The duties of a registered nurse remain very much hands-on and in person. However, much of the learning and training to become an RN is done digitally. The trend took off during the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s likely to remain the norm going forward.
Let’s take a look at various digital resources being used by nursing students to prepare for their future careers:
Online exam prep
Exams are a huge part of nursing school. Preparing for them is key. Whether it’s how to pass the HESI exit exam or what to expect when taking the NCLEX, nursing students rely on digital prep tools and services to show up on test day ready to conquer the world. In addition to digital learning systems, prep services also provide aspiring nurses with study cards covering everything from pharmacology basics to arterial blood gas interpretation. The synchronization of online learning with hard copy materials makes for a successful means of mastering the knowledge needed to become a registered nurse.
Virtual learning systems
While the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly led to an uptick in online classes across the board, the truth is virtual learning systems were getting used in nursing school before 2020. True, virtual learning has its limits in the healthcare field, but there’s a lot of material that can still be covered online. These systems also let students learn at their own pace and revisit sections as needed. Highly interactive, virtual learning also helps nursing students grasp some of the denser material thrown at them.
Life as we know has it changed in many different ways, and one of the biggest factors is how we go about our daily lives and how we may operate businesses in the future. The threat of COVID-19 has not gone away, and there are things that we need to start thinking about now that lockdown is easing and restrictions are being lifted. However, what can you do to better conform to the changes and this transition period we are in?
The truth is, technology can help. As this has a lot to do with health and wellbeing, for you personally and also the customers that you may have, is there anyway that technology is helping to make this easier? The answer is yes.
From applications that you can use, to help handheld technology that makes life easier, we wanted to highlight some of the ways technology will help businesses to thrive during this pandemic and for the future as we face this new normal.
Technology enhancements to help within business
There are a lot of things that you might need to think about when it comes to your business aspects and embracing new applications and technology enhancements will help you to succeed in your business and move forward. Applications for tracking and tracing. Apps for collecting customer data and also thinking about making things contactless.
This might be contactless technology for payment or logistics with delivery methods. There is a lot to think about when it comes to your business and technology can help you sail through this strange period. This is when you may need to think about seeking advice from experts in technology business consulting could be a great move as your business needs to navigate contactless sales and also manage customers in a different way. This will only help you to understand the levels of technology that could be implicated within your business to help it thrive now.
Keeping customer details up to date
It is now more important than ever to have the right data of customers stored and to keep these things secure. Which is why software that can help with customer relationship management could be a big plus point for your business now.
Not only is it good for business to have something like a CRM system in place, but with there being more focus on understanding and analyzing where people go for the safety of communities, having this information can be really helpful in the future.
A CRM system is also a useful tool to have the details of your customers to help with marketing. Now more than ever you need to encourage customers to deal with your business and to also help them understand how they can purchase from you and move forward.
Track and trace apps to understand the spread
The government is wanting to try and understand the spread of the virus in the very best way that they can, and this might mean that they need to look at tracking and tracing people’s whereabouts. For example, if your business had 10 people turn up in a day, then a few days later one of those people tested positive for covid-19, then they would need to inform other people in the vicinity that may have been in close contact with that person, including yourself. Track and trace help to manage the spread, and using applications for your business to collate and collect the data is important to help your business to continue to work effectively.
Delivery apps for contactless delivery methods
Another thing that you may need to do is to consider using delivery applications. If your business provides products that can be delivered, then it may be a good idea to focus on tactless delivery methods. This is when using delivery app services and courtiers who have come up with solutions to combat this would be a great help.
It enables the customer to track their parcel, allows them to do things such as provide a safe place or drop off location, and then avoids them having to get in close proximity with them. It might be a small change for you as a business to implement this sort of technology and process, but it could mean a great deal to your customer to feel extra protected when dealing with you as a business.
Understanding ecommerce and making more of it
Another thing that you might need to think about now as a business is the ecommerce and digital side of things. Perhaps during lockdown you reverted to an online system so that you could continue to maintain orders, but a shop is likely not going to be the first choice for people moving forward. Understanding the ecommerce side of things is important to help your business to thrive.
Diversifying the way you have done business during lockdown may have opened your eyes to the possibilities and also expanding your customer reach. A great tip would be to spend some time enhancing the digital aspect of your business. Such as a new website. You could also use this opportunity to link it to social media platforms and work on a strategy to keep them updated. After all, so many are seeking information in the online world that you need your business to adapt, and quick.
Digital thermometers
Finally, if you do have a business location that is opening up then you may want to invest in a digital and contactless thermometer. These are handheld devices where if you wave it in front of the year do for someone it will tell you their temperature.
As a high temperature is a huge factor in the symptoms of covid-19 this could be an essential to help you keep you and everyone in your business safe. Before people enter the business, customers and staff, they could use this handheld device to ensure that their temperature is where it needs to be.
Let’s hope these suggestions help you when it comes to technology in your business.
By Dr. Phyllis Miller, Ph.D., RHIA, RHIT, CHPS, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, AHIMA ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer
As August 21, 2020 marks the 24th anniversary of Bill Clinton’s HIPAA Law, it is not a bad time to reflect on the how the law has been doing. As with any big changes in healthcare, whether the advent of electronic health systems (EHRs) in the past decade or a pandemic like COVID-19, nothing stays the same. All laws, rules and regulation occasionally need some breathing room and this also applies to HIPAA. Here is an update on HIPPA changes and some examples of what not to do.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing various rules and regulations issued under HIPAA which was amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to protect the privacy and security of protected health information.
New Telecommunication Rules
During the COVID-19 national emergency, which also constitutes a nationwide public health emergency, health care providers covered by HIPAA can now communicate with patients and provide telehealth services through remote communications technologies. Some of these technologies, and the manner in which they are used by HIPAA’s coverage of health care providers, may now not fully comply with the requirements of the HIPAA Rules.
As an example, a covered health care provider that wants to use audio or video communication technology to provide telehealth to patients during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency can do so. However, this does not mean or imply that the HIPPA rules are not offering the same basic laws of protecting patient’s confidential medical information which they were designed to do. It simply makes the jobs of providers a bit easier while delivering the same level of service to patients suffering from COVID-19.
Business Associates
OCR will also no longer impose penalties against providers and their business associates for violations of certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This change covers good faith uses and disclosures of PHI by business associates for public health and health oversight activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is designed to support federal public health authorities and health oversight agencies (such as the CDC and CMS), state and local health departments, and state emergency operations centers who need access to COVID-19 related data from business associates. These partners can now share this data without risk of a HIPAA penalty.
By Jeff Fallon, chairman and CEO, eVideon Healthcare.
Jeff Fallon
Hospitals are changing their approach to patient care as a result of COVID-19. Though this may seem obvious, most healthcare technology conversations about COVID-19 revolve around the adoption of telehealth.
While hospitals are still in varying stages of adopting the technology, even conservative estimates show increases around 65% since before the pandemic. Surely that figure will grow to be much higher.
But healthcare’s technological revolution goes well beyond telehealth. Years ago, hospitals (sometimes unwittingly) entered the first major technology overhaul with the mandatory adoption of EHRs. While opinions differ on the ROI of that massive investment of time and money, there’s no denying EHRs completely transformed healthcare and established a new source of information for hospitals.
EHRs created more than just a new medical record; they threw open new potential to connect an ocean of wonderful but siloed technologies in a way that could transform the future of hospitals everywhere.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say now that telehealth and other digital health solutions will transform healthcare in a similarly large way. While patients can now speak to a doctor from their homes, the openness and willingness in the industry to change the way we look at how we connect patients to providers (not to mention families when in isolation, hospital services, and education) carries more potential than just visiting a doctor from home. Similar to how EHRs were considered just beginning years ago, telehealth is just beginning now.
Seeking professional help in the healthcare industry has become much easier than it was before. Thanks to technology that enabled us to lead a healthy life through healthcare mobile apps.
In recent times, there has been a great increase in these healthcare apps as they save doctor’s and patient’s time and also help healthcare workers to make some extra money in their leisure time.
A healthcare app should have the latest features based on the trend in the healthcare market. Before continuing reading we recommend viewing a post about how to create a health app on Riseapps blog. It will help you find out more about the medical app market, development process and costs.
In this article, we will talk about the five latest trends in the healthcare apps market that will make your app stand out among all the other healthcare apps.
By Karen Conway, vice president of healthcare value, GHX.
Karen Conway
The disruption wrought by COVID-19 is unmatched in recent history. While the lasting implications have yet to be fully understood, the limitations of the global healthcare supply chain have been exposed. While it is impossible to predict when another crisis will hit, there are steps healthcare organizations can take now to mitigate future risk.
1. Collaborate with Key Stakeholders on Continuity Plans
Excellent crisis management begins with pre-planning. Bring together key internal stakeholders, such as clinical, financial, risk management and operational leaders, as well as external contributors, including public health agencies, local government officials, distributors and manufacturers. Pre-planning builds relationships and trust as participants anticipate needs, identify necessary resources and develop contingency plans.
2. Create Evidence-Based Protocols for Supply Utilization with Clinicians
There is a growing body of evidence surrounding the safe and sustainable use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical resources, including scenarios in which alternative products or protocols may be required when demand exceeds the capacity of traditional sources. This evidence can support advance work with clinicians to determine how and when to source comparable alternative products or implement conservation measures. Pre-planning will help reduce clinician stress when changes are required during times of crisis.
3. Recognize Risks Associated with Current Supply Chain Practices
COVID-19 has called into question reliance on Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory practices, which are pervasive across most supply chains as hospitals seek to reduce costs. JIT delivers products on an as needed basis in contrast to keeping large quantities on hand. This can increase risk when there are upstream supply disruptions or unanticipated spikes in demand. COVID-19 has led supply chain leaders to rethink the risks associated with JIT and consider how improved inventory visibility and demand planning across the supply chain can enhance the ability to respond quickly to avoid potential shortages.
It takes a pandemic to reveal how much digital technologies are ignored in the healthcare sector. The COVID-19 pandemic is dramatically transforming the healthcare sector and how professionals gather medical intelligence. Almost every physician worldwide has been part of a telemedicine movement to encourage patients to embrace safe and virtual appointments.
Consequently, preparing for a virtual appointment requires some getting used to. As a rule of thumb, patients can struggle to explain some of their symptoms, even in face-to-face interaction. That’s where real-time medical examination can help reduce misunderstandings.
In the virtual world, gathering evidence such as taking photos or filming a video that shows your symptoms and asking the right questions can guide the doctor to the appropriate diagnosis.
However, while we focus on making telehealth more accessible to patients, we also need to prepare doctors to make the most of it.
Find reliable HIPAA-compliant hosting
Gathering and storing digital data is not a novelty for healthcare centers. Nevertheless, keeping data storage HIPAA-compliant can become a challenge with the increased number of telehealth appointments. Protecting patients’ records in a fully digital world means relying on a highly secured data hosting strategy, as per Atlantic.net.
Contrary to common belief, there is no such thing as a HIPAA hosting body that can verify the compliance claims of each provider. For healthcare centers that need to adapt to the growing telemedicine demand, the quest for a robust, reliable, and HIPAA hosting provider becomes tricky and expensive.
By Devin Partida, technology writer and the Editor-in-Chief of the digital magazine, ReHack.com
Devin Partida
The healthcare industry, like many other sectors today, is becoming increasingly digitized and data-driven. This transition into a digital landscape comes with various benefits but can complicate some matters as well. As medical trends lean toward digitization, solutions for accessibility and interoperability are essential.
On average, healthcare organizations manage 8.41 petabytes of data, up 878% since just four years ago. At the same time, most of these organizations experience at least one data disruption a year. The medical industry needs better data management, and vendor neutral archives (VNAs) provide it.
VNAs give medical facilities an interoperable solution for data access. Here’s a closer look at how these solutions are changing the industry.
Increasing Data Accessibility
VNAs are one of the most promising healthcare trends today because they address one of traditional systems’ most glaring flaws — inaccessibility. A VNA is an archiving system that stores and consolidates data from across all departments in a facility. Thanks to their neutrality, VNAs can store nearly any kind of file and work on any system.
Vendor-specific systems make it challenging for staff to access data from different departments. With these approaches, doctors have to use various platforms to view different files, which can take precious time. The time doctors spend trying to access all the different data they need is time spent away from tending to patients.
