Perspective
From a healthcare perspective, those living in rural communities need and should receive the same care as those living in large urban areas. However, care providers face many challenges when serving a rural area. Recruiting talent is difficult without the amenities of a big city. The customer and payer mix may make the practice approach billing differently. Even the way the staff interacts with the patient differs greatly depending on the demographics of the population. Technology has long been the key to increasing efficiency in the healthcare industry. However, in rural communities technology faces some resistance and makes it difficult for providers to straddle two worlds to serve both the needs of their patient and the needs of their practice.
Situation
A mid-sized eye care provider with locations across east Texas found themselves straddling several worlds at once. Each of their 4 locations served a different community with unique challenges to upgrading their technology systems. However, after recently acquiring an Oculoplastic Specialist, they were planning on doubling capacities within the year. They knew they would be outgrowing their current IT infrastructure and they couldn’t scale like they needed to without bringing all the clinics onto a centralized, upgraded system. The provider decided to partner with Systeem because of Systeem’s experience in working with various IT systems in the medical field and the ability Systeem has to work with both IT vendors and the casual IT user.
Objectives
Upgrade aging infrastructure across all locations creating continuity, easier scalability and faster speeds.
Solution
The client successfully upgraded their aging infrastructure that hosted their NextGen environment by partnering with Systeem. With experience in a variety of different types and versions of medical technology, Systeem was able to provide the best upgrade solution that would work for all locations needs and limitations. Instead of single servers, Systeem moved the client to a private cloud based architecture that provided N+1 redundancy to protect the client from system failure. Migrating to the cloud allowed for easier scalability as they prepared to grow and faster speeds even in rural communities. Additionally, Systeem created a redundant network for each of the locations to access a centralized EHR and PM system.
The client was specifically impressed with Systeem’s ongoing customer service and support. Several of the locations house staff with very little technology expertise, but Systeem provides an appropriate level of support without making the user feel ignorant. In addition, Systeem provides a certain level of knowledge transfer so practice managers have greater confidence in the technology they’re using, but still have the support and backup of IT support via Systeem. Even more valuable is the proactive monitoring Systeem provides, heading off any issues before they become a disruption and source of frustration for the practice administrators. When technology works as it should, all those involved are more likely to embrace and use that technology to its full potential. This, in turn, leads to better patient experiences and a happier staff.
Results
- More reliable technology systems across all locations, decreased staff frustration and aversion to technology
- Appropriate IT infrastructure for growth and scalability
- Sensitive, proactive support services and knowledge transfer, increased confidence and trust in technology and Systeem
