Over the last decade, hospitals and healthcare organizations have digitalized their processes — and with increased digitalization, the role and responsibilities of the IT department and service desks in the healthcare sector have grown significantly.
Nowadays, most providers keep digital or electronic medical records and use advanced hospital management systems. Hospital equipment manufacturers are also following this trend and developing products that connect or sync with digital systems. Thus, help desk software for healthcare is a no-brainer.
Compared to other industries, stakes are higher for service desks for the healthcare sector because of their very nature. In this situation, an IT Service Management strategy, paired with a help desk can improve the user experience and help these organizations deliver quality support.
In this article, we'll discuss:
- Why an IT Service Management solution, such as an ITIL-aligned help desk, is essential for healthcare institutions.
- The main features to look out for when searching for help desk software for healthcare.
- The specific industry scenarios that lead to the need for a service desk solution for healthcare.
Let's dig in.
Why do healthcare institutions need a help desk?
In the past, most healthcare records were on paper files, and the equipment was all stand-alone. If somebody wanted to make an appointment with a doctor, they had to call directly or come in person. But now, most healthcare organizations use EMR systems to handle patients’ health records. Hospital equipment is connected to these systems, and patients have multiple options to make an appointment or view their test results.
This has significantly improved the workflow in healthcare and the experience for end-users. Processes are faster, patient wait times have decreased, and the quality of patient care has gone up.
However, this has also increased the importance of IT services in healthcare. Without quick solutions, patient care systems could come to a complete standstill. While critical systems are rarely affected by costly IT outages and can function on their own, the workflow can take a significant hit. It could even be a matter of life and death for some patients. This is why building an IT service desk is important for healthcare institutions.
Establishing an IT help desk software for healthcare can keep the systems running efficiently and solve issues before they blow up into a crisis. In this sense, a service desk can deliver effective and quick solutions to doctors, patients, and other stakeholders, and ensure they have an excellent health care experience.
InvGate Service Management can do a lot to ensure that your institution is protected from service disruptions. Plus, thanks to its intuitive visual interface, the communication between end-users and support staff is a total breeze.
Key benefits of healthcare ITSM:
Implementing a service desk and an ITSM strategy can lead to several benefits for healthcare providers. Let's explore some of them in depth:
Improved system reliability:
One of the primary objectives of healthcare ITSM is to reduce downtime and ensure the smooth operation of critical systems. Systems like electronic health records (EHR), patient management software, and diagnostic tools must be available at all times for healthcare providers to deliver efficient care. Downtime, even if brief, can disrupt patient care and lead to delays that may have serious consequences.
An effective ITSM strategy includes regular monitoring, preventative maintenance, and automated alerts that help catch potential issues before they escalate. This proactive approach to system management ensures that healthcare facilities experience fewer disruptions, allowing healthcare professionals to access the tools and data they need when they need them.
Enhanced user experience:
Healthcare professionals depend on reliable IT support to deliver care. A well-functioning IT infrastructure means that they can focus on patient care without being slowed down by technical issues. When problems do arise, an efficient IT service desk ensures fast resolution times, minimizing disruptions.
ITSM tools also offer self-service options, which can empower healthcare staff to resolve minor issues on their own or track the progress of support requests. This reduces the need for IT intervention in every small issue, allowing IT teams to prioritize more critical tasks.
Compliance with regulations:
Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated industries, particularly regarding data protection and privacy. ITSM frameworks are crucial in ensuring that IT operations align with legal requirements like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the U.S. or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU. These laws mandate strict controls over how patient data is stored, accessed, and shared.
ITSM helps enforce policies and procedures that ensure compliance by managing data access, maintaining logs, and documenting system changes. This helps healthcare organizations avoid costly data breaches or penalties for non-compliance.
Better incident management:
Quick response times are essential in healthcare. A delayed response to an IT issue can affect patient care, leading to postponed treatments or incorrect diagnoses. ITSM provides a structured approach to managing incidents by prioritizing issues based on their severity and impact on the organization.
For example, ITSM tools can escalate critical incidents that affect patient care to the top of the queue, ensuring they receive immediate attention. This triage process helps IT teams focus on the most urgent issues first, minimizing disruptions to healthcare services.
10 Incident Management Best Practices to Ensure a Good Process
Help desk software for healthcare: 5 must-have features
Here are some of the top must-have features help desk software for a healthcare institution will need.
1. Automation
In just about all industries, automation can help the service desk team avoid repetitive tasks, reduce their workload, and make them available for other important tasks. The same is true for the healthcare sector. But compared to other fields, healthcare institutions place a higher emphasis on standards, procedures, and compliances with regulations.
ITSM automation can ensure that every procedure or every check is performed without delay. And it will show clear documentation for the same. For example, if a piece of equipment has to be calibrated every 30 days, the process can be automated if possible, or you can set reminders and checklists for the right people to perform the calibration.
And like with service desk solutions in other industries, you can automate follow-ups and updates for service requests. Automation can improve the patient experience without increasing the service desk workload.
2. Self-service
Self-service capabilities are an essential feature of help desk software for healthcare. Patients may contact the hospital help desk to follow up on their appointments, collect their test results, or view their health records. An IT self-service portal can help these patients find the information they’re looking for on their own through a patient portal on the hospital website or app.
They can also help other stakeholders like doctors, paramedics, and hospital managers find information from the ITSM knowledge base instead of raising a ticket with the service desk.
Another major benefit of a self-service portal is that it will be available 24/7. While 24/7 support is essential for healthcare organizations, it can take a serious hit on the resources. A self-service portal will provide the latest information 24/7 to the stakeholders with minimal resources.
In short, it's a great feature to significantly improve the experience of patients and other users without draining the organization’s resources.
The Definitive Guide to Implement Your IT Self-Service Portal
3. Omnichannel support
Most healthcare organizations have multiple contact points for end-users. Therefore, multichannel support is essential. Omnichannel support offers a consistent and seamless experience for users no matter how they get in touch. Even if an end-user follows up on an email query by phone, the service desk agent will be able to assist them without the patient having to describe their query again.
It’s also important for healthcare institutions to keep records of patient interactions. Without multichannel support, this may be complicated as interactions regarding a single query may be scattered across different channels.
4. Analytics
A good analytics suite is essential for a service desk solution in any industry. In the healthcare sector, analytics can help organizations improve the services they offer and offer a better customer experience.
Advanced help desk software for healthcare offers cutting-edge analytics that can give managers actionable insights into the functioning of the service desk, as well as the entire organization. It can help them improve their team, increase the FCR (first contact resolution) rates, and streamline the workflow in the organization.
For example, if a majority of the queries are for booking an appointment or seeking updates about their appointment status, the organization could look into automating the process. Or it could mean the users are not aware of the patient portal or find it difficult to use.
Similarly, analytics can reveal process bottlenecks or accessibility issues that may otherwise remain hidden.
5. Asset Management
Healthcare institutions have one of the most diverse ranges of equipment, each with its specific lifecycles and maintenance requirements. Having a service desk that integrates with an Asset Management tool will help you track equipment and ensure they’re all functioning properly. These tools will also help your team resolve the service requests efficiently by documenting the device history and helping diagnose the issues easier.
InvGate Service Management, for example, integrates seamlessly with InvGate Asset Management, creating a tremendously powerful Service Management suite.
Particularly in the light of increasing cyberattacks all over the globe, asset management tools have grown in their importance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, cyberattacks and ransomware attacks have drastically increased, and the risks are higher for healthcare institutions. During the last year, more than one-third of healthcare organizations have been hit by ransomware.
Since you can’t defend what you don’t know you have, Asset Management tools are the first step in beefing up the cybersecurity of your organization. Besides keeping track of your equipment, these tools will help keep the device software up-to-date and ensure they have the latest security patches with a patch management strategy. You can also set up automated monitoring to ensure they’re functioning properly and are secure.
Unique challenges for IT service desks in healthcare
Healthcare IT faces several unique challenges due to its user-facing role in supporting patients, healthcare professionals, and administrative staff. These challenges are particularly significant because they directly impact the quality of care and the overall experience of patients and employees interacting with the IT systems.
1. Ensuring data privacy and patient trust
As mentioned earlier, the healthcare industry as a whole is facing a cybersecurity crisis. There has been a drastic rise in attackers targeting healthcare organizations and holding patient data and critical systems for ransom.
One of the most pressing challenges for IT service desks in healthcare is maintaining privacy and security without disrupting user experience. Healthcare organizations are frequently targeted by cyberattacks, leading to potential breaches of sensitive patient data. In this context, the IT team plays a crucial role in safeguarding information while ensuring that healthcare providers have easy access to essential data for patient care.
Patients, on the other hand, expect their personal information to be secure, yet they also need to interact with user-friendly systems when accessing healthcare services online, such as booking appointments or viewing test results. The challenge for IT service desks is to maintain strong security measures that don’t make these systems frustrating or difficult to use.
The 5 Industries Most Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks in 2024
2. Low adoption rates
Adoption of new technologies by patients and healthcare staff is often slow. Patients, in particular, may resist using digital tools, preferring traditional methods like phone calls to make appointments or inquire about services. This can make it difficult for healthcare organizations to fully leverage IT solutions designed to streamline processes and improve service delivery.
For healthcare workers, using IT systems efficiently is key to providing timely care, but adoption isn’t always smooth. The IT service desk must ensure that these systems are not only reliable but also intuitive, helping to reduce resistance among staff and improve workflow. To enhance adoption, IT teams often need to provide training, offer support, and continually gather feedback to make improvements.
3. Managing a broad range of healthcare devices
Healthcare organizations rely on a vast array of medical devices, each requiring specialized maintenance and support. These devices range from standard computers and tablets to sophisticated diagnostic equipment, each with different software needs. Ensuring that all these devices are properly maintained, secure, and integrated into the broader IT system is a significant challenge for IT service desks.
For hospital staff using medical equipment, the service desk must ensure minimal disruptions in accessing or utilizing these devices. A malfunction or delay in IT support can have real consequences, such as delayed diagnosis or treatment. The service desk, therefore, plays a critical role in keeping equipment functional, software up to date, and everything running smoothly for end users.
4. Supporting a wide range of users
Unlike most industries, where users are often tech-savvy professionals, healthcare IT service desks must support an incredibly diverse user base. Patients using online portals or mobile apps may vary in age and familiarity with technology. Some patients may easily navigate online services, while others struggle with basic tasks like creating accounts or finding information.
Healthcare professionals, too, come with varied levels of IT competence. Doctors, nurses, and administrative staff may use the same systems for different purposes, leading to varying support needs. IT service desks need to ensure that all users, regardless of their experience with technology, receive quick and effective assistance when issues arise.
In this context, service desks must focus on user experience and accessibility, designing IT solutions that cater to a broad spectrum of users without overwhelming them.
Steps to implement IT Service Management for healthcare
Implementing ITSM in healthcare involves careful planning and a phased approach. Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started:
1. Assess current IT infrastructure: Before implementing ITSM processes, conduct a thorough assessment of the existing IT infrastructure. Identify gaps in service delivery, areas of inefficiency, and critical systems that require enhanced support.
2. Define goals and objectives: Determine what your organization hopes to achieve with ITSM. Whether it’s improving response times, enhancing compliance, or reducing downtime, setting clear goals will guide the implementation process.
3. Implement key ITSM processes: Start by implementing the most critical ITSM processes, such as incident management, Change Management, and Asset Management. Focus on areas that will deliver the most immediate benefit to your organization.
4. Train staff and stakeholders: Ensure all relevant staff and stakeholders are trained on the new ITSM processes. This will help minimize disruption and ensure everyone understands their role in the new system.
5. Monitor and improve: After implementing ITSM, continuously monitor its effectiveness. Use metrics such as response times, incident resolution rates, and system uptime to measure success and identify areas for improvement.
Final thoughts
As healthcare continues to evolve and incorporate more advanced technologies, the importance of a strong ITSM strategy will only grow.
ITSM enables healthcare providers to:
- Enhance patient care through improved system reliability
- Protect sensitive medical data with robust security measures
- Streamline operations and increase staff efficiency
- Adapt quickly to evolving healthcare technologies and regulations
A modern healthcare environment has complex IT needs. Having a complete ITSM strategy that includes a dedicated IT service desk is a strategic approach for health providers to provide higher-quality care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a healthcare institution need a help desk?
Most healthcare institutions are highly digitized these days. Help desk software for healthcare is necessary to maintain these systems, keep them secure, and offer guidance to users when they face difficulties. A service desk keeps the IT running in a healthcare organization.
What are the benefits of help desk software in a healthcare organization?
An IT service desk:
- Improves patient experience
- Improves the quality of patient care
- Keeps the equipment secure and functioning
- Reduces IT downtime in the organization
How does ITSM help healthcare organizations comply with regulations like HIPAA or GDPR?
ITSM frameworks include policies and processes designed to protect sensitive patient data and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations like HIPAA (in the U.S.) or GDPR (in Europe). ITSM helps organizations demonstrate compliance and avoid costly data breaches or penalties by managing data access, logging activity, and documenting system changes.
