What you as a chiropractor must know about making your technology earn you money and the top ten things to make it really count.
Here I am as the owner of a successful chiropractic practice. I have 10 employees and a full-time IT department working for us. We are dependent on technology to run our business. Not only are we dependent on technology, but its use is strategic in our growth. We have our Electronic Medical Records software package that allow us to manage our clients’ insurance submissions, our SOAP notes, the touches between the clients and our staff, the physical results from the insurance carriers and account for all the interactions. We depend on email, scanning, printing, internet access, phone systems, and remote access to reach our EMR from home. When these technologies don’t work—or operate slowly– it costs us money. Money is lost by paying employees to sit around, the lost ‘opportunity cost’ of new patient satisfaction, the frustration and time of my having to worry about our technology and trying to explain the problems to our technology vendors.
I had my nephew, who is good with computers, helping us out for awhile but we realized that to run a serious business, we needed serious help. Great kid, but he just didn’t have the resources, tools or availability to provide the level of support we needed. We thought that we had to hire an IT person full time till we realized what that meant. We’d have to pay him a salary, benefits (25%-34%), get him office furniture, a telephone, training so he can learn on our networks and then move onto another higher paying job in three years or less. I’d be paying him to sit around and wait for things to break. What incentive does he have to keep my systems running? If they aren’t broken, he isn’t busy. It just didn’t make sense.
As the owner, I could care less what brand of computer we have, how much memory is in it or whether we had the latest chip. My primary focus is to ensure my employees remain productive and helping patients thus keeping the cash flow alive. I just want to go home at night with the peace of mind that my data is protected, my systems are functional, virus and spam free and more than anyone I want to control my technology budget and know what it’s going to cost. I want to avoid large capital outlays and software costs. I dislike the thought that my technology is nearly obsolete when I purchase it and that a new version of office is coming out every 2 years.
Thanks to the advice from a friend, I outsourced my IT to a company that specializes in a flat-fee proactive approach.
Wait! What did that doc just say? Did he say he has a full IT department working for him and he only has ten users? How can he afford to do that?
The answer is that he outsources his technology support.
Alex Rogers, CEO of ARRC Technology, a Bakersfield, CA based outsourced IT company, says:“There are just too many technologies that small businesses need to keep productive and secure. Technology brings great benefit to the small business, but it can also bring some nasty snares to the unwary. Email, SPAM filtering, Internet, oh my– and managing all the vendors, backups, antivirus, disaster recovery, telephones, websites, copiers, business continuity, firewalls, security patches– the list goes on. Businesses become reliant on these technologies and without proper support, can be left in a bad place when a virus or other disaster strikes.”
Here are ten (10) things to consider when choosing an outsourced IT provider:
1) Flat Fee – Do they cover your entire network for one flat fee or do they add on a bunch of fees that equate to them nickel and diming you every time things don’t go just quite right? A good provider should be able to assess your environment, stabilize it and provide a flat-fee for services. It may take some up-front hourly work to get your environment stable in some cases but ultimately there should be a flat-fee effort.
2) Business Interest – Are they there to make quick money or are they in it for the long haul? Do they talk in business terms or “geek speak?” Are your questions answered in plain English and are they interested in helping you use your technology to drive revenue? The best providers will ask questions- and lots of them- to best understand your environment. Be prepared for that.
3) Service Level Agreement (SLA) – Are they providing guarantees on response time and project completion? Unless the project is really risky or there are many unknowns, the project (or at least a large portion of it) should be covered bya flat-fee and not billed by the hour. If a provider does quote an hourly rate, be sure you have a cap in the agreement. (And make sure they use a written agreement. This is not the time for word-of-mouth.)
4) Network Monitoring – Are they remotely monitoring your network 24x7x365 to keep critical security settings, virus definitions, and security patches up to date? New viruses and security breaches are coming out every day. Your car may run just fine initially without an oil change and other maintenance, but you wouldn’t think about not changing your oil and performing other required maintenance on it, would you? Your computers are no different. Do not take chances by allowing your computers to clog up and start to go south on you. Regular automated maintenance will keep things running in top shape. What you don’t see will kill you when it comes to technology so make sure your provider is keeping an eye on things and make them prove it to you through monthly reporting.
5) Vendor Management – Do they manage your vendors (copiers, fax, printers, applications, internet, etc.) for you so you can focus on your practice? Do they insist that you have support agreements with your application vendors? This is crucial to be able to get support when it’s needed.
6) Helpdesk – Doctors often don’t have the luxury of only working 9-5. Do they provide a US-based, English speaking helpdesk that is available to assist you 24x7x365? When things aren’t going well or you just can’t remember how to do something in your word processing program, being able to call someone to help in a timely manner is crucial.
7) Holistic approach – Do they look at your telephone bills, energy bills, etc. to provide alternatives that save you money? Do they look for ways to improve your website, do search engine optimization and use your website to drive revenue? You don’t just want another expense. The best-in-class providers are willing to go the extra mile to help you make more money.
8) Backup – Do they insist on doing offsite backup and monthly tests on restores? Can they provide proof of this through reporting? Your data is not safe onsite. Water damage, fire, theft, and employee retaliation can leave your business without recourse if your data is lost. Make sure they provide a means to back-up your data onsite as well as offsite. If you have a lot of data, waiting 4 days for a complete restore over the internet may not be the best solution.
9) Network Audit – No two networks are created equal. Does the provider perform a no-risk network audit to ensure they know enough about your network to give you proper support? Many providers will quote a flat fee per PC or server, for every network they come to. Some networks require more support than others and a network audit can help point out these snags along with countless other security holes and items that need addressing. The last thing you need is a “moving target” when it comes to the monthly bill. (Or worse, a provider that doesn’t bill you more but slacks on the service to make up the difference.) Many providers will include this audit without chargeto provide value and good will prior to creating a relationship.
10) Hardware included – This is a bonus with the best-in-class service providers. They will give you the desktops, servers, software and equipment to run your network as part of the monthly fee and replace/upgrade them periodically for you at no additional charge. This allows you to shift the risk of your technology to the provider and know exactly what your technology spend is—focusing on creating tax deductible operating expenses in place of large capital expenses.
Outsourcing your technology management can provide great savings but all the cost reductions may not be immediately evident. The best approach is sit down with your provider to understand all the benefits of outsourcing.
However you choose to do it, take a careful look at your needs.In most cases you cannot afford to not outsource your technology management. Like finding and hiring the right employee, the key is finding the right company that will exceed your expectations!
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