Why digitization often fails in medical practices
Digitalization Medical practices rarely fail due to a lack of technology, but because of structural framework conditions in everyday practice.
High workload, limited personnel resources and already established processes often leave little room for fundamental changes.
Digitalization does not take place in isolation from everyday practice, but must be integrated into ongoing operations that are designed for stability. This slows down many projects right from the start.
1. Unclear processes before using digital systems
In many practices, there are processes that have developed over years without being systematically documented or questioned. When digital systems are built on these structures, they take over existing weaknesses instead of remedying them. Without a clear process definition, it remains unclear which steps should be digitally supported and where relief can actually arise.
2. An additional burden in everyday practice makes digitization difficult
Digitalization is often seen as an additional task in everyday practice. New systems require training, coordination within the team and adjustments to existing routines. These expenses are incurred in a phase in which regular operations continue unchanged. This gives the impression that digitization causes more work than benefits in the short term. This perception results in projects being delayed, interrupted or only partially implemented.
3. Problems with integration into existing systems and processes in medical practices
Integration problems in existing system landscapes are another brake factor. Medical practices work with Practice management systems, billing partners and other external structures that are coordinated with each other. Digital solutions that do not connect seamlessly generate additional interfaces and manual intermediate steps. Instead of simplifying processes, they increase complexity. This weakens confidence in further digitization measures.
4. Lack of acceptance for digitization in practice teams
Acceptance within the practice team is a decisive factor for the success of digital projects. Digitalization is changing the distribution of tasks and working methods. If these changes are not explained and supported transparently, uncertainty and reluctance arise. If there is no common understanding of the goals and benefits of digital processes, digitization remains an external project that is not anchored in everyday life.
5. Digitalization is often seen as a completed project
Many digitization initiatives fail due to incorrect expectations. Digitalization is often planned as a one-off measure, once introduced, a stable final state is expected. In practice, however, it requires continuous adaptation to new requirements, feedback from everyday life and changing framework conditions. If this ongoing character is not taken into account, projects lose effect or come to a standstill.
Key requirements for digital solutions for medical practices
These hurdles result in clear requirements for digital solutions in the medical environment:
- You must support existing processes without creating additional complexity
- Their benefits should be apparent early on in everyday practice and not just after long phases of conversion.
- They must also be intended as part of an ongoing development process, not as an isolated measure.
vendors like Nelly address precisely these structural requirements by understanding digitization as an integrated part of practical operations.
What type of digital solution really relieves everyday practice
Relief is particularly severe where processes start before the deadline, intermediate manual steps are reduced and digital processes remain comprehensible for practice teams.
Practical examples from working with Nelly show what effects digitization can achieve in practice.
The following results come from BISS45 (orthodontics), an illustrative practical example from Nelly. They are not general benchmarks, but illustrate typical effects in everyday practice:
- Time saved per new patient: 30-60 minutes
- Reduction of printing costs (paper consumption) of up to 80%
- In the future, around 500 hours of working time savings per year for around 2000 new patients
These effects are not created by individual functions, but by a well-thought-out coordination of internal and digitized processes.
Nelly can also digitally map processes such as invoice processing and receivables management for your practice.
Nelly will advise you free of charge and without obligationto check what can be done in your practice.
