When Traditional Healthcare IT Support Falls Short
Healthcare organizations, especially mid-enterprise physician-owned practices, face constant change and unique challenges with technology support.
Users tell us repeatedly that traditional help desk ticketing systems often feel like a black hole – issues are submitted but seem to vanish into the void, leading staff wondering if their concerns are being addressed. Other problems with old-fashioned ticketing systems:
- Lack of Clinical Context: Ticketing systems don’t account for the urgency and complexity of healthcare issues, where delayed resolution can directly impact patient care.
- Cumbersome Workflows: Many systems require excessive input, forcing providers and staff to spend valuable time dealing with ticket details rather than addressing patient needs.
- Inadequate Prioritization: Ticketing systems may treat all requests equally, failing to differentiate between minor IT issues and critical clinical problems, such as a broken patient monitor.
- High Administrative Burden: Frontline staff often end up acting as intermediaries between technical teams and clinical users, adding to their already heavy workload.
- Downtime: Most ticketing systems rely on email and/or the network, which are usually impacted in the case of an outage.
Healthcare users need support systems tailored to their environment: quick, intuitive, and capable of understanding the criticality of issues in real-time. Until then, old fashioned ticketing systems will continue to be a square peg in a round hole.
Real-Time Collaboration Beats Ticketing Systems
Newer collaboration tools like Slack transform the user experience by fostering real-time help and collaboration. Unlike ticketing, which is one-directional and opaque, tools like Slack enable everyone in a group to see issues as they arise, collaborate on solutions, and ensure things get done. This visibility builds trust with your technology systems, creates alignment and transparency, and empowers teams to tackle challenges together.
Our customers have told us how these real-time support models can make a difference:
- Dedicated Slack Channels: These provide a centralized space for updates, feedback, and issue tracking. The proper people stay informed and engaged without unnecessary back-and-forth. Dedicated channels can be created for teams/departments, clinic locations, department managers, etc., allowing everyone to stay in the know.
- Day-to-Day Issue Resolution: Staff can directly report problems and share suggestions in Slack. Immediate responses from IT build trust and demonstrate a commitment to solving issues collaboratively.
- Community Visibility: Slack creates a collaborative environment where everyone – from staff to department managers – can see the challenges others are facing. For example, User A can observe User B’s reported issue and gain insights, much like walking into the IT department and openly discussing problems as a group. This visibility promotes shared responsibility and ensures that solutions are transparent and accessible to all.
Example: During a new system rollout, staff in a particular clinic voiced concerns about system usability through their dedicated Slack channel. The IT team quickly addressed the issue, shared the resolution in the channel, and ensured everyone understood the solution. This transparent approach kept the rollout on track and minimized disruptions while fostering a stronger sense of collaboration across departments.
By breaking down barriers and prioritizing communication, healthcare organizations can achieve more than just successful technology rollouts. They can build cohesive, resilient teams that are ready to embrace change and drive innovation.
The Big Picture
Technology in healthcare is as much about people as it is about systems. Empowering leaders, embracing agile tools, and fostering transparent communication allows healthcare teams to turn challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.
Success starts with a conversation. By choosing tools that prioritize collaboration, healthcare organizations can not only enhance their technology initiatives but also create resilient, forward-thinking teams prepared to meet the future with confidence.
