You’re the Fixer… But Who Fixes Things for You?
If you’re a Practice Manager in a long-term care or retirement home, let me say this first: You’re doing more than anyone gives you credit for.
You’re the one everyone calls when the printer won’t work.
When the Wifi crashes in the West Wing.
When the EMR stalls mid-report and someone’s shift is ending in five.
You don’t have a tech degree. You don’t have a cape. But somehow, you’re expected to be both crisis manager and tech translator, on top of caring for staff, residents, schedules, and compliance.
And the worst part?
You’ve probably Googled “how to fix [insert tech thing]” more times than you care to admit.
This guide is for you.
It’s a cheat sheet of real-life tech fixes, written for care settings like yours - where time is tight, budgets are tighter, and everyone deserves systems that just work.
Let’s walk through 15 common problems you probably see every week… and what you can actually do about them.
15 Everyday Tech Fixes (You Shouldn’t Have to Ask For—But I’ll Help You Ask Anyway)
Each of these includes:
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What’s Going Wrong
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What You Can Do Now
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What to Ask Your IT Partner (in plain language)
Let’s dig in.
1. Wifi’s Great in Admin, But Drops in Resident Areas
What’s Going Wrong:
Staff are walking out of range, calls are cutting out, and your tablets take forever to load PointClickCare on certain floors.
What You Can Do Now:
Ask for a wireless heat map. It shows where signals are weak and devices are fighting to stay online.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can you do a Wifi heat map of our whole facility? I think we have coverage gaps in care areas.”
2. Shared Logins Are a Nightmare When Something Breaks
What’s Going Wrong:
You can’t track who did what. Passwords are scribbled on post-it notes. When something goes wrong, nobody knows who logged in last.
What You Can Do Now:
Set up individual logins tied to roles - and add multi-factor authentication (MFA) for staff with access to resident data.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can you help us switch to individual logins with proper security for compliance?”
3. The EMR Works... Until Someone Hits the Wrong Button
What’s Going Wrong:
Someone hits “back” and loses all their notes. Or the screen freezes during charting, and they call you in a panic.
What You Can Do Now:
Create a visual step-by-step cheat sheet with screenshots for common EMR tasks.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we build an easy guide for staff to avoid common EMR mistakes?”
Bonus: This also helps you meet PHIPA training documentation requirements.
4. Why Do Our Tablets Die Halfway Through the Day?
What’s Going Wrong:
You’re charging them overnight… but they’re slow, glitchy, and don’t last the shift.
What You Can Do Now:
Track device age. Tablets typically last 2–3 years in a healthcare setting before they’re more trouble than they’re worth.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Do we have a device lifecycle plan? I think we need a rotation schedule.”
5. Staff Keep Forgetting to Report IT Issues
What’s Going Wrong:
By the time you hear about a problem, it’s been broken for a week - and now it’s urgent.
What You Can Do Now:
Set up a simple reporting form or shared inbox. Keep the process quick, judgment-free, and mobile-friendly.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we create an easy way for staff to report tech issues on the fly?”
6. The Fax Machine Still Rules the Office - and It Shouldn’t
What’s Going Wrong:
Lost referrals, paper trails, delays. It’s 2025 and we’re still playing paper tag.
What You Can Do Now:
Move to secure digital faxing or encrypted email for medical correspondence.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we go paperless with something PHIPA-compliant?”
7. Cameras Cut Out Just When You Need Footage
What’s Going Wrong:
When there’s an incident, half the cameras are offline - or the footage is unusable.
What You Can Do Now:
Ask for camera health monitoring and automatic alerts when a feed goes down.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we set up proactive monitoring for our security system?”
8. Residents Can’t Get Online - and They’re Complaining
What’s Going Wrong:
Frustrated families. Angry calls. “Why doesn’t Dad have internet?”
What You Can Do Now:
Create a separate Wifi network just for residents and families, so they’re not competing with staff systems.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we set up a resident Wifi network that doesn’t interfere with clinical systems?”
9. Printer’s Offline Again… and Nobody Knows Why
What’s Going Wrong:
The printer in admin keeps disappearing from the network. You’ve unplugged it, restarted it, maybe whispered a prayer. Still no luck.
What You Can Do Now:
Request a static IP address for your shared printer. That stops it from randomly “vanishing” after power outages or updates.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can you assign a static IP to our main admin printer so it stops going offline?”
Bonus tip: Get alerts when the toner’s low too - before it disappears mid-audit.
10. “The System’s Slow Again” - But Nobody Can Prove It
What’s Going Wrong:
Staff complain the EMR or Wifi is slow… but by the time IT checks it, it’s fine again.
What You Can Do Now:
Ask for network performance monitoring—a log of dips, outages, and slowdowns.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can you install tools to track EMR and Wifi performance so we can catch the slowdowns when they happen?”
This is especially helpful for identifying invisible downtime that affects care quality—and morale.
11. No One Knows Which Laptop Belongs to Which Wing
What’s Going Wrong:
Devices float around the building. Labels are missing. Updates are overdue. Nobody’s sure who’s using what.
What You Can Do Now:
Create an asset inventory spreadsheet with serial numbers, location, and assigned user or role.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we get a proper IT asset inventory for all our devices?”
This helps with PHIPA compliance, budget forecasting, and reducing theft/loss.
12. The Staff Room Computer Takes 20 Minutes to Boot
What’s Going Wrong:
It’s old, it’s full of background apps, and nobody knows the last time it was updated.
What You Can Do Now:
Request a hardware age audit - and ask about using cloud-based systems that don’t require high-performance machines.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we upgrade or replace machines over 5 years old? Staff are wasting time on slow logins.”
13. You’re Still Using Paper for Critical Records “Just in Case”
What’s Going Wrong:
You’re duplicating digital records onto paper because you don’t fully trust your backup or EMR access during outages.
What You Can Do Now:
Ensure real-time, tested cloud backups are in place, and staff are trained on offline access protocols.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can you walk us through how our EMR is backed up - and how we’d access records during an outage?”
Peace of mind is knowing you don’t have to photocopy everything just to feel safe.
14. Nobody Knows What to Do During a Cyber Incident
What’s Going Wrong:
If someone gets a phishing email - or worse, clicks on one - nobody’s quite sure what happens next. Panic ensues.
What You Can Do Now:
Build a simple incident response guide for your team: what to do, who to call, what not to touch.
Ask Your IT Partner:
“Can we create a one-pager for staff on what to do if they suspect a cyberattack?”
Bonus points if you include it in your annual PHIPA audit prep.
15. You’re Managing All This - But Nobody’s Managing the Tech
What’s Going Wrong:
You’re the one catching the issues, chasing down fixes, and reminding the team to update things… but IT isn’t your job.
What You Can Do Now:
Consider bringing in a healthcare-specific MSP (Managed Service Provider) who takes a proactive, not reactive, approach.
Ask Your IT Partner (or yourself):
“Do we have a dedicated partner who knows LTC compliance, cares about workflow, and responds like one of us?”
Because you shouldn't have to be the helpdesk and the heart of your home.
You’re the Heart of the Workflow
Practice Managers like you hold the whole building together - and you deserve technology that makes your job easier, not harder.
If even one of these problems hit a little too close to home… let’s talk.
Click here to schedule your free Discovery Call. Just 15 minutes. No jargon. No pressure. Just clarity.
