The World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 March, prompting lockdowns in many countries around the world, including South Africa.
Companies in the healthcare sector are usually insulated from economic disruption due to the steady demand for medical products and procedures, but the impact of the coronavirus is different, because of its medical nature. As a result, this has had numerous short, medium and long-term impacts on the healthcare industry.
It’s imperative for the healthcare industry to streamline internal information flow and communications to provide accurate patient management from admission to discharge. This information should allow for correct and focused care for patients and should automatically build a comprehensive database of patient history. The challenge, especially now, is to keep the administrative business process as seamless as possible so that the focus is on day-to-day patient care rather administration and data capture. That’s where enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology comes into play.
Harnessing the proven processes of SAP Business One, Seidor Africa provides the expertise required to provide medical, patient care and hospital management companies with a powerful integrated ERP system that allows them to manage their healthcare business optimally, even in the face of a crisis. By automating key business functions in financials, operations and human resources, management and employees are empowered to make intelligent data-driven decisions and are freed up to focus on the important parts of their job rather than running the admin.
For patient care and hospital management, the Seidor Africa healthcare solution is customisable and specifically designed for medium-sized organisations. The technology allows for management of the organisational structure of groups with anything from three to 26 clinic or hospital entities. What this means is a single integrated system that enables reporting, alerts and statistics in real-time.
The most compelling part of the system is a powerful billing engine that defines and applies payer and medical aid rules and benefits. The system ensures the correct NAPPI code is provided, which not only enables the electronic transfer of information throughout the healthcare delivery chain, but also eliminates costly errors and delays. It also means the correct governance and financial control is put in place automatically.
This comprehensive billing solution takes out human error from processes, enabling clients to make live cashflow forecasts by handling patient administration and billing more effectively, which is vital for hospitals and hospital groups.
For the warehousing and distribution arm of the healthcare sector, solutions are designed to automate processes and improve profitability in an industry where the pressure is high and the competition tough. Efficient and accurate data is critical for inventory control, appropriate storage of pharmaceuticals, and material replenishment planning (MRP), which moves inventory from product storage locations to storage, picking and shipment locations. This keeps inventory flowing through the supply chain by maintaining efficient order and line item fill rates. The systems also monitor expiration dates and ensure a first-in-first-out approach.
Accurate data in the medical sector is vital and, no matter what part of the industry clients are in, there is a need for an intuitive and easy-to-use system that is built around the industry’s specific business rules. The need is for an affordable solution that helps the organisation run a smart, fast, interactive system that easily assists with all the business processes. The aim for all users is a continuous improvement, moving towards growing their bottom line.
