Download the Oberlin Road Pediatrics Case Study PDF
Caring for Caretakers: A Case Study
How Apex Technology Has Made Life Better at Oberlin Road Pediatrics
Meet Oberlin Road Pediatrics:
If you’ve driven past this growing practice, you’ve probably noticed their vaccination bus out front. Established in 1956 by Dr. Alice McInnis and her brother Dr. Watson Pugh, Oberlin Road Pediatrics is one of the last privately owned pediatric healthcare clinics in Wake County. Serving the various health needs of their community’s children, from well visits to acute concerns to developmental and behavioral assessments and everything in between, the clinic’s staff of 45 do everything they can to make sure their patients not only feel better, but feel comfortable during their care.
Practice manager Trish Drewes is proud to play her part in this mission, regularly going above and beyond her job description to help ensure the clinic’s visitors—and its employees—feel welcome. That being said, the line has to be drawn somewhere, and when Drewes was called upon to deal with all of the practice’s IT issues, despite the practice having an IT company on retainer, the line became all too clear.
The Practice Simply Wasn’t Receiving the Value They Were Paying For
Naturally, Oberlin Road Pediatrics relies on no small amount of technology in order to sustain their operations—electronic health records are proof positive of this fact, in addition to their insurance systems. This makes the work that an IT provider does extremely valuable… provided, of course, that they do it. However, the practice’s previous IT resource’s response times were slower than you would expect, as support calls or emails would frequently receive no response—even after the practice experienced a fire that took their server down.
Meanwhile, Drewes picked up the slack as much as she could. Since she ultimately became the practice’s primary IT resource, she was stuck at work, unable to take time off for fear that something would break in her absence.
“I was exhausted, because I do so much here, and I literally was here all the time, doing stuff. I could get called in for any computer problems because they couldn’t reach anybody, server problems, I’d come in for it… It was terrible.” - Trish Drewes, Practice Manager for Oberlin Road Pediatrics
Naturally, once their contract with this IT “provider” was set to expire, they were motivated to find a new provider to turn to… and while Trish attended an industry conference, they found one in one of the event’s sponsors, Apex Technology. Rob Pollitt, Apex Technology’s head of marketing and business development representative, was there, and after a conversation with him, Drewes went with her gut and took a chance on Apex Technology… a chance she is very happy she took.
Apex Swiftly Stepped In to Resolve the Previous Provider’s Shortcomings
Once the managed service provider was brought onboard, there were swift changes made at all levels of Oberlin Road Pediatrics’ infrastructure.
First and foremost, the support issue that had plagued the medical provider was completely gone. Rather than Drewes having to field all the computer and infrastructure issues that their previous provider neglected to resolve, Apex Technology took up the medical practice’s support needs, taking a significant amount of pressure off the practice manager’s shoulders. Not only is her time able to be better utilized without IT issues being forwarded to her, the entire team is empowered to reach out for assistance.
In fact, Trish has found herself newly able to take time off for travel, family time, and even medical needs without worrying that the practice’s technology will break. She cites this change as being beneficial to her—and the rest of the team’s—mental health. Her word for the difference she’s seen: life-changing.
Thanks to Apex Technology’s work, the practice is experiencing far fewer issues than they once were, and Drewes knows that she can trust the managed service provider with some of their more critical needs. Their vaccine fridges are hooked up so that the staff will be alerted if the internal temperature increases to the point where the vaccines will need to be moved. As of this writing, Apex is also assisting the practice with the transition to paperless operations.
In addition to providing the support that Oberlin Road Pediatrics sorely needed, Apex Technology has also assisted the practice by delivering a comprehensive set of network health and security services, including monthly phishing tests to ensure the team is remaining vigilant.
Taking All This into Consideration, Oberlin Road Pediatrics Would Certainly Prescribe Apex Technology’s Services
In fact, Trish herself is willing to speak to any company considering the services of Apex Technology, in order to sing the managed service provider’s praises. She appreciates that her time is no longer, as she put it, “monopolized” by the practice's various technology needs, now that all it takes to fix a problem is making a quick call.
If you’d like to embrace the same benefits for your own business, a quick call is all you have to make, too. Reach out to Rob at Apex Technology at 704-895-0010 ext. 2029, or by email at , to learn more about what they can help your business accomplish, or visit trustapex.com.
About Apex Technology
Apex Technology has been serving the Carolinas area since 1998, providing IT support and consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses. Partnering with many types of businesses in the area, Apex Technology strives to eliminate IT issues before they cause expensive downtime, so their clients can continue to drive their businesses forward towards success. Learn more about Apex Technology and its managed IT services by calling (704) 895-0010, or visiting www.trustapex.com.
