Whether you work in a doctor’s office, dental surgery, or even a hospital, you will know that healthcare professionals need certain software to keep up to date with patient care. Healthcare software can create patient profiles, medication databases, and even organise patient appointments, which is all necessary information needed when working within the medical field. Without bespoke healthcare software, many healthcare facilities wouldn’t be able to keep track of patients, their care, and any medications that have been administered.
With the current Covid-19 pandemic, now more than ever, healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, need this advanced software to complete their job correctly. If this software is lacking, patients may suffer, and medications may get wasted. Neither of these outcomes is beneficial to anyone.
What actually is healthcare software?
Healthcare software is the development of different IT applications and programs. The applications can offer support for healthcare professionals as well as track patients, medications and even the facility’s day-to-day operations. Programs are designed to streamline healthcare facilities’ processes and encourage everything to run as smoothly as possible.
The applications and programs resemble something of a database of information and allow healthcare professionals to look up information. For example, a patient may complain of certain pain, and a healthcare professional can use specific software to look at a patient’s health history, diagnose the problem and prescribe a medication that would be suitable. The software does not take away the healthcare professional’s decision-making process; it just provides all the necessary information in one place so that the healthcare professional can do their job as well as possible. This means the healthcare facility can use resources wisely and efficiently. This also means that patients can receive the best care possible.
What can healthcare software be used for?
Software can come in various forms and can be used in multiple different ways. Because of this, there are ample software applications for different services. Some of the most popular software can be used to manage healthcare records, schedule appointments, provide pharmaceutical support, and track medical billing. These kinds of software are used in almost every medical facility and will be used on a regular basis. Depending on the type of medical facility, other software uses may include hospital/practice management, tele-medicine, and medical equipment management.
Depending on the medical facility, some databases can be linked with other facilities so that medical professionals can work with patients and give them the care they need. For example, a doctor’s offices may share a database with the local hospital, so that hospital professionals have a patient’s medical history if ever needed. Pharmacies may also share their software and databases with medical facilities so that doctors or pharmacists know what a pharmacy has in stock when prescribing a medication. If a medication is urgently needed, a medical professional will be able to find out if it’s readily available or if another medicine will need to be prescribed.
What is bespoke healthcare software?
Bespoke healthcare software is software that has been designed with a specific purpose in mind. It’s usually created independently by a hospital or practice and is not a generic application. It’s mainly used for internal use and is not often shared with other healthcare facilities.
Most commonly designed bespoke software applications are forms of databases, usually for patient data or clinic data. Although most healthcare software is good, generic programs can miss out on key functions that a particular facility may need. Custom software applications can allow a clinic to create their own programs, meet their every need, and ensure medical professionals have access to whatever is required. This could be a patient database with patient records or it could be a medical equipment and drug database. A dental practice and doctor’s office will likely need different databases, hence the need for bespoke software.