In health IT, your electronic health record (EHR) system is much like your “house.” At the start, keeping it up-to-date and user-friendly seems like something your team can handle in addition to their everyday responsibilities. Over time, though, the healthcare environment changes. New tools are introduced and priorities shift. Managing your EHR can feel like maintaining an ever-expanding home on your own — overwhelming and time-consuming — pulling your focus away from what matters most: delivering quality patient care.
Much like hiring a dedicated property manager for your digital home, this is where managed services can step in. They take care of everyday tasks, ensuring system stability, adding new features, and fixing issues before they escalate so you don’t have to do it alone. With managed services, you can keep your “home” running smoothly, no matter how your needs and priorities shift, giving you the freedom to focus on providing excellent care for patients and achieving your organizational goals.
Modern healthcare is shifting away from a reactive, firefighting approach toward a more strategic, proactive IT management model. Instead of scrambling to resolve break-fix issues as they arise, organizations can leverage a managed services program to offload routine maintenance tasks. This bimodal IT approach clearly divides responsibilities between two dedicated teams: one team, typically an application managed services (AMS) provider, handles the reactive tasks — such as optimizing EHR workflows, managing ticket backlogs, and ensuring system stability — while the customer’s internal IT team focuses exclusively on strategic initiatives and patient-centric innovation. By separating these responsibilities and sharing key processes like change control, both teams can operate largely independently yet come together when necessary, ensuring that the immediate operational demands do not compromise long-term strategic goals.
EHR application oversight
Proactive management of EHR systems (Epic, Oracle, MEDITECH, or others) includes more than routine updates. It includes regular content loads, mapping updates, and other configuration changes. Proactively addressing potential issues minimizes disruption to end users and maintains an ongoing stable environment. Managed services aren’t exclusive to applications, however. The model can be applied to any part of IT where committed outcomes can be defined and a scope can be effectively managed.
Predictable budgeting and measurable outcomes
A robust managed services provider doesn’t just offer transparent pricing and defined SLAs — it’s willing to share risk by committing to concrete outcomes and performance targets. With structured service agreements, organizations benefit from budgeting clarity and a clear framework for accountability. This approach not only supports strategic financial planning but also demonstrates measurable success to key stakeholders, reinforcing the provider's commitment to deliver tangible, high-impact results.
Ticket monitoring and system maintenance
Consistent monitoring of routine tickets and error logs helps identify potential issues before they escalate. Early detection and resolution of these issues increases user satisfaction and reduces friction in regular workflows, which helps improve operations across the system.
Broad service portfolio
A strong managed services provider delivers a comprehensive suite of IT solutions tailored to your organization’s full range of needs. Rather than locking you into narrow contracts, these providers offer broad, flexible engagements — handling everything from interface and medication load management to routine updates of staff records and system configurations. They can even scale to function as a fully outsourced AMS team when extended support is required. By taking a holistic approach, managed services not only address immediate IT demands but also act as a strategic partner in advancing your organization’s goals.
Access to specialized expertise and talent
One of the standout advantages of a managed services partnership is access to deep, specialized talent that you may struggle to recruit internally. Rather than relying on broad industry generalists, your managed services provider brings a team of experts in EHR optimization, interface management, maintenance, and more. This ensures that you have seasoned professionals handling even the most niche areas of your IT operations — enabling you to drive better outcomes.
Managed services lays the groundwork for ongoing improvement rather than one-off problem solving. With a robust, well-monitored IT environment, an organization can shift focus to patient outcomes, capital projects, and expanded service lines. This approach mirrors the direction many industries — such as finance and manufacturing — have already taken to ensure stability, scalability, and responsiveness in their operations.
Day-to-day reliability in your EHR and applications means frontline staff can work more effectively and leadership has more bandwidth for long-term strategic thinking. By embracing a managed services model, health IT leaders position their organizations to adapt quickly to emerging technologies, industry shifts, and evolving patient needs. The result is a sustainable IT strategy that fosters both immediate and long-term success.
Choosing the right managed services partner is important to achieving your organization's strategic vision. An ideal partner will:
By selecting a managed services partner with these qualities, health IT leaders can ensure their investment not only delivers measurable improvements in reliability, scalability, and strategic alignment but also maximizes ROI and drives financial value. This approach is designed to achieve robust outcomes and cost efficiencies, ensuring more value for the same — or even less — investment.