When companies merge or expand locations, it can create a tsunami of logistical hurdles to overcome. Integrating data from multiple IBM Power Servers into key reports and documents shouldn’t be one of them.
Let’s use healthcare IT as an example. There are a lot of challenges being thrown at rural hospitals in today’s healthcare system. Whether it is population shifts, increasingly expensive investments in technology and infrastructure, or the changing payer system, small healthcare operations are reevaluating options to keep their doors open.
Many small facilities are affiliating with each other or with larger medical centers. This can create issues with invoicing, report production, and distribution. In fact, large medical centers can have similar issues with report distribution since there are so many departments and often multiple campuses.
Here’s how the right software can address those challenges and cut costs.
Report and Forms Management
Forms software allows you to electronically replicate and print recurring reports and forms, such as Medicare/Insurance invoices and Admit/Consent forms, with the ability to customize logos, etc. for separate facilities.
Patients are like customers of any company. They are reassured to see consistent branding on all forms of communications. It’s confusing and off-putting to see poorly formatted forms with generic names and colors.
Distribution
Hospitals that affiliate with each other need the ability to print one report to multiple locations. Hospitals that are large medical centers are enormous organizations that can have similar challenges with geography, and often couriers are needed to physically deliver reports that are run on the same system to outlying areas.
A lot of these reports contain sensitive information about revenue by each department and there is a need to keep this information compartmentalized. Distribution needs to be handled carefully and properly. Spool file software gives you the ability to burst the data on your server by department and put it in a walled area accessible only to that department and a designated administrator who has visibility across all departments.
In addition, spool file software gives you the ability to choose email or print distribution and allows you to manage the list. This can eliminate the need for costly print runs and couriers.
Archiving and Compliance
Healthcare has a lot of potential danger zones when it comes to managing patient health information (PHI). With spool file software there is no need to hunt for documentation when you need to create a compliance report. The software expertly archives files and information for easy research.
Need to retrieve an older file or address? It’s a simple search function. Additionally, you have the ability to restrict user access to PHI and other sensitive files.
Automation:
There is no need to reinvent the wheel every week or each month to produce important reports, invoices, documents, etc. Forms and spool file software allow you to preset print or email distribution parameters to automatically initiate any time of the day or night.
Message Monitoring software
Security is a huge priority for healthcare facilities. Message monitoring software for your AS400 provides protection for your sensitive data in a number of ways:
- Password attempts – you get an alert by text and email if someone tries to get access to your data with the wrong password information.
- Report foul-up – print jobs can go wrong for a number of reasons whether it is printer related, server related, or the wrong data was input into the report request. Message monitoring alerts you to any delays before the snafu starts backing up other work that needs to be processed.
Message monitoring software can also alert IT to power outage or near capacity issues. Having that heads-up to critical issues going on with your AS400 or its output helps protect sensitive data like PHI.
The increased efficiency and distribution options software brings to your AS400 and healthcare IT does more than improve efficiency. It saves money. Check out our case study with a healthcare IT company in the Midwest – they saved more than a month and a half of employee hours by using our spool file and forms software.
Interested in seeing how our software solutions can help you integrate multiple locations whether you are a large medical center or a group of smaller facilities? Let’s start a conversation!
JUN