In the medical-social sector, expense management is of vital importance, but can sometimes prove complex. As a facility manager, you are responsible for rigorously managing expenses, while complying with current regulations. This involves meticulous monitoring of care and service expenses, from recording to reimbursement. Faced with this time-consuming and error-prone task, the adoption of an expense management system appears to be an indispensable solution. However, with so many different solutions available on the market, it's essential to consider several key criteria before making an informed choice for your medical center.
Let's take a look at eight aspects to consider when selecting an expense management solution to meet the specific needs of healthcare establishments. By taking these criteria into account, you'll be able to choose the right solution for your organization, guaranteeing successful implementation and efficient, transparent expense management. Thanks to an optimal user experience and automation, you'll be able to simplify your administrative tasks, so you can concentrate on your core mission: providing quality care and services to your beneficiaries.
Regulatory compliance
When choosing expense management software for your medical center, compliance with current standards and regulations is paramount. This includes compliance with data privacy guidelines such as the RGPD, as well as securing sensitive medical information.
Make sure that the solution you select complies with legal requirements in terms of financial management and data protection. This will avoid any risk of penalties for non-compliance. In the medical-social sector, data protection is of the utmost importance. It is imperative that the software uses robust encryption protocols to ensure information security.
Intuitiveness and ease of use
Health and social care professionals are often overworked and can't afford to waste time learning how to use complex software. It is therefore essential to choose a user-friendly, intuitive solution with a simple interface that requires little or no training to master.
The aim is to simplify and accelerate the process of entering and processing expense claims, while minimizing the risk of errors.
Integration with existing systems
The expense management solution you choose must be able to integrate seamlessly with the systems already in place in your medical-social establishment, such as accounting, human resources or electronic medical record (EMR) software.
This integration considerably facilitates the exchange of information and automates certain operations, reducing the risk of human error. Be sure to look for a solution that automates expense management processes as far as possible.
Authorization management
Make sure that the solution can assign specific authorizations for accessing and submitting expense reports, based on the roles and responsibilities of each member of staff.
Look for functionalities that allow you to validate expense claims in accordance with your organization's internal rules, for example by integrating a workflow, which defines a sequence of operations or tasks to be carried out in a precise order.
The expense management solution must be able to support internal policies, whether in terms of reimbursement ceilings, expense categories or other specific rules.
Traceability and archiving
The software's ability to ensure expense traceability is fundamental. The solution must provide functionalities for tracking the status of submitted expense claims, as well as secure data archiving to guarantee compliance and facilitate audits.
The ability to generate detailed reports and analyses to examine spending and identify financial trends is also essential to facilitate decision-making and budget planning.
Mobility and accessibility
In a medical-social context where mobility is often a necessity, it's important that the expense management solution is accessible from a variety of devices (desktops, tablets, smartphones) and offers a consistent user experience across all platforms.
Since staff need to be able to send in expense claims when they travel, it's important that the solution supports the electronic transmission of receipts, including photos taken with a smartphone. This feature enables expenses to be entered in real time, simplifying the process.
Customer support and training
Choose a software supplier that offers excellent customer support, including responsive technical assistance and training to help users get the most out of the application.
In addition, expense management needs can change over time. It is therefore essential that the software selected is flexible enough to adapt to these changes, and offers regular updates.
Cost and profitability
Last but not least, consider the total cost of ownership or rental of the expense management solution, including subscription, installation, license, maintenance, support... Make sure it offers good value for money and fits in with your budget.