Review of Medical Software: Lytec & MedEnt

Using computerized management systems for the healthcare industry has been a long-term trend. However, medical practices and hospitals are overwhelmed with many choices when it comes to picking the best vendor. In the course of my review, I found that the Lytec suite (offered by MediPro) and MedEnt software packages were great candidates for review. Both solutions boasted having the most cutting edge tools and features available for comprehensive medical care. Although both software packages were adequate solutions and tailored to a nurse’s job needs, the Lytec suite is a better comprehensive option.

MedEnt

MedEnt Practice Management (2012) is a comprehensive suite of medical applications that are designed to offer accurate record management, tools for doctors to diagnose and manage patients as well as medical equipment with built-in interfaces. It is designed for local storage and access on-premise and can be somewhat customized to the practice’s unique needs. 

Quality of care and nursing implications

This suite increases the quality of care because it offers built-in tools that heavily aid doctors in their ability to diagnose and manage patients. For example, it comes with disease management tools and an automated platform to “track medical conditions monitored by Doctors… The displayed result organizes preventative health measures into areas color-coded for timelines” (MedEnt, 2012). Because it also includes a content management system, patient records and loads of extra information can be easily updated for the record/patient. This will improve the job of nurses because it offers a quick reference guide and centralized way to access all resources. Nurses should be required to give input and trying out this software to see which modules suit their needs and are appropriate. That way, there are cost savings and nurses get the tools that they truly need. Because this suite is also modular, it can be implemented in pieces. Consequently, nurses can evaluate and be trained in parts of the software rather than all at once. 

Handheld Devices and Better Care

MedEnt also comes standard with MEDENT mobile, a mobile application that is available for iPhones, iPads, Android devices and other tablets (MedEnt, 2012). While these applications do not offer full features and services available through the desktop interface, they offer features such as email, record editing, document viewing/editing and more. New features are also added on a ten-month cycle. Mobile management can lead to better care because nurses will have the fidelity to use other devices in order to not be tied to a computer screen at a desk. Patients can get speedier care and nurses can avoid using paper. Truly, the paperless office paradigm is met with this software package. The interface is also intuitive and easy to use. It offers patients the ability to easily edit some of their own records through the interface. 

Quality of Data and HIPAA Standards 

Since the data is centralized and there is only one unique entry for any piece of data, there would surely be data integrity. However, when it comes to integrating data and medical information from third-party data sources, the software has a somewhat comprehensive list of providers that it works with. Adding any more external data would require more work and would cost more money. The software also falls in line with all HIPAA standards and is confidential. If the nurses were to use their own devices, however, the medical information could potentially be compromised if the devices were taken home. In this case, the medical office would have to permit only certain employees to use the devices away from the practice or hospital. 

Cost and Benefits

The benefits of this system are that it offers a comprehensive means of taking care of patients. With tons of medical content and a comprehensive feature list of diagnosis tools, doctors can treat patients more effectively. Moreover, nurses have access to all of these tools and resources on a permission-based level. Since this medical suite is modular, the cost would depend on which features the hospital or practice wanted to adopt. Also, a case study offered by the website showed that “Because of the MEDENT software, rejection of claims is much lower, the practice is able to get reimbursed for the level of services provided and receive Medicare incentive payments” (MedEnt, 2012). The cost for a basic setup with one office, no extra modules, training, and an entry-level package was roughly $23,000 (Taylor, 2012). 

Lytec

Another vendor, Lytec, offered a similar suite of applications. However, this one boasted having a completely website-based interface and set of tools that were revolutionary. It is completely hosted on MediPro’s servers and offers a robust means for the company to add new features without forcing the practice to upgrade on a regular two-year lifecycle of most software vendors. 

Quality of Care and Nursing Implications

This suite increases the quality of care because it offers a comprehensive list of features and packages that are installed and implemented on demand. The software-as-a-service offering is much more attractive to nurses because they can utilize a web-based interface rather than being tied to their desktop or laptop computers (MediPro, 2012). Health records are centralized online and can be accessed from anywhere, offering a convenient means of managing a practice. Nurses should be required to evaluate this package because there are not as many features as the other software package. Indeed, it may not be as comprehensive as desktop software, but it does improve on a steady basis. 

Handheld devices and Better Care 

This vendor does offer handheld device software and would dramatically reduce costs because of its mobile-friendliness (MediPro, 2012). Since all of the software is purely browser-based, the doctor would not have to purchase any additional hardware for the practice. This would result in better care because the information could always be accessed from any device. House calls and external patient care would not be an issue. 

Quality of Data and HIPAA Standards 

While the software does fully comply with all HIPAA regulations, there is an increased risk of security and downtime. This is worrisome concerning high-risk patients such as the elderly with HIV/AIDS. The company boasts to have great uptime statistics and a secure offering, but technologies that are not on-premise have been known to be compromised. That being said, since the vendor has access to the records directly, they have much more control over its integrity and can use built-in tools (even new ones) to improve upon this (MediPro, 2012). They also do all of their own backups to ensure data accuracy. The same security and data integrity issues are present for this one with logins and external devices. 

Cost and Benefits

This vendor offers service a pay-as-you-go option for offices. The initial setup and package is roughly $4,300 and goes up for more features and the hosted mode option per month (MediPro, 2012). This option is much more cost-effective and offers the practice a more robust way of adding new features. Since it is cost-effective, it offers benefits in terms of versatility and not being ‘married’ to a vendor for life for all products and services in the future. This also offers other benefits in terms of being a much newer product that is still being adopted by other practices. Also, having it be browser-based makes it truly paperless as well. Patients can even access their own records on their own devices. 

Recommendation and Justification

Between these two, I recommend moving forward with Lytec. Their suite is more robust in terms of being cheaper, shorter release cycle and hardware agnostic. That is, existing computers do not need to be replaced and expensive IT setup costs are avoided. Also, this option is much more optimized for an increasingly mobile world where all parties want access to records, patient data, documents and more on the fly. The only thing that is really lacking is more features; however, since the company delivers software through a web-based interface, this will change over time.

References

MedEnt. (2012). MEDENT: Computer Software Systems for Managing Medical Practices & Offices. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.medent.com

MediPro. (2012). Products. Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software | MediPro. Retrieved from http://www.medipro.com/products/

Taylor, J. (2012, November 1). EHR functionality & CS pricing. Maryland Government. Retrieved from mhcc.dhmh.maryland.gov/hit/ehrVendors/Pages/vendors/Medent/line_cs.pdf