Although we want implementing new technology within a clinic environment to be smooth and easy…
Like many things in life, it often takes time and practice to see rewards from our efforts when adopting change.
First, a bit of backstory…
Theratrak was created in 2018 to help solve a problem for therapists. Theratrak founder and Occupational Therapist Laura Simmons noticed that participants weren’t doing their home programs and they were backsliding between therapy sessions.
So she had to do something about it.
Laura created a technology solution to help both therapists and participants keep track of home programs.
The Theratrak team have first-hand experience supporting many teams through adopting new technology within clinics. We’ve heard many cringe-worthy stories from other therapists about how tech adoption was non-existent in some clinics.
Many benefits to adopting new technology
Depending on what new technology you choose to use, there are a range of benefits to implementing new technology into your clinic including streamlining workflows and improving communication across teams.
It’s common for clinics to look for safe technology to streamline operations, enhance patient care, and improve overall efficiency.
The goal of using technology is always to make your work-life easier, not harder. Adopting new technology is a step in the direction towards future-proofing your business and creating a brand that is known for efficiency.
Understanding how to implement new technology effectively is critical to ensuring your clinic reaps the full benefits of tech advancements with minimal disruptions to your daily workflow.
Here are three simple steps to follow when implementing new technology within a clinic setting.
3 Steps to Implementing Technology within Your Clinic
1. Identify Key Problems
Know what problem you need to solve with technology.
Focus down on what you need help with. Do you need to save time on admin? Do you need to create custom home programs? Are you trying to support your waitlist? Do you need visibility across multidisciplinary teams?
Know what problems before you get started. Understand what metrics matter to your business and how they connect to the specific problems you’d like to improve.
Before diving into the ocean of available technologies, it's essential to anchor your efforts by identifying the problems you aim to solve. Pinpointing these challenges will help direct you to the right tech solutions. There are tools that make workflows easier, saves therapist time, and makes life easier for your participants - or ones like Theratrak that do all three!
Focus down on what problems you have and consider what tools can help you solve or improve them.
2. Test and Trial
Approach new technology with a test and learn approach.
Things might not work on the first time. Knowing that you will be learning new systems, it’s important to take time and help your team become familiar with the help documents.
Many digital platforms, including therapy management tools like Theratrak, offer free trial periods.
Consider doing the free trial and then you can assess whether the technology will make an impact in your business:
Use this time to not just explore the product features but to also test them with real users - your team and clients.
Select a diverse group from your team who can champion the product and provide varied perspectives on its usability.
Encourage a learning and feedback culture within your team to help improve both your team and your processes over time.
After a set trial time frame, you should reflect to ensure the technology supports your core business and provides results for you.
Check pricing and usage plans as some technology changes with usage, whereas other tools like a Theratrak therapist licence become cheaper per user the more therapist licences you have.
Companies should be open about their privacy policies, security, HIPPA certification and other relevant legislations. Safety is often a concern with new technology as well but many digital tools like Theratrak are HIPPA certified and use multi-factor authentication.
We created TheratrakU to help therapists get everything they need out of Theratrak. It’s a one-hour PD course for therapists to learn how to prescribe, track and monitor home programs through fun, educational modules include helpful tips, PDFs, explainer videos and short quizzes.
Understand what your team needs to get started. Make use of whatever help documents, video, or resources for whenever someone needs a reminder for how to complete a process.
3. Appoint a Champion
One of the best things a team can do when adopting new technology is appointing a champion on the internal team - or two!
This person is responsible for helping communicate the key points about the technology adoption to the team. Ideally they would be the first to know about the platform, resources, and the best ways to utilise the technology within your business.
Creating a role for someone as an internal champion also provides opportunity for their individual growth and education.
What can the internal champion be responsible for?
Making adopting the technology within the team a smooth process
Gathering feedback from the team to ensure the technology is worth the investment
Celebrating the successes when implementing new technology
Consider what data and analytics you can use to measure the impact of the technology in your business. Can you measure therapy sessions related stats with this new technology? Does that impact marketing or sales? Or are you reducing internal team time spent writing case notes? Consdier what metrics matter to your business.
Make sure you record and analyse data from both before and after implementing the new technology. By measuring the differences and getting consistent feedback, you can then make an informed assessment of the technology's impact within your clinic.
Get Started Investigating
We love breaking down numbers impacted by technology use. So we made the Theratrak Clinic Quiz so therapists estimate how much time that could be saved using the Theratrak platform for home programs. Take the Quiz
Try Theratrak or Book a Demo
Want to ensure that adopting new tech will solves more of your problems vs creates more problems?
