Software for the practice.
WHAT A SYSTEM SHOULD DO
Register and identify patients reliably Record encounters Schedule appointments Handle billing and claims Manage stock, where applicable Produce reports
WHY PATIENT IDENTIFICATION MATTERS MOST
Records attached to the wrong patient cause clinical harm.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
How the system prevents duplicate and mismatched records.
WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE COMMITTING
Whether it works without connectivity Whether data can be exported Where data is stored What support exists
WHY OFFLINE OPERATION MATTERS
A practice that cannot register or record patients during an outage stops.
WHAT TO TEST
The export, actually, before committing.
WHY
A system holding patient records you cannot extract controls the practice permanently.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT BACKUP
How often, where, and whether restoration has been tested.
WHY TESTED
Untested backups fail when needed.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT ACCESS
Individual logins for every user Roles limiting what each can see Logging of access
WHY INDIVIDUAL LOGINS
Shared logins make attribution impossible and breach confidentiality obligations.
WHAT TO TRAIN
Everyone, properly, before going live.
WHAT TO PLAN FOR TRANSITION
Running both systems briefly Migrating existing records A period of reduced throughput
WHAT TO AVOID
Migrating during a busy period Abandoning paper before the system is proven
WHAT TO KEEP REGARDLESS
A way to operate on paper when systems fail.
