ledger maintenance, payments, bank reconciliation, budgeting, and balance sheet maintenance, can be done using the billing & invoicing module. Additionally, most hospital billing software in India are GST-enabled, so patient and vendor invoices are calculated keeping current tax laws into account.

Patient Management

The most important module of any hospital management software, patient management handles the entirety of a patient’s term at a hospital. The moment a patient is registered at the front-desk, the patient management module takes over from there. From assigning doctor and nursing staff to recording diagnosis & prognosis, this module records the entirety of the patient’s medical history.
When a patient is admitted to a hospital, the patient management module helps in assigning an available bed/room. Additionally, nurses and doctors enter the details of a patient’s pharmaceutical requirements into the software. If a patient is unconscious after a surgery and he/she need to be rolled over or checked on at regular intervals, the software can record and relay this information to the concerned staff member. When a patient is discharged, the information stored in the patient management module is transferred to to the billing & invoicing module, and invoices are prepared accordingly.

Pharmacy Management

A hospital without a functioning pharmacy is like a hotel without a restaurant. A pharmacy is crucial for patients and doctors alike, and the pharmacy management module assists hospitals with the same. Medical store software maintains records of medicine composition, strength, manufacturer information, price details, etc. It also facilitates with stock management, billing, monitoring drug expiry, pharma retail and distribution and other activities required for the efficient management of pharmacy. Furthermore, this prescription assistance tool also generates patient prescriptions and maintains cumulative records.

Lab Management

The lab management module of a hospital management software performs a myriad of functions. Sample labelling, assigning samples to technicians, report generation, updating reports to the main server are a few of the lab management software’s many features. Hospitals can also archive past data on backup servers for record keeping. The lab management module can also be programmed to send notifications to patients about the status of their tests.

Features in Hospital Management Software

Hospital management system comes with a whole bunch of fantastic features. Some of its key features include:

Document Management: Hospital management solution helps in maintaining digital records of important documents pertaining to hospitals and patients. With a hospital software, you don’t need to maintain a file room containing stacks of documents for record-keeping. Digital records are not only easier to access, they also remove the need for a dedicated physical space.
Online Appointment & Scheduling: With top hospital management solution, scheduling & appointments are made significantly easier. A patient can simply call to make an appointment, the details of which are entered into the system by the receptionist. Appointment details are shared with the concerned doctors, who can make a note of the appointment and keep their schedule clear for the patient.
Blood Bank Management: Hospital management software can be used for effectively managing your medical centre’s blood bank. A user can register a blood bag’s details into the system (blood type, donor name, medical condition if any) easily. When the blood bag is consumed, the details are updated either by a technician with the use of a barcode scanner.
Operation Theatre Management: To help doctors and administrators from facing confusion, the operation theatre (OT) feature notifies staff about OT’s in use. This prevents those situations where an occupied OT is assigned to another patient
Ambulance Management: With this feature, keeping track of your ambulance’s status and location becomes much simpler. You can track your ambulance’s current location, ambulance in use/not in use, and view details of paramedics assigned to each vehicle. In case of major emergencies and high patient volumes, it’ll help you in prioritising and directing your ambulances towards high-priority cases.
Bed Management: You can’t assign a room to a patient, if you aren’t aware of empty beds. The bed management feature helps in keeping tabs on occupied and empty beds. When a patient checks in to a room, the nursing staff has to mark the bed as occupied in the system. The same applies to when a patient checks out of a room.
Scalability: As your hospital grows and the patient-base expands, you can scale up your hospital management system easily. With a robust hospital solution, there’s no need for you to switch software solutions to keep up with growth.
Stock Reports: You can’t have a business without knowing what products you have. With updated stock reports, you can keep a track of medical supplies effectively. Stock reports can be created based on different criteria like item size, manufacturer, type, etc.
Advantages of Hospital Management Software
There are many advantages of using a hospital management system. Some of them are: -

Improves Patient Management

As highlighted before, hospital management solution helps with the entirety of patient management. From appointment scheduling to invoice generation, activities related to patient management are significantly simplified. Any errors arising out of manually performing any of these tasks are also removed, using a hospital management software.

Appointment Scheduling Made Simpler

Your front desk staff will love using a hospital management system. The entire process of making an appointment is made very simple with this solution and there is little input required from the staff’s end. Doctors get notified of upcoming appointments automatically and there’s little room for mistakes. Hospital software also reminds staff of follow-ups to be done.

Keeps Your Hospital Clean and Shiny

Hospital management software can be programmed to inform your cleaning/janitorial staff of rooms that have been vacated and need to be cleaned immediately. Additionally, maintenance and cleaning schedule can be easily created with hospital administration software and shared with all concerned personnel.

Efficient Inventory Planning and Usage

With best hospital management software, you can keep a bird’s eye view of your medical supplies. The software will inform you of medical supplies in stock, supplies running low, and supplies to be ordered. Using this information,                 you get a better understanding of supplies that need to be ordered in surplus.

Reduces Operating Cost

Medical software gives you a complete mapped out picture of expenses being made across different verticals. Consequently, you can evaluate this information and make financial decisions that decreases operating cost. A digital solution like hospital software also removes the need of maintaining paper-based records, reducing money spent on stationary items.

Secures Patient Records

The best hospital management software in India are designed with the latest in encryption and data security technology. This ensures that your hospital’s data, such as patient record is out of snooping eyes. Additionally, you can and should keep a back-up of your data, for safe-keeping.

Communication with Patients Made Easier

Want to communicate test results and invoices to customers digitally? No worries, hospital management software is here to help! Using this solution, you can communicate not only test results & invoices, but also send promotional and marketing messages. Aside from these, you can also send reminders of upcoming tests/scans and appointments.

FAQs

Q. Am I required to purchase IT infrastructure to use hospital management software?

A. No, it isn’t necessary to buy new IT infrastructure to use a hospital management software. A hospital management system can be used with a Windows or Mac powered computer device with absolute ease. You can also integrate and use this software on tablets and smartphones.
 
Q. What should the employee-strength of my hospital be, to use a hospital information system?

A. There’s no minimum or maximum number of employees required to use a hospital management software. You can be a single-specialty hospital with an employee tally of 10, and still stand to gain a lot using this software.
 
Q. Can I also shift all previous physical records at my hospital to the new hospital management system?

A. Yes you can. Simply scan the records and the best hospital management system will store the files in its database. You can also categorise the records (according to year, patient, medical condition etc) for easier access later.
 
Q. If I’m handling multiple healthcare units, will I have to get more than one system?

A. No, hospital management solution comes with franchise management feature. With it, you can handle your different healthcare units using a singular unified platform.
 
Q. Cloud vs On-Premise: Which hospital management software model should I get?

A. That’s a decision only you can make, as it’s dependent on your requirement. An on-premise model is suited to hospitals and medical establishments with the capability to house IT servers and infrastructure, and with a dedicated IT team. Cloud model is for those hospitals, without a dedicated IT team or the requisite infrastructure. Having an on-premise SMS can be a bit costly, since it entails infrastructure purchase on top of license purchase & maintenance cost. A cloud model offers the ability to pay for license without the added cost of infrastructure procurement.
 
Q. How difficult is it to integrate a hospital management software with my existing computers?

A. Not at all. Hospital management software can be integrated with absolute ease, with your existing system. It can also work in tandem with other software, even though you won’t require any other solution if you use a hospital management software. 
 
Q, Will I need to dedicate a lot of resources to train my employees in using hospital management software?

A. When you purchase a hospital management software for your medical practice, you’ll be trained by professionals who’ll guide you and your employees through the solution. Additionally, there are user guides and tutorials that can be used to easily navigate and use this solution. So, no you won’t have to dedicate too much resource into training your staff in using a hospital management solution.
 
Q. What benefit does a single-specialty centre & smaller hospitals get, by using a hospital management software?

A. Top hospital management software contains modules for front-desk registration, OPD, medical supply management, doctor scheduling and more. These are common aspects of any medical establishment and will help your single-specialty/small hospital in digitising your operations, reduce pressure on your staff and streamline different functions through a single unified platform.
 
Q. My hospital doesn’t need all the modules offered by a hospital management software. Can I only get the ones I need?

A. Yes, you can purchase a hospital management solution customised with just the features you require for your establishment.
 
Buyer's Guide

Before purchasing a hospital management software, here’s a few things to keep in mind: -

Identify Your need

Before buying a hospital management software, you need to clarify the business need of using it. Are you looking for automation in front desk & reception management? Is streamlining inventory your priority? Once you know about your business needs, you’ll be in a better position to understand how the features of a hospital software can fulfil those needs.

How’s the User Experience (UX)

UX is an important part of any software’s functionality. Your experience of using a solution, it’s design aesthetic and ease-of-use, play an important role in making a purchase. If aesthetics’ weren’t important, everyone’s total hospital management software would look the same. An exhaustive solution filled with modules, will not overwhelm the user if it comes with a clean and friendly interface.

Budget

There are several hospital management software companies in India in different price ranges. If budget isn’t a constraint, you can opt for an on-premise solution. But, if your budget is tight, you can opt for a cloud-based solution on a monthly/annual subscription basis. You can also go for a software that gives you the option to customise and use only the features you need, significantly reducing purchase cost.

Request for Demos

Before making a purchase, find out if you can use the product on a trial basis or get a free demo. This will let you get familiarised with the tool and realise if it’s suited to your dealership. Vendors will be happy to give you a free hospital management software demo, so don’t forget to ask.

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