4 IT Needs Every Rural Hospital Shares

Overseeing technology for a rural hospital can be a daunting task. In some ways, smaller medical centers have more significant and pressing needs than larger urban care facilities. At the same time, they typically have tighter budgets to contend with.

The key to saving costs and providing services to a community is in prioritizing and following a common sense approach. Over the years, we have learned that there are four specific things every rural hospital needs from an IT plan. Let’s look at them one-by-one…

#1 24/7 Website Protection

Website security is a bigger concern than ever before in 2019. And unfortunately, hospitals aren’t exempt from hackers or cyber security threats. In fact, several facilities have been targeted by ransomware developers in the last few years.

Having access to 24/7 monitoring and help desk support should be a top priority for any rural hospital administrator. The right web developer can keep an eye on the website, look for signs of intrusion, and even generate secure backups that can be used to restore pages quickly if the need arises.

#2 Credit Card Processing

In today’s digital world it’s imperative that any healthcare provider have the ability to accept credit and debit card payments seamlessly. This is an area where some rural hospitals aren’t doing enough, however.

Having access to secure and reliable payment processing lets you get paid faster, improve your cash flow, and lower collection costs. It’s also convenient for patients and their families. The right website developer can help you find a plan and processing system that makes sense for your hospital.

#3 Online Employment Applications

Although there are always new graduates and job-seekers moving into the healthcare field, it can be difficult to identify and hire the best candidates if you are located in a rural area. That’s why using an online application process can streamline the job and decrease turnover.

When you have postings and applications running through your website, you can find better employees and fill openings quickly. That can help you save on salaries, decrease onboarding expenses, and make your hospital run more smoothly.

#4 Patient Health Portals

Can your patients make appointments, see current statements, or update their health and medication history online? If not, then you’re missing out on one of the most valuable tools for efficiency at your disposal.

Integrating patient health portals is easy and inexpensive, but it takes the right programming expertise. That’s because you want everything to work seamlessly on a variety of devices and browsers, and without any risk that you’ll inadvertently share sensitive health records with the wrong people. 

Unfortunately, there are numerous instances where rural hospital websites are missing a crucial piece in the area of security… their websites’ SSL certificate. Simply put, this certificate is designed to keep confidential information, such as social security number and credit card information, safe from hackers. This is another area where a good website developer can quickly set you on the right course.

Does Your Hospital Need a Smarter IT Strategy?

If you feel like you aren’t getting enough from technology, need to improve your efficiency, or want to look for ways to cut your IT costs, WebRevelation can help. Contact the WebRevelation team today to see what we’ve been able to do for other organizations just like yours!