Trends are showing more and more organizations across the United States are transitioning to a comprehensive Occupational Health Management System (OHMS) and electronic health record to streamline and efficiently manage their occupational health program.
Occupational Program Manual-Based Processes
Many companies are still managing their OH programs through a manual and paper-based workflow, disparate spreadsheets and silo-based computer systems. Today’s leading systems support minimizing the time your staff spends per patient on administrative tasks and activities that add little or no value, allowing your team to focus on improving wellness, health and compliance requirements.
For many organizations, current systems and processes are inefficient, susceptible to error and aren’t optimizing a centralized data platform to leverage powerful and real-time reporting capabilities.
Managing and Streamlining Occupational Health Requirements
Today, leading Occupational Health Management Systems (OHMS) deliver robust and comprehensive health information capabilities to meet your pre-employment screenings, medical surveillance, immunization management, injury and return-to-work evaluations and electronic health record requirements, among other.
The ability to track and analyze trends in health issues or absences enables programs to proactively implement changes to working environments and better serve their employee populations.
This requires up-to-date data in a format that can be easily searched and reported on, across the entire enterprise.
Web Employer and Employee Portal Access
Today’s systems come with employer and employee portal access to view key information, complete health questionnaires online, schedule or cancel occupational health appointments and update your health profile status, among other capabilities.
Selection Process
For those organizations transitioning to a new OHMS, the decision making process to finalize on a selected vendor can be time consuming, challenging and at times, frustrating. A suggested best practice approach is to complete a thorough requirements review with a chosen internal vendor selection committee.
The selection committee may consist of Information technology, human resources, environmental health and safety, clinical representatives, risk and OH program management. A budget should be approved along with a project management specialist to drive the planning components. Most organizations today will drill down to two or three vendors and include a competitive matrix tool to rank the capabilities of each.
Key Capabilities
The scope of requirements will vary significantly across each organization, here are a sample of key capabilities offered in leading systems:
- Security
- Interoperability
- Web Based / SaaS
- Comprehensive and Powerful Reporting, Including Standard and Ad hoc Reporting Capabilities
- Scalable
- Employer and Employee Portal Access
- Standard Workflows and Processes
- Configurable, Adaptable and Flexible
- Centralized Platform
- Ease of Use and Navigation
- Comprehensive Product Offerings and Modules to Choose From
The vendor should provide an account management team to assist with the implementation phases. In addition, a best practice implementation project plan and methodology to optimize a go live date.
Think Big, Start Small
Finally…”think big, start small” with your core OHMS program requirements. Your OH program team should become well educated and comfortable with the features and functions of your new system in the first six months. Over time, look to add capabilities to the system while your program delivers positive return on investment, multiple benefits and achieves your short-term program goals.
Should you have questions please reach out to me at (800) 717-3472 or jflynn@ei1.com. EI is ready to assist your organization streamline and efficiently manage your occupational health program.