By Dr. Deborah Vinton, medical director, emergency department, UVA Health and Inlightened Expert.
Dr. Deborah Vinton
The way we talk, think about, plan, and innovate for healthcare delivery has fundamentally changed as a result of COVID-19. For those of us in healthcare, top priorities today are different than they were just a few months ago. Like in so many areas of life, coronavirus is rewriting the status quo.
As a physician on the frontlines, it has become painfully apparent that, as an industry, we have failed to design and develop tools and systems – for us – with us in mind. When it comes to innovating for those delivering the care, empathy is often times out of the process. From PPE (personal protective equipment) to telemedicine and everything in between, the lack of input and understanding may be furthering burnout, negatively impacting patient care, and fueling inefficiencies.
Empathy in innovation: We’ve made progress for patients
In healthcare, we’ve done a better (although not remotely perfect) job of integrating empathy into the design and innovation process for the patient to optimize patient experience. From lobbies to hospital rooms, we’ve seen patient-centric design aimed at delivering more comfortable, less stressful, and seamless experiences.
Patients today enter buildings that are light and airy, no longer have the traditional “sterile” feeling, boast extensive entertainment options, and prioritize patient needs, like access to Wi-Fi and charging stations. Protocols are designed by considering various risks, and prioritizing policies and workflows that will most positively impact the patient. All of these efforts demonstrate a much-needed understanding of – and commitment to – the patient and their experience.
Physicians are left behind and burned out
Like other industries, the evolution of healthcare has been aided by fast-paced innovation and technology. While conversations pre-COVID might have been around electronic health records (EHRs), real-time communication tools, and even innovating the scrubs we wear, COVID-19 has shed light on new priorities and the dramatic gaps that exist in the process for designing provider-centric tools.
According to McKinsey: From 2014 to 2018, there have been more than 580 healthcare technology deals in the United States, each more than $10 million, for a total of more than $83 billion in value. They have been disproportionately focused on three main categories: patient engagement, data and analytics, and new care models.
Consider the quick adoption of telehealth. While the ability to deliver care virtually to the patient was – and still is – unquestionably critical as the country sheltered in place, it has led to a lot of frustration and overwhelm for physicians who are trained to deliver patient care in-person. In medical school, we learn how to read what’s behind the presentation of symptoms and how to ask questions and listen to what’s behind the answer.
But we haven’t yet integrated into the curriculum how to implement technology to feel consistent with the way we’ve been trained to deliver care. We are being asked to understand – and flawlessly use – solutions that can be glitchy, disjointed, and impersonal, while simultaneously delivering care to patients that might be nervous, frustrated, ill, scared, or all of the above.
Despite the world facing the challenges of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and even conflict resulting in violence, the power of technology means there’s always something to feel positive about.
What is news-worthy when it comes to IT and technology for the healthcare industry? Here are our top four reasons for staying hopeful:
More Virtual Treatments Mean More Healthy People
The beauty of having an IT infrastructure stretching across any country is that more people get access to medical services and consultations. Even before COVID-19 happened, doctors were giving advice and medical feedback to individuals in remote areas or those unable to travel via video calls.
During the pandemic, these telehealth resources were used in greater numbers in order to minimize interaction between patients in waiting rooms and hospitals. Even though the virus took many of us by surprise, certain aspects of our society were already geared for dealing with the challenge.
Many assume that adjustable beds only serve those patients admitted to a medical facility. Despite popular opinion, these models can support those ailing due to chronic illnesses or mobility restrictions. Seniors experiencing chronic pain can significantly benefit from sleeping on an adjustable bed.
As a person ages, their body undergoes dramatic changes, including decreasing bone density, lessening muscle strength, and lowered oxygen levels. Some of these changes may inconvenience and reduce the quality of life of those over 60. With these bodily changes in mind, here are five reasons why adjustable beds like My Upbed are beneficial for elderly sleepers.
The adjustable bed offers relief
Many seniors complain about debilitating back pain due to osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, or the Degeneration of joints in the lumbar spine. An adjustable bed can help these elderly folks elevate their head and feet into a position that addresses their chronic pain. When the senior citizen in your life sleeps on an adjustable bed, it will relieve a significant amount of pressure off the lower back.
If you have senior osteoporosis, the adjustable bed will be incredibly useful since it will promote better posture. Additionally, it will help to reduce the strain exerted on the hips and the shoulders.
When a senior depends on an adjustable bed’s pain-reducing benefits, they won’t have to stack pillows under their head, feet, or hips for support. When using pillows to elevate your head, you may start to experience neck pain and backaches, as they’re susceptible to shifting throughout the night from one position to another, which can kink your neck and cause soreness.
The process of screening applicants is extremely important for employers and must be carried out before recruiting for a position. This is because hiring the right people can make all the difference to a company’s success, which is why it’s crucial to find any drug issues or past criminal history via DNA and Drug Testing Clinics Nationwide – Health Street in a possible employee before hiring them. As John Maxwell said, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
On the other hand, the wrong ones can sink the company.
That’s why screening checks are increasingly becoming important among HR professionals in Australia. This post will explore five of the top reasons why screening employees should be adopted by every company.
The Ugly Truth …
Many job candidates are guilty of inventing degrees, referees, and accomplishments on their resume. Peter Wilson, the Chair of the Australian Human Resources Institute attributes it to the branding culture that has emerged out of social media. As a result, many people are likely to embellish their CVs with lies just to get ahead of the game.
A study from Australian revealed that a bad hire can cost a business up to 2.5 times the salary of the employee. Here are the top five reasons for screening employees:
Ensuring Job Competence
Since many job applicants lie about their education, accomplishments, qualifications, skills, and even previous job titles and responsibilities, it’s very easy to employ a candidate who does not have the competence to effectively execute their tasks.
When companies employ somebody, they are taking a risk. They are depending on the individual they are employing to carry out the responsibility as per the set standard. Therefore, businesses need to ensure that the credentials of the candidate line up with what they are asserting they are, and that the candidates do not have any charges against them. That is why for many professions there is a need for a DBS check before hiring a candidate.
What is a DBS check?
A DBS, which is the disclosure and barring services, assists employers with carrying out more secure recruitment and keep unfitting individuals from working with susceptible groups, including kids. DBS helps to know if any of your candidates have criminal records or are on any barring records, which would raise worry about their capacity to perform their duties or to work in the job.
A DBS check guarantees that, while recruiting candidates, the kids, and vulnerable people are protected. Above all, these record verifications empower you to ensure the individuals in your consideration are secured. As someone in the healthcare, it can get really difficult to find that one of your workers is found endangering the security of someone (patient) who is in your care. DBS checks can assist you with guaranteeing this never occurs.
If you are running a healthcare business, you’re going to have a lot of different considerations to keep in mind. One of the most crucial elements that you need to get right is marketing. Marketing will ensure that patients, clients, and customers are able to easily find your business and when they do, they’ll want to connect.
Let’s explore some of the key steps you can explore to guarantee this is the case and the action you must take.
Instant Answers
It’s important to be aware that when a patient searches for a medical support option they are often scared or worried. That’s why they will want instant answers to their questions regarding the service you provide or the products that you offer. It’s important not to keep them waiting. One of the best ways to avoid this is with a chatbot that you can easily add to your business website. A platform like this will ensure that customers immediately feel as though they are being heard and taken care of.
Going Mobile
In the past, most of the traffic to your site and other parts of the brand would be derived from devices such as a desktop computer. But time has moved on and now it’s far more likely that a customer will be searching for your business on their phone. This is particularly true for medical companies which are often local service businesses. They’ll want to find a doctor, clinic, or practice close by and that’s what you need to keep in mind when you are running your marketing campaign.
If you reach out to the right marketers, they will know how to ensure that your site is optimized for mobile use. This means that it will adapt and shift to ensure that it continues to operate regardless of what device a customer uses to view it.
What About SEO?
Regardless of whether you are running a DIY marketing campaign or hiring a professional company, it’s important to guarantee that SEO is approached the right way. Specifically, you need to think about the latest trends in SEO and how to find the right keywords for your business. Arguably, you should be looking at something like Google search console results. This will help you discover fresh keywords that you should be targeting.
It’s fair to say that COVID-19 has taken every business through the wringer and that does include companies operating within the healthcare industry. There are still challenges on the horizon that need to be addressed. Here are some of the issues to consider.
Equipment Shortages
During the first weeks and months of the pandemic, it was widely reported that there would be equipment shortages if immediate action wasn’t taken. While many locations are through the first wave, these shortages have not disappeared and are still a major concern. You need to make sure that your medical company is prepared for this challenge. Speak to your supplier and guarantee that they will be able to source the equipment as well as the PPE that you need over the coming months. If you fail to do this, then you could struggle to provide the solution that patients need.
Missed Diagnosis
One of the biggest issues that are currently being felt due to COVID-19 is certainly the fact that patients simply aren’t able to access the same level of attention and support. Currently, a lot of patients are not being allowed to see a doctor at all. Instead, communication is handled over the phone or through a video call. In either case, there are some questions surrounding whether it’s possible to provide an accurate diagnosis. It might be the case that issues with a patient’s health are being missed completely. This might even lead to a lawsuit. There are seasoned wrongful death attorneys at your service that can offer advice here and who have already claimed COVID-19 could cause a rise in cases like this.
Long Delays
Patients have already reported that they are experiencing long delays in getting the support required. This is even true for long term health issues including mental health problems. We have already reported on the med shortage for mental health issues caused by the lockdown itself. There is no easy way to tackle this issue head-on. However, it’s certainly true that now is the absolute worst time to have an inefficient business model.
By Heather Annolino, senior director healthcare practice, Ventiv.
In recent weeks the U.S. has experienced a significant increase in new COVID-19 cases. For healthcare facilities in these regions, this is a constant reminder that things are “not business as normal” and has resulted in administrators needing to continually monitor the changing COVID-19 response landscape to reduce risks which could affect the quality of patient care.
With this in mind, patient safety is more important than ever. The ability for healthcare organizations to implement predictive analytics and data-discovery tools that identify hidden patterns and trends is essential. This allows them to focus on interventions and changes in processes, detect vulnerabilities, and increase preparedness before, during and after an incident to further decrease patient harm.
Moving forward, healthcare organizations must embrace a heightened level of risk management to provide an environment free from harm. These new risks, along with gaps in longstanding processes, require better risk management and patient safety systems with the ability to capture, track, and analyze data in real-time to enhance processes that will mitigate future risks.
Working as a centralized reporting tool, these systems can also remove any biases to assist with making enhanced decisions to continually drive operational efficiencies.
Here are three system requirements for an effective, integrated patient safety tool needed for healthcare leaders to elevate care, enhance quality and reduce risk throughout different phases of the pandemic.
