We’ve talked before about medical providers and practices continuing to use old versions of their medical billing and electronic health records (EHR) software. Fear of change, an uncertain economy, and a general sense of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” can lead to software going with updates and upgrades for years, and that’s OK to a point.
If your outdated application is still doing everything you need it to do, you may be reluctant to upgrade or replace it, but there can be great reasons to invest the money and time in an upgrade.
Why Should I Upgrade?
- Improved user experience – Software upgrades generally introduce fixes to bugs or issues, as well as bringing new features and better workflows based on user feedback. Maybe you’re still performing certain tasks in a slower or more tedious way when the current version of the software makes it faster and more seamless. And as we’ve mentioned previously, an upgrade doesn’t necessarily mean a steep learning curve.
- Better integration – You may have other software or hardware that should be able to communicate with your older billing or EHR application; maybe you’ve been able to cobble something together, or maybe you’ve had to accept defeat and do more manual work. Upgrading the software can result in better interoperability and more options for interfacing different pieces together.
- Security – Among the fixes and features that get added as software is updated and upgraded are security improvements. A vulnerability that existed in v31 may have only been discovered when v33 came out; the new version will have addressed it, but often software developers only go back so far and may not offer a fix for v31. Another consideration: v31 may not run on Windows 10 or 11, and while you might not mind using an older version of Windows right now, it is less secure and more vulnerable. And when that computer inevitably stops working sooner or later, you won’t be able to get your old application running on the shiny new PC with the latest operating system.
- Cost – OK, this is the big consideration, isn’t it? Yes, getting an upgrade will cost you money, and many people will put off upgrades as a result; when new versions (like new smartphones) are released every year or two, there often doesn’t seem to be a need to shell out money to have the latest and greatest. But sometimes you end up spending more than you realize as a result of not upgrading, because you need to maintain and support outdated software and possibly hardware, and because you may not be working as efficiently as you could with the upgrade.
On that note, if you’re currently using MEDISOFT v25 or LYTEC 2021 or older, we’ve got a deal to make it easier to take that leap and get yourself upgraded: order an upgrade to MEDISOFT v28 or LYTEC 2024 by November 30th and receive a 30% discount, no strings attached! Contact a Microwize Client Care Specialist for more information today!
