FAQS

1. I have a stable well run hospital - why should I change?
2. Modern management is for MNCs, how can it help a hospital?
3. I am setting up a new facility and I know how to put it together - Why should I look for external help?
4. We have very busy resources - won't a computer slow us down?
5. Will Charak work for my Hospital?
6. I already have other software systems - Will Charak work with the other systems in my office?
7. Can you completely replace the paper chart with electronic records?
8. I cannot afford to loose data - How safe is my data?
9. I am ready to invest - Why Asclepius?
10. Why should I pay for changing a running facility?
11. Are your services and software product affordable?

I have a stable well run hospital - why should I change?

The world is continuously evolving to become a better place. The advancement of IT technology and modern management techniques have just started to get into the health care. This is going to be the next wave of growth for Indian health care industry. The choice is if you want to lead this change and stay ahead of the curve or follow others and potentially be left behind.

Modern management is for MNCs, how can it help a hospital?

Does any of the below questions sound familiar to you?

• How do we acquire more patients? How do I build more referral base?
• How can I attend to more patients with existing infrastructure?
• How can I increase profit margin of my existing resource- Where are the wastages?
• My revenue went up, but the profits did not follow. Where did I go wrong?
• What is the occupancy rate of my hospital?
• What is the productivity of my resource?
• Which resources are under utilised, how can I balance use of all resources?
• How can I increase patient safety by reducing avoidable clinical errors?

If you answered yes, to even one of above questions, then Asclepius Consulting might be the right partners you have been looking for. It brings in the expertise of leveraging modern management skills in health care. It partners with you for 1 - 6 weeks of period in researching your facility. Based on a joint effort, it identifies opportunities of improvement and only works on those areas. It develops solutions to offer step change in the performance and also implements them.

I am setting up a new facility and I know how to put it together - Why should I look for external help?

Implementing existing practices in new facilities will lead you to same business performance and margins. Your long experience in running this experience coupled with global best practices and a set of new eyes are all that is needed to set up best in class facilities.

The consultants advice on where to set up the new facility, right market entry strategy, right mix of specialties, right allocation of fund to different specialty, right resource mix and right staffing. If you aspire to be THE BEST facility, you would want to leverage on the digital revolution in Healthcare IT. This is where you would want the Charak suite of products from Asclepius Consulting. Charak has been built by incorporating global best practices and is dedicated to Indian healthcare workflow.

We have very busy resources - won't a computer slow us down?

Globally, in health care as well as in other industries, IT has proved to speed up the process. Yes there is a learning curve where top management needs the commitment to drive it through. But once the product is assimilated in to your business process, efficiencies gets directly translated to improved business process and better financials.

Imagine that your physicians will not have to keep waiting for their next case because the scheduling is not done efficiently. Your physicians will not have to always run to the patient to look at the bedside sheets and in an outpatient set up they will not have to wait for the ward boy to get the patient file from Medical Record Department (MRD). Imagine having lab data instantly available on click of a button and not having to call the lab hundred times. Imagine ability for specialists to communicate orders quickly, easily and remotely. Imagine treating your trauma patient always in the 'golden hour'. If you want to make all of these as real then you need Charak and the computer.

Will Charak work for my Hospital?

Charak is modular and highly configurable, so it will work effectively for most medical specialities. Charak's configurability allows you the flexibility in designing your own forms, add content, and set up the program to suit the way you work best. Asclepius' consultants can set up Charak according to your workflow and support you even after you have started using the product.

I already have other software systems - Will Charak work with the other systems in my office?

Charak is built on the philosophy of empowering its end users than inhibiting them. The software is built to co - exist with all software applications in Healthcare IT that are compliant to industry standards. All interfaces are Health Level 7 (HL7) compliant and all images are exchanged using Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine ( DICOM) standards.

Charak builds itself on framework of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) which enables passing vital health information seamlessly-from application to application, system to system, and setting to setting - across the entire healthcare enterprise. In special cases, its engineers can also build custom interfaces to software that do not comply with these industry standards.

Can you completely replace the paper chart with electronic records?

It will depend on the level of digitization that you undertake. However, it is advisable to move to a completely paperless office only in phases. This sets up a sustainable change process. With reduction in paper you can build new exam rooms, ORs etc in the space where you used to store patient medical records. You immediately start saving on paper costs and personnel expenses alone.

You will start appreciating that Charak makes it easier to do the things you're already doing, and then it will help you go beyond today's standards to provide even better patient care.

I cannot afford to loose data - How safe is my data?

Charak is accessible to only authorized users as per their privileges assigned to them based on their job roles. The product has an ability to automatically track who did what, from what workstation, and when.

Depending on the criticality of your data, its engineers can set backup processes for your data on tape, discs or another storage server. This will ensure that you never loose data even if you loose your infrastructure to something as big as force majeure .

I am ready to invest - Why Asclepius?

Asclepius guarantees you international quality solution at a reasonable price. The company has a strong focus on the end customers - the patient - in all its solutions. This has resulted in efficient and simple solutions for the care providers and hospitals. The company is vertically integrated and advises on improvement opportunities to healthcare providers.

The company leverages global best practices for using IT-enabled solutions in healthcare set up. It has a rare mix of technical, business and clinical experts in the same shop. Above all, solutions by this company are specifically designed for the Indian market.

Why should I pay for changing a running facility?

Profits do not always increase with increase in revenues. If your business model runs on low or negative margins, an expansion in new facility will continue giving you below par returns. If there is untapped potential in the existing facility, it's prudent to unlock those and replicate the best practices while venturing into new locations.

Are your services and software product affordable?

You buy from Asclepius only when you are yourself convinced that there is a need for the same in your hospital. Depending on size of your facility, the consultants will spend 1 - 6 weeks to find out the opportunities of improvement. Your agreement is obtained that there is really a need and then you decide your investment based on the benefit expectations. You may choose improvements based on your need to gain: in time, in profit, in quality of care, in patient satisfaction, in provider satisfaction, in efficiency, insurance collection and staff satisfaction. Asclepius does not force it on you instead it assists you in your decision making to maximize your value.