How to choose and implement an Occupational Health Software system

Whether you are moving from a paper-based system, upgrading from Microsoft Excel or transitioning away from a particular software platform, it can be a daunting process to evaluate and implement a new occupational health software system.

Any new system is going to be at the heart of how your team or business works, so choosing the right software is absolutely critical - here are a few thoughts on how to do it right. 

Assemble a Multi-Disciplined Purchasing Team 

Setting up a new occupational health system is going to touch many areas of your business outside of occupational health - HR, Finance, IT & Data, Health & Safety are all likely to interact with the software in some shape or form. Make sure you’re clear on their requirements (and crucially what is essential versus a ‘nice to have’) so that you can add them to your list of questions during any software demonstrations. 

Outreach

There are a relatively small number of specialist occupational health software providers, so you should be able to easily create a short list from colleagues in other occupational health teams and by reviewing relevant software-related posts on JISC Mail and the Occupational Health Professionals Facebook group.  

The next step is simply to contact each provider via their website and ask for a demonstration of their software, making sure you bring your list of system requirements from across your organisation. As well as these specific requirements, here are some important general considerations which we’ll be addressing the next section: 

• Security & data protection 

• Ease of use, training & support 

• Can the system be customised?

• Are they a reliable partner?

• Can you import your existing data?

Important System Considerations 

Security & Data Protection

This software system will be holding some of the most sensitive data that your organisation owns, so it is critical that it is well protected. 

As an absolute baseline, your occupational health software provider should be ISO27001 accredited. This is an internationally recognised standard which ensures that the software system itself and the company’s internal processes are robust and secure and minimise the risk of a data breach. If you are an OH provider, it is important to consider that many end clients (i.e. your clients) will require ISO27001 as standard if you’re going to hold their clinical data, so don’t give yourself a headache later by opting for a software platform that doesn’t have this accreditation. 

It is also vital to ask about the infrastructure hosting your data - check that it’s one of the well-known and highly robust and secure cloud infrastructure services like AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, where your data is automatically backed up and can be synced across multiple data centres. If it’s not, there’s a chance that the software is actually on a single server in the client’s office which exposes you to a single point of failure - should there be a flood or fire, you could be left with no system online, and in a worst case scenario, a loss of your data.

Many organisations (and end clients) will require strong user-level security such as Single Sign On, Multi-Factor Authentication and IP restrictions - make sure you check if these are available. It’s also advisable to check that your software provider conducts regular penetration tests by a CREST accredited provider, to make sure that they’re as protected as possible from a potential hacker. 

Ease of Use, Training & Support 

Even the best and most intuitive systems will be a little different to what you’re used to at first, so make sure that your software provider can offer comprehensive on-boarding and top-up training throughout the lifetime of your relationship with them. Some organisations will offer you  pre-recorded training videos - in practice these aren’t terribly effective, as the training can’t be tailored to your requirements, and of course you can’t ask clarifying questions as you go. 

You should also expect to receive a handbook or user manual that is regularly updated with any changes to the software. 

Ask the software provider about their approach to customer support and bug fixes - it’s imperative that when issues do come up, that they’re resolved quickly so you and your team can get back to work. Customer support normally works best when it is provided by a local team who speak your native language and operate in your timezone, so be sure to check this. 

Can the system be customised?

Even if you think the off-the-shelf version of the software you’ve seen matches your needs, you need to be prepared for your requirements to change over time as your organisation evolves and/or different clients come on board. Make sure that you can configure the system options, assessments, workflows, report templates and branding on the platform to suit what you need. 

It’s worth asking where the development team are based - it’s going to be easier to collaborate with a team based in the UK whose native language is English. Additionally, check how big the development team is to ensure there is depth, whether they are directly employed by the software company, and ask how quickly they could tackle any custom work for you. 

Are they a Reliable Partner?

You’re going to be trusting this software company with one of your most valuable assets - your employee’s clinical data, and potentially they’ll need to hold it on your behalf for 40 years: you want to be confident as you can be that this business is going to last the course. 

Firstly - take a look at their Companies House profile - are they up to date on their filings? If not, this can spell trouble. 

Secondly - ask to speak to existing clients and make sure they’re happy. 

Third - don’t be afraid to ask some difficult questions about the company’s financial situation - how many clients do they have? Is this a loss making startup or a one-man band with no financial backing? You want to avoid a scenario where the software company holding your most important data goes into bankruptcy. 

Lastly - check whether there are any conflicts of interest - is the software company owned by another occupational health provider that might be competing with you for the same client contracts for example?

Can you import your existing data?

To do your job most effectively as an occupational health team, it’s helpful to have all your employees’ clinical data in one place - this means you can quickly gain context on an employee’s situation when they are referred to you, rather than having to franticly search on Sharepoint, or worse, in a dusty old filing cabinet.  

Check that your software provider can import the data from your current software system, and map it against your employee’s records in the new system. They should also be able to accommodate digitised versions of any paper records, so that you can truly have everything in one place. 

The Procurement Process 

After evaluating the different software systems, you’ll likely be starting to get a feel for which platform will suit your organisation best, and you may be in a position to start the official procurement process. 

Firstly you’ll want to get a detailed quote from the software provider to understand what licence, support & training fees they will be charging you. Be sure to clarify if your annual costs will increase as you grow your clinical team. 

Secondly, your IT and legal team will most likely want to verify that the company’s data security and legal processes are sufficiently robust, and will probably ask the company to fill out some long questionnaires to evidence their compliance with various regulations and standards. This can take a few weeks of back and forth if either your IT/legal teams or the software provider aren’t ready and responsive, so make sure you line everyone up in advance to avoid any delays. 

Implementation & Go Live

Once you have the contract signed, your focus will now turn to getting your new system live.  

Wherever possible, it’s preferable to have a crossover period between swapping systems - that way you put yourself under less pressure to do a complete instant switchover, which will give you less margin for error if you discover anything unexpected with the new system. 

Ensure that your whole team has access to comprehensive training before you launch - even the best systems will take some getting used to. If there are areas where people are getting stuck, don’t just accept that as ‘a tech problem’, but make sure the software provider gives you the follow-up support and training you need to use the platform effectively. 

If you’re making any custom changes to the system, you’ll need to put together a detailed specification for the software developers who are working with you - this will include examples of how any new screens will look, word for word paragraphs of any new text you need, and potentially flow diagrams if you’re changing workflows. Although putting together this information takes some time, it will allow you to move faster through the implementation phase as there will be less back-and-forth with the software developers. 

You’ll need to set aside some time or bring in a dedicated team to test any custom changes after they’re complete - does the new system work exactly as you expected it to? Once you’ve signed off the changes it’s hard to go back later and ask for any amendments.

Ongoing Relationship

Once your system is up and running, your relationship with the software company doesn’t end there. 

Make sure you contact them once or twice a year to make sure you’re getting access to any new features they’re releasing. 

Your team will inevitably require some refresher training at some point, this will ideally be free of charge, so make sure you take advantage of that if it’s available. 

And lastly, even with the best system, you’re likely to have some support queries - whether those are ‘how do I’ type questions, or because you’ve discovered some small bugs. It’s worth understanding exactly how the company’s support process works - what kind of information they need from you to effectively investigate an issue etc, that way you’ll get useful responses more quickly. 

About The Author

This article was written by Oliver Bridge, MD at Orchid Live.

Orchid Live (OrchidLive.com) is a specialist occupational health software platform serving OH providers, public and private sector organisations across the UK, with thousands of clinicians using their platform every day. 

If you’re considering your options on occupational health software, please book a meeting with our MD Oliver to discuss your requirements.