Business Systems assignment. Implementing ERP at RMH and its Essay

Business Systems assignment. Implementing ERP at RMH and its implication - Essay Example This paper will focus on the benefits of ERP to RMH and will explore what are the Critical Success Factors that affect the successful implementation and the approach that RMH needs to follow for ERP transition. RMH’s strategic vision is to provide quality service to all the patients and hence provide patient satisfaction using best processes, skills and attitude of employees. An integrated ERP system is seen as a facilitator of the ultimate patient satisfaction due to the various benefits that it is expected to provide the hospital (Yang & Su, 2009, 722). The most prominent benefit of ERP is that it consolidates all processes, all departments and divisions into a central network (Botta-Genoulaz and Millet, 2006,204-210). This consolidation is manifested in terms of better management and controlling function, better ?nancial ?ows control, information ?ows control, increased IT infrastructure capability; and control of ?ow of goods and services (Saatcioglu, 2008, 690-706). For e xample, better management, better information flow and better control of services is initiated when there is online and accessible information available simultaneously at all relevant points as and when needed by RMH and its related medical centres. The ERP system would enable better data management for both the employees and the patients. A patient’s name and previous medical history including lab reports and past medication details to be read by the doctor even before the patient is seen. The doctor can also enter the prescription details directlty into the system from where the pharmacy can have a direct access (Hawkings, 2007, 30). In RMH, for example, the pharmacy would enter the sales into the system that will update the purchase department, from where the automated system apprises the suppliers who would release Just in Time (JIT) deliveries to the hospital (Yang & Su, 2009, ). Another benefit for RMH is that ERP implementation creates a real-time sharing of informatio n within RMH and with its patients and suppliers (Gupta & Kohli, 2006, 687). All the relevant departments and people get the information in real time and hence are able to act quickly, reducing wastages due to time delays or duplications – the doctors know first hand the case history, the pharmacies are more efficient with prescription filling and the suppliers operate in real time. Similarly, in case of scheduling people and equipment, ERP enables the hopital adminisration to view the availability and need across different departments, offices and facilities and hence make optimum use of resources (Yang and Su, 2009, 722-752). All the benefits that ERP facilitate can be presumed to be leading to better patient relationship mamagement (Forslund, 2010, 44-56). The patients receive accurate and efficient service and hence they are better satisfied (Huang, Huang, Wu & Lin, 2009, 1085-1100). It shows that there is a direct impact on the financial management, operations and admini stration of the hospital. The data is complete, accessible and leads to reduced workload, low inventories better quality decision making all across the hospitals (Gattiker and Goodhue, 2005, 561-587). In the case of RMH, the benefits are expected to extend to its external facilities and London office as well. The time different between the two countries makes the traditional postal mail