Hospital ERP Software for Indian Hospitals & Hospital Groups

Hospital ERP Software allows some specific hospital processes to be linked together into a common operating environment. Based on the software, these may consist of patient registration, outpatients and inpatients, medical records, billing process, pharmacy, laboratories, inventory management, accounting, human resources, and management reports. The objective is to minimize unnecessary transfers and ensure availability of information for authorized groups.

Start with the operational problems you need to solve. Are staff entering the same details more than once? Do billing and clinical records need manual reconciliation? Are stock reports delayed? Does finance need to consolidate branch data manually? These examples help turn a broad software search into a shortlist of measurable requirements.

What functions does Hospital ERP Software perform?

A hospital ERP system might integrate multiple components; however, different vendors are not likely to offer all those components in the same way. Ensure that all the modules, integration features, user roles and reports are covered both in the live demo and commercial description of the software.

Patient management and workflow: Patient registration, patient identification, appointment scheduling, OPD attendance, IPD admissions, beds and wards management, clinical notes, discharge papers and patient records might be some of the components that your system will have. Ensure templates and integrations.

Billing and Insurance: Integration of the process means that consultation, procedure, room, pharmacy and laboratory billing will be automatically connected to the billing process, depending on whether the appropriate modules are enabled. The insurance and TPA facilities have different capabilities; hence it is imperative to check for pre-authorization, claim management, settlements, and interfaces based on schemes.

Pharmacy, Inventory and Procurement: Expiry control, stock control, purchase order, supplier management, receipt of goods and transfer of stock between stores may provide assistance in managing inventories. Check on the management of returns, adjustments, and multiple stores.

Finance, HR and admin: Depending upon the setup, functionalities can be those of a ledger, payables, receivables, bank reconciliation, employee files, attendance, leave and payroll. It is advisable to understand your organization's needs with respect to accounting, taxation, statutory and approvals flows.

MIS and management reporting: A management information system can provide a consolidated view of various operational and financial metrics. It is wise to enquire about samples of reports used, sources of their data, their periodicity, possibility of exports and consolidation of branch-level figures.

What makes Hospital ERP Software different from an HMS?

HMS and ERP are essentially overlapping concepts. While HMS usually covers the workflow of the patients as well as that of the departments, ERP usually focuses more on financial integration, procurement, inventory, HR and organizational reporting. Because of different terminologies being used for similar things, try understanding how the software works rather than going by its name.

What is the reason behind integration among the departments?

Take the example of a patient who moves from registration to consultation, diagnosis, the pharmacy and finally the billing process. In case all these processes take place through different software tools, there will be the need for employees to enter data again or confirm whether the latest information or bill has been received.

For hospital groups, review how the system will be used by the central office and the individual branches. Establish what information is shared, what each branch can change, control over local pricing and stock and which reports can be rolled up. Multi-branch capabilities need to be demonstrated according to your operating practice.

What benefits could hospitals reasonably expect?

The possible benefits would include better understanding of workflow status, reduced duplication, better reconciliations and better reporting practices. These are not guaranteed but are rather a function of configuration, data integrity, process ownership, training and user adoption. Get the vendor to show how your teams work.

Take baseline data prior to the start including manual reconciliation time, reporting time, inventory variances, incomplete bill entries, claims rework and closing effort. Evaluate the same set of metrics post go-live in order to see whether the software offers any operational benefits.

Cloud vs. on-premises, what should you compare?

The cloud solution may lessen your reliance on server infrastructure in the hospital and also offer easier authorization of access across locations. The on-premises/hybrid solution might be suitable for your own infrastructure requirements. Comparison should be made on the total cost, connectivity, maintenance, security, backup/recovery and guaranteed uptime of the actual solution.

Security, privacy and ABDM integration

It is required to manage the access to the patient records and the financial records correctly. You must request the vendor to provide detailed information on role-based access management, the auditing of the actions made by users, the data encryption, data backup and storage, disaster recovery procedures, deactivation of users, incident response policy, as well as the possibility of exporting the data from the system.

n in case you work in an Indian hospital, please consider if there is a need for your particular ABDM/ABHA workflows. Please refer to the program website and ask the vendor to specify the workflows they integrated within the solution.

How should you shortlist Hospital ERP Software?

List down the necessary workflows and ask each vendor to perform the same set of tasks. Receptionists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory staff, billers, and account users would be included here. Practical testing must include:

1. Module fit: Are the required OPD, IPD, pharmacy, laboratory, billing, finance, HR, inventory and reporting functions included in the proposed scope?

2. Integration: Is the system able to integrate with your current LIS, radiology, accounting, billing, insurance or other systems? Find out how and the added cost.

3. Data Migration: What data and which periods should we migrate? Who will verify the data? How do we reconcile totals? What if we find problems during our testing?

4.Usability and training: Is there anything to help staff accomplish their actual work? Consider whether role-based training, documentation, practice environment, and go-live support is included.

5. Security and continuity: What controls, logging, back-up, recovery requirements, up-time promises and escalation procedures are contained within the agreement?

6. Total cost: Factor in implementation, setup, migration, integration, training, hosting, support, upgrades, and any user or location-based fees, not just the subscription or licence.

7. Vendor responsibility: Get a scope, implementation plan, acceptance criteria, and support terms in writing, along with a clear delineation between features that are available, configurable, and chargeable separately.

Plan implementation around teams and processes

Deployment normally consists of workflow identification, data mapping, configuration, access, integration, migration, testing, training, and go live support. Identify process owners for each important department and test real world scenarios before the switchover. Define the issue management process.

Once the system has been implemented, go through the adoption process and the baseline measurement together with representatives from each department. This will enable the hospital to deal with the ERP as a live system in operations rather than an implementation process.

How CognitiSoft can support your evaluation

CognitiSoft presents Hospital ERP Software for connected clinical, financial, administrative, inventory, HR, MIS and multi-branch workflows. book a Hospital ERP Software demo to map your requirements to the available configuration and discuss integrations, implementation responsibilities and commercial terms.

Editor’s Note: The purpose of this document is to assist hospital managers in assessing software. Availability of modules, scope of integration, security features, timelines for implementation, and business terms differ depending on the product chosen. Get all promises and liabilities in writing before buying.