If you are like most provider agencies that are not using an agency management platform, you most likely have a variety of software products in use that varies from department to department. And you would not be alone. In a 2011 survey that we conducted with over 1,600 respondents, the majority (over 60%) of provider agencies are not utilizing a comprehensive software system, such as an agency management platform. What's the most common way agencies are tracking information? The overwhelming majority of agencies (93%) use Microsoft Excel. Second most common way - Microsoft Access.
So what does this mean? It means that even though agencies might be described as "paper based", they are using software products to help manage their data. It also means that everyone that's using Excel or Access probably has their own spreadsheets or databases stored on their local hard drive. The point here is that information is not shared across department boundaries with this type of software. I'm sure you've probably seen at your agency a spreadsheet that someone has on their computer and even the way the spreadsheet looks is totally different than the ones you create. There's no standardization; it's kind of like the wild west of data management. Here are some problems with this method.
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