While making crucial decisions about which software and supplier to work with in your practice, it is important to consider the total cost of the ownership of the products you are considering. In deciding which software to use in your clinic or department, many people focus exclusively on the license fees associated with the software.
While this seems logical, it overlooks the all-important ‘Total Cost of Ownership’ which takes into account all the costs over the life of the use of a product. License fees are only the tip of the iceberg. There are other factors which collectively add up to a much greater dollar value than the price alone. Here is a partial list of the other items to consider:
- The cost of the selection process: the process of looking at the various options, gathering your requirement, evaluating the options, sitting through demonstrations, doing due diligence on the suppliers, all cost a great deal of money. It typically costs at least as much to arrive at a decision as it does to purchase the software. The cost of installation: in addition to any charge from your supplier, you will incur a cost internally for time spent on training; inefficiency as you ramp up new skills; possible disruption to the smooth operation of your clinic.
- Installation of new versions: every good piece of software is improved over time. But this often means installing new versions or releases. Some vendors expect you to do this yourself. It is important to Maintain Interfaces: when you purchase different products, they need to ‘talk’ to each other. These interfaces could be common, or they could be unique to your situation. And they will need to be updated with each new release. If you have a single supplier, this cost is eliminated. More about this below.
- The next Selection Cycle: most products enjoy a 5 year period of domination before a ‘better Widget’ comes along. Assuming you take 2 years to select, purchase, install and train on any new system, this means a hiatus of 3 years before the cycle repeats itself. This is a major consideration.
So once you consider all these factors, it points to the two single most important variables: i) will you have a single, tightly integrated system from one supplier, or will you attempt to economise and purchase several smaller, less expensive packages? And ii) will your supplier enjoy industry leadership for a longer than average time, or will you be back in the market sooner than you hoped?
This is where true Total Cost of Ownership comes in. With a tightly integrated system such as HealthTrack, the system functions as one unit. All interfaces are created and maintained as part of the license fee.
If you choose 3 or even 4 packages, however, from independent suppliers, the interfaces could be left to you. This means that every time there is an upgrade to any of the packages, the interfaces will potentially change as well. This could more than double the cost of the license fee, as change after change is developed, or worse, is ignored, and manual processes are used as “workarounds.”
And lastly is the question of longevity. HealthTrack has been under constant improvement since it was first delivered a decade ago. It can match features with any product on the market. One proof of this is the fact that HealthTrack has never lost a client to a competitor, even after all these years. So by choosing HealthTrack as your system and your supplier, you can expect that the next evaluation process will be a long time in the future.
And this only looks at the costs. With HealthTrack, we can show you how you can make a positive return on your investment, making the real cost negative. For instance, HealthTrack users have reported increases of 35% or more in revenues per doctor resulting from the efficiencies of a paperless environment, and a decrease in administrative overhead of more than 25%. We would invite you to do the calculations on those numbers based on your situation. Give us a call to see how we can help you achieve similar results.
CONTACT: For more information on these exciting offerings, and for a free Business Process Review, contact HealthTrack on (07) 3105-9035