Background:
The life of a doctor is not easy. The patient and the patient’s family expect a lot from the doctors. And then, there is doctors’ inner feeling to relieve patients from their pain, and sometimes even save their lives, puts on a lot of burden on them. There seems to be no way to escape this work pressure. And with the Indian healthcare industry being largely unstructured, there seems to be nothing to ease the situation.
Common problems that doctors face:
Technology is a solution, but there is a roadblock here as well. Though the millennial generation is quickly adopting the latest technology, when it comes to healthcare it is the elder generation that needs to be tech-savvy. This is where the challenge lies. This generation does not feel comfortable going digital when it comes to dealing with their medical issues. This creates a lot of work-related chaos in the mind of a doctor.
1. Cheating by Receptionist:
About 50% of the doctors feel that their receptionist overcharges unsuspecting patients and pockets the extra money. The patient feel, the doctor’s fee is very high, which creates a bad name for the Doctor. Also, there are times, when patients don’t have full payment, which they request to pay later. And when they actually pay, in many cases the money does not reach the doctors. This creates distrust between the doctor and patients.
2. Cheating by Vendors:
As high as 90% of doctors complained that their vendors overcharge them. They suddenly hike the price of even regular items, and doctors don’t have the luxury to check the previous invoice for the same item. So, they end up paying whatever the invoice amount is.
3. Issue with managing bills and collection:
50% of the doctors we spoke to said that they waste a lot of their time tally the daily collection with the reception. Often, there is a minor human error due to which the amount does not tally. And when patients pay in parts, the doctors are not able to keep a track of that. This results in financial loss to the doctors, besides wasting precious time.
4. Managing inventory of essential items:
As much as 90% of the doctors mentioned that it is difficult for them to track the consumption pattern of small items like neoflon, syringes, sterile water. These items are used regularly and always appear ‘out of stock’ and ordered frequently. A similar challenge is seen with the inventory of vaccines. The doctors feel that the support staff may be playing some dirty game here.
5. Maintaining records:
If a doctor wants to manage all this, the process is manual, which is very tedious. All bills need to be stored. This eats up a lot of space and creates several other problems.
What can be done?
First things first. The key to a successful diagnosis is to first acknowledge the problem. This gives us a direction to start looking for a suitable solution. And in this digital age, there is technology to help us find a smart solution to every problem.
Talking in the context of the healthcare industry, Clinic Management Software, like Docterz, can help small clinics manage their bills, collection and inventory in a smart manner. A small clinic might just need bill management software, Vaccine Management, vaccine reminder, easy connect.
This software would help the doctor in the following manner:
Tally the daily collection with the reception. The patient also knows the amount to be paid, so that receptionist cannot overcharge. And if any amount is due, it reflects on the dashboard.
When a vendor delivers some goods, and the invoice is entered into the app, it compares the new invoice with previous invoices of the same material to check any difference in the price or specifications. In case of any difference, the app sends an alert to the doctor.
A software like Docterz helps doctors generate a consolidated report of daily collection, with a break-up in terms of payments made (cash/card) and even payments due. This saves a lot of time for a doctor to get an idea of the cash cycle. Any payment overdue is also reflected on the doctor’s dashboard.
The software also allows you to track the consumption pattern of various consumable items like syringes, vaccines etc. They can track each item by name, brand, and eve vendor thus giving complete control to the doctor. And all this can be done at the tap of a button.
In the case of big hospital, they can make good use of this software in the following manner:
Streamline OPD:
The patient flow management feature allows the patient to schedule their appointment with the doctor sitting at their home. The doctor and the hospital staff have a decent idea about the number of patients expected. This helps them to streamline the OPD.
Manage the queue:
When there are a large number of patients waiting for a doctor, it leads to inconvenience to everyone, the doctor, the hospital staff, and even the patients. But software like Docterz, help patients estimate waiting time and reach the hospital accordingly. This eases the pressure at the hospital and saves patient’s time as well.
Manage bills properly:
Hospitals can make good use of the Bill Management Software feature to ensure that no procedure or procedure is missed out when it comes to billing. This reduces the stress of the finance team. It also helps track the status of insurance claim with insurance providers.
Smooth tracking of staff:
In a big hospital, it is very difficult to locate a person, if he/she is not on the workstation. Software like Docterz helps the patient and hospital staff if a particular doctor is on leave or in hospital. It also informs if the doctors is in the OPD room or operation theatre. This ensures a smooth tracking of hospital staff.
Conclusion:
When we look at the life of doctors, there are many challenges. In an industry, which is largely un-organised there is a very urgent need to infuse some structure into it. Something which is robust, customer-friendly, and cost-effective. Clinic Management Software, like Docterz, is a solution, that can not only handle these challenges but handle them smartly, making life better for everyone involved.
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