Healthcare IT Consulting Services Enhance Operational Efficiency

Summary: Did you know about the recent uptick in cyber attacks on small medical practices? Learn why it is imperative to enlist healthcare IT consulting services to evaluate and lock down medical network and all its devices.

There has been a noticeable increase in cyberattacks on small medical practices. The information contained in practice records is usually enough for cyber criminals to steal identities. The Proofpoint/Ponemon Healthcare Cyber Security Report for 2024 reports that “92% of healthcare organizations surveyed experienced at least one cyberattack in the past 12 months, an increase from 88% in 2023, with 69% reporting disruption to patient care as a result.“ Those statistics are staggering for small medical practices. Patient care, trust, and private medical data are all at serious risk. An attack on an unprotected network could cause an unprotected medical practice to go out of business due to ongoing financial hits. Network and device management work in tandem with cyber security efforts to help ensure that your network connected medical and computer devices are always operating securely.

Medical office technology is not a DIY project. First, the staff in your medical practice must stay focused on the tasks they are hired for and cannot be distracted by IT issues beyond their user-level responsibilities. Also, the IT experience and expertise required to manage this type of system are far beyond the skills of even a knowledgeable user. Professional health tech consulting requires analyzing vulnerabilities, areas that require operational efficiency and current workflows. In addition, healthcare It consulting firms can install tech solutions to automate tasks, optimize data utilization and streamline processes. These functions support reduced costs and faster, more efficient patient treatment. Furthermore, healthcare IT professionals can ensure your practice complies with HIPAA laws related to patient privacy and medical data handling.

What Services Can Healthcare IT Consulting Firms Provide?

Healthcare IT outsourcing services for medical offices are comprehensive. Here are some essential services that healthcare IT consulting firms provide:

• Data Analytics – Using state-of-the-art tools, healthcare IT experts can identify and gain insights into patterns and trends. Health tech consulting companies can significantly impact efficiency, cost management, resource allocations, patient care and turnaround time through data analytics. They can also note the typical data flow of downloads and email traffic for your network to better spot anomalies that occur during cyberattacks or insider threat events.
• Regulatory Compliance – Healthcare is a high-compliance business segment, compelled to follow HIPAA laws to protect patients' rights. Healthcare compliance is complex, and your medical office likely does not have the resources required to ensure that patient (and employee) private data is secure and that the best possible cyber security is in place. Also, IT professionals must re-evaluate cyber security coverage whenever a new medical device or connected device is added to your network.
• Integration of Technology – Healthcare IT consulting services can assist in implementing specialized healthcare IT systems, including practice management software, data analytic systems and inter-practice sharing between doctors and other offices. Your medical office’s technology must be seamlessly and securely integrated with the rest of your system to ensure access, usability and data protection.
• Optimization of Processes – IT consulting for healthcare is necessary to evaluate workflows, inefficiencies and redundancies. With process optimization, your practice can reduce patient waiting times and automate many administrative tasks such as billing, insurance claim filings and appointment scheduling.
• Employee Training – Humans are the weakest links in healthcare systems – as is the case in most other industries. IT experts can reduce this risk by training your staff in best practices for protecting medical data and their personal IT responsibilities as part of your team. All employees that access the practice network and data must be trained and receive ongoing, follow-up training to keep everyone on the same page. Also, any time something new is added to your network, staff must be trained on the responsible use of the addition. Furthermore, healthcare IT consulting services can provide real-time support online, by phone or in person if your staff has questions.
• Reduced Costs – As discussed earlier, process optimization performed by IT experts can help identify and eliminate unnecessary costs related to inefficient resource utilization, cumbersome administrative functions and costly errors that result from misplaced data, such as in prescribing or claim errors.
• Cyber Security – IT consulting for healthcare is essential to ensure your practice’s network has the necessary cyber security protections in place. Failure to prove protections are in place can result in ongoing liability, regulatory fines and failed compliance audits. HIPPA requires patients' private data to be kept out of the wrong hands. Also, all connected medical and smart devices must be protected from unauthorized access and secured from cyberattacks. The private data held by medical practices includes most of the information a hacker would need to steal a patient’s identity. Patient private information is at risk but practice employee data is vulnerable, too. This vulnerability includes physicians’ and practice owners’ private data.

Healthcare IT Consulting Firms Improve Operational Efficiency

Medical IT services and practice support come in many forms for a wide variety of functions. Unsurprisingly, operational efficiency is not at the forefront of many medical practitioners' minds. However, there are several daily operational tasks that can be made efficient with the assistance of healthcare IT consulting services, such as:

• Electronic Prescription Processing – Doctors can now prescribe medications electronically and relay them to specific pharmacies for fulfillment. By fully integrating the process, prescriptions can be automatically recorded across multiple internal platforms.
• Automated Digital Appointment Scheduling – By installing an automated, digital appointment scheduling platform, patients can make or change their own appointments online in an app or on the practice’s website. This eliminates long, frustrating on-hold waiting times for patients and frees up administrative time for medical practices.
• Development of a Patient Portal – Appointment scheduling and electronic prescriptions are two components of a robust, online self-service tool for patients called a “patient portal.” Patient portals allow patients access to their medical data, records, test results and to contact their physicians if necessary. Patient portals may be expanded over time to add more functionality.
• Physician Access to Patient Data in Real Time – Doctors and other authorized medical personnel must be able to retrieve and examine patient data without delay. A well-developed IT plan created in collaboration with professional IT consulting for healthcare can ensure seamless coordination of patient care across a variety of medical practice settings. Fast and efficient access to patient medical data is crucial to providing informed care.

Healthcare IT consulting services are vital to enhancing medical practices' operational efficiency and security. As your practice thrives and grows, your outsourced health tech consulting company will ensure that you are prepared and protected for the future.