Software as a Service (known as “SaaS”) is a term used to describe software programs that are developed and maintained by one organization allowing end users to simply “rent” the software. The primary benefit of SaaS is to allow an end-user to reap the benefits of using such software without the expense or maintenance of the program on its own platform, using its own servers, or applying its own information technology staff, among others. This form of software management has been around for ten years, and the use of SaaS is steadily on the rise. So, what does SaaS mean for the alternative medical practice? How can it help your office run efficiently? The answer is easy — SaaS can complement the smooth functioning of your practice by employing the concept for your electronic medical billing software; your medical office software for practice management; and your medical scheduling software.
Medical billing software is a great example of how SaaS can work for your practice. Employing a program that is housed on another entity’s server, maintained by that other entity, and that offers you cutting-edge resources in your billing endeavors makes perfect sense. When you consider all of the steps necessary to prepare, submit and track a form HCFA 1500, and the potential for errors in doing so, why would you want to add the headache and expense of additional electronic storage space and maintenance of that space into the mix?
When managing your practice, there are countless details to which you must attend, and it is all too easy for your staff to get bogged down in those details. Incorporating medical office software into your practice that runs via the SaaS method can greatly improve the efficiency of your staff by providing you with integrated software that calendars, tracks inventory, provides reporting mechanisms, and keeps you compliant with HIPAA all at the same time. Such software housed on your office server would not only eat up your electronic resources, but would create the necessity of information technology attention at a level (and a price) that you most likely can ill-afford.
As you are probably acutely aware, medical scheduling encompasses not just when each patient comes in to see the practitioner, but which practitioner that patient will see, which room the patient will be placed in, coordination of follow-up visits, and calendaring of rounds and committee meetings in facilities at which each of your practitioners is on staff. Today, all aspects of medical scheduling for your practice can be incorporated into a comprehensive program – one that resides off-site, but which you can access at will when you need it.
The concept of SaaS makes all of this possible.
