What’s the Cost of Using Non-Compliant Tools in Healthcare?
Honestly, it’s great that nowadays there’s a lot more healthcare businesses out there that are reaching small business success, well, the little guy, not specifically giant corporations. Honestly, overall it’s just nice to see more small businesses being managed out there. Like more chiropractor practices are opening up, MedSpas, IV fluid clinics, and, depending on the state, maybe even a dispensary. Well, any of those health-oriented and wellness businesses that help you put yourself first, you get the idea.
Well, on the outside, everything looks fine. Like, depending on the business itself, patients check in, appointments happen, invoices go out, cards get charged, and records get stored somewhere in the system. Well, basically all those basic admin things, and it all kind of works.
Now, sure, all of this sounds entirely normal, but it might surprise you to learn that some businesses aren’t being compliant, and as you know, when it comes to healthcare-related ones, compliance is absolutely necessary, to where there shouldn’t be any loopholes at all. But unfortunately, that doesn’t stop some business owners from cutting corners.
Why “Quick Fix” Tools Turn into those Long Term Problems
Well, it usually starts with good intentions. Something needs doing, and it needs doing fast. For example, an online form is needed, a way to send documents is needed, or a quick booking link sounds handy. You get the idea here, and someone finds a free or low-cost tool, plugs it in, and moves on, which sounds entirely normal. But the problem is that healthcare is not the same as retail or general admin. That’s what a lot of businesses seem to get wrong (be it whether they realize it or not). Basically, the data is sensitive; therefore, it’s more at risk.
There’s a “People” Risk
As you probably can guess by now, healthcare businesses using non-compliant software isn’t just a legal risk, but when it comes to staff, there’s a risk there too. How? Well, admin teams and front desk staff usually know when the tech stack is held together with shortcuts. Basically, they’re the ones retyping data into multiple systems, emailing files manually, or writing notes so things are not lost between platforms.
Like it or not, but things are going to start falling through the cracks, just you wait, well, that, and all of this nonsense just wears staff down over time (yourself included). Which is why it can’t be stressed enough that you’re better off using platforms that are built for healthcare, be it tools that have secure messaging and record storage to HIPAA-compliance payment solutions, means workflows can stay simple, and well, no one gets into legal trouble either.
It’s All About Patient Trust
You personally want to trust businesses, especially healthcare ones, with your extremely personal data, right? Well, it’s literally no different here! Besides, think about it for just a second here; patients and clients might not know the official standards by name, but they can absolutely tell when a system feels sloppy.
No, really, they do, like being asked to share sensitive information through random links, being told to email documents that clearly should be protected, or watching staff fumble between apps does not exactly scream confidence. In fact, they’re going to be pretty mad, and you’ll probably lose a client/ patient almost immediately.
