Why Your Customers Demand Electronic ECG Data Management
“Our customers are demanding it.” This is the “pocketbook” reason that two healthcare organizations recently gave us for wanting to purchase an electronic management solution for their ECG tests.
Both of these organizations are using paper-based management of their ECG tests and both had, for the past few years, resisted conversion to electronic data management. But suddenly, both organizations have shown greater interest, and a sense of urgency, about making the change. Why? Both organizations gave the same explanation: “Our customers are demanding it.”
A lot has been written and discussed about the benefits that can be achieved by healthcare providers through electronic management of ECG tests. But why do your customers want you to utilize ECG management software?
Compatibility
Customers want results in a digital format so that the results can be imported into and managed within their own electronic information systems. For instance, the diagnostic laboratory is being told by its referring physicians that it must provide digital results so that the physicians can store and manage those results in their EMR systems.
Earlier and easier access to results
Stakeholders want test results as soon as possible. They don’t want to wait for results to be printed out by hand or by fax. The sooner that these end users have results, the sooner that they can act on them. In addition, stakeholders have more options available for accessing results that are in electronic format. Essentially, the results can be available from anywhere and at any time.
Standardization among test modalities
For healthcare organizations that offer a variety of testing services, there is often inconsistency between the way that ECG results are provided to their customers and the way in which that other test results (particularly blood work) are provided to the same customers. The customers of these organizations want to find all their results in one place and are demanding that the laboratories “get up to speed” with respect to ECG results.
Here’s the bottom line. Any healthcare provider, like a provider in any industry, knows that it must evolve in order to maintain and expand its customer base. When customers demand change, a business must respond to that demand or risk losing market share to the competitors who do meet that demand.
