Unlocking Operational Efficiency in Healthcare
with ERP Migration

Healthcare organizations face complicated challenges such as managing complex financial systems and ensuring regulatory compliance while maintaining high standards of patient care. Many of these organizations are surmounting these challenges with the help of a modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which can centralize operations and enhance efficiency across departments.

What Do Modern Healthcare Organizations Need?

Supporting modern healthcare practices requires expert knowledge of intricate processes. Often, these processes operate in silos, leading to inefficiencies and higher costs. Today’s ERPs are designed to streamline these operations and enable real-time decision-making, improve data security, and enhance collaboration across departments. However, implementing an ERP system for healthcare means considering common issues such as data cleanliness, lengthy implementations, and interoperability with legacy systems.

Overcoming Common Challenges in Healthcare: A Path to Efficiency

When healthcare organizations begin considering migrating to a new ERP, they’re typically motivated by multiple issues such as:

• Financial Planning and Analysis: Many healthcare organizations struggle with integrating financial planning and analysis with their accounting systems. This leads to inefficient budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Payroll and Financial Management Integration: Manual imports and journal entries are often used to connect payroll data with financial systems, resulting in time-consuming and error-prone processes.
• Supply Chain Management: Managing a complex supply chain without reliable tracking mechanisms can lead to financial risks and inefficiencies.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring HIPAA compliance is crucial, yet many legacy systems lack the necessary security measures.

“We definitely have some unique aspects to our operation. They showed us how Sage Intacct is agile and configurable enough to support us.”  Cara Numasaki, Controller, Hawaii Dental Service

Key Benefits of Modern ERPs for Healthcare Practices

Migrating to a modern ERP offers several key benefits:

• Integration and Interoperability: Modern ERPs integrate all aspects of healthcare operations, from supply chain management and human resources to patient care and billing, resulting in seamless data flow and eliminating duplication. This integration facilitates better collaboration across departments and enhances patient care by providing a unified view of patient data.

• Advanced Reporting and Analytics: Modern ERP systems provide real-time data analytics, enabling healthcare organizations to make informed decisions based on current operational and financial data. This capability helps in optimizing resource allocation, improving patient outcomes, and enhancing financial management.

• Improved Compliance and Security: Modern ERPs are designed with compliance in mind, offering features like audit trails, role-based access control, and encryption to meet strict regulations such as HIPAA. They also provide robust security measures to protect sensitive patient data, reducing the risk of breaches and maintaining patient trust.

• Enhanced Patient Care: By providing a comprehensive view of patient data and streamlining administrative tasks, modern ERPs enable healthcare providers to focus more on patient care. This leads to better patient outcomes and improved satisfaction.

• Innovation and Future-Proofing: Modern cloud-based ERP systems are more agile and adaptable to future challenges, allowing healthcare organizations to leverage advancements in AI and machine learning to improve operations and patient care. This future-proofing ensures that healthcare providers remain competitive and innovative in their operations.

Sage Intacct and HIPAA Compliance: Ensuring Secure Healthcare Operations

Sage Intacct, a true cloud ERP, supports compliance with HIPAA regulations through several key features and certifications. This ensures that healthcare organizations can securely manage protected health information (PHI) and electronic protected health information (ePHI).

1. Advanced Audit Trail: Sage Intacct provides an advanced, automated audit trail that tracks every access and modification of records containing PHI. This feature logs all interactions, including who accessed the data, when, and through what means, supporting HIPAA’s requirement to monitor PHI access.
2. Secure Data Storage: Sage Intacct securely stores PHI, ensuring that sensitive information is protected.
3. Business Associate Agreement (BAA): Sage Intacct is willing to enter into a BAA with eligible healthcare organizations, outlining specific measures for data protection, breach notification procedures, and requirements for returning or destroying PHI after the agreement ends.
4. Certifications and Compliance: Sage Intacct’s security safeguards have been certified as HIPAA- and HITECH-compliant by Avertium (formerly Sword & Shield), providing assurance that the system meets strict regulatory requirements.

By leveraging these features and certifications, Sage Intacct provides a robust solution for healthcare organizations seeking to ensure HIPAA compliance while managing their financial operations effectively.

Real-Life Success Stories: How Net at Work Transformed Healthcare Operations

Net at Work has helped several healthcare organizations overcome these challenges by implementing a cloud-based ERP solution designed to meet the specific needs of the healthcare industry.

Personal Healthcare: Streamlining Financial Management for Growth

Personal Healthcare, a provider of senior care services, faced significant challenges as it expanded from one to eight nursing homes in just five years. Their legacy software failed to support paperless financial processes or provide transparency into revenues and expenses across different facilities. By migrating to an ERP with features specific to their needs, Personal Healthcare was able to streamline financial management, shorten its monthly close process from a week to just a day or two, and consolidate financials across entities instantaneously. Their new ERP also enabled the company to customize reports using key operational metrics, such as cost per patient per day, which is crucial for senior care facilities.

Hawaii Dental Service: Achieving Efficiency with Cloud-Based ERP

Hawaii Dental Service (HDS), a nonprofit dental benefits provider, had relied on a server-based ERP for its financial management. However, as the organization moved towards cloud-based solutions, HDS partnered with Net at Work to migrate to a customizable ERP. This transition was driven by the need for greater efficiency, improved budgeting processes, and simplified multi-company accounting tasks. With their new ERP, HDS achieved significant time savings in accounts payable processing and financial reporting, reducing manual workflows and enhancing real-time visibility into financial data.

Unlocking the Full Potential of Sage Intacct for Healthcare

In addition to supporting HIPAA compliance, Sage Intacct offers several benefits that make it an ideal choice for healthcare organizations:

• Multi-Entity Management: Healthcare organizations with multiple locations or entities can use Sage Intacct to consolidate financials, automate intercompany accounting, and enhance visibility into profitability by location or treatment.

• Real-Time Reporting: Sage Intacct provides real-time dashboards and reports, which can help healthcare organizations monitor performance metrics and make data-driven decisions.

“Net at Work is fabulous, and they completed the conversion remotely, on time and on budget.” – Cara Numasaki, Controller, Hawaii Dental Service

Whether your organization is facing challenges with financial planning, payroll integration, or supply chain management, migrating to a customizable, scalable ERP system can be transformative.   To explore how we can help address your organization’s specific needs, contact us to connect with a healthcare ERP expert and receive a complimentary Business Health Assessment. This assessment will help identify areas for improvement and provide a roadmap for implementing a tailored ERP solution that supports your growth and operational efficiency.  Further Reading

1. Net at Work – Sage Intacct for Healthcare Accounting
2. Net at Work – Streamlining Healthcare Accounting With Sage Intacct
3. Sage Intacct Cloud Accounting and Financial Management Software
4. Net at Work – Next Gen Cloud Financial Management for Healthcare ERP
5. Net at Work – Healthcare Accounting Software
6. Net at Work – Sage Intacct Cloud Accounting Software for Surgical Centers