The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced that Intermountain Healthcare has become the first organization in the world to earn Triple Stage 7 designation under new requirements, the highest level of achievement on how health systems are improving care using digital tools.
HIMSS is a global nonprofit organization that measures and validates healthcare organizations based on how they use electronic medical records to improve patient outcomes.
Diego Ize-Ludlow, MD
“The Triple Stage 7 recognition from HIMSS validates the hard work our teams have put into using technology to make it easier to improve care and scale best practices,” said Diego Ize-Ludlow, MD, chief health information officer for Intermountain Healthcare. “We continue to push the envelope of technology to deliver the highest value and to develop the future models of care.”
This groundbreaking work was utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic when Intermountain came up with a self-testing system which didn’t require patient interaction. Patients could book an appointment online, find a testing site, and receive digital results for a self-collect saliva test. Caregivers also designed an automated testing letter patients could share with their employer.
Nursing is a profession dedicated to caring for people to restore their health and improve their quality of life. The world realized the need for nursing as a profession during times of wars, sickness and famine. Due to numerous injuries and diseases, more attention was needed to nursing the afflicted.
Nursing grew rapidly in 20th and the 21st centuries. The causes were the two world wars, greater appreciation of nursing globally, and the pandemics: Spanish influenza and currently ongoing covid-19 pandemic.
The following are likely to be the trends in nursing in 2022.
1. Greater demand for nurses
There might be greater demand for nurses in 2022 because of many factors. These include:
COVID-19
This pandemic has resulted in an overflooding of hospitals and other medical facilities in the worst affected areas. Many patients were rushed to hospitals or had to self-isolate in their homes. Nurses cared for them in hospital wards and performed PCR tests at homes. Additionally, some nurses quit during these stressful times because of burnout. Hence, the demand for nurses has increased substantially.
Ageing Population
The population of developed countries is aging because the old, on average, live longer due to more and more healthcare facilities. This phenomenon causes the nursing demand to grow annually. More nurses are needed to attend to the elderly in hospitals and old homes.
Retiring Nurses
Many nurses will also retire, propelling demand even further, causing a shortage of nurses. Nurses have been leaving hospital jobs for outpatient clinics and employment in the insurance sector.
These trends show that nursing will be in high demand throughout 2022 and the subsequent years. If you are looking for a career in specialized nursing, check programs such as an AGACNP master’s degree.
Nursing burnout has been called a pandemic second to COVID-19, and it’s co-terrorizing society with its consequences for healthcare. Exhausted, overburdened medical professionals cannot be expected to do their best work. Yet pandemic conditions have often forced untenable hours on medical staff. Fortunately, however, innovations in technology and healthcare support are changing the playing field.
By allowing for remote work options in the medical field, opening up automation potential, and streamlining communication across healthcare, tech is relieving stress and labor. This acts as a buffer against burnout at a time when it is most needed.
Technology and other healthcare supports make working in healthcare a better experience. As a result, medical professionals are getting much-needed disruptions in their work processes that translate to reduced rates of burnout. Explore these technologies and what they offer healthcare workers.
Making Remote Care Possible
One of the most groundbreaking tech trends of the COVID-era has been telehealth. These virtual care options connect doctors to patients from wherever they can safely and privately conduct a screening. From here, all kinds of positive disruptions are emerging. Paired with point-of-care (POC) tech, remote patient monitoring is more accessible than it has ever been. But how does this prevent burnout in healthcare workers?
Telehealth options for care professionals have been vital in keeping a reserve staff safe from COVID exposure while others fight on the front lines. Additionally, it can work as a means of allowing workers distance from the job without sacrificing their time and talents. That’s because technology currently supports all manner of virtual services. These include:
By Milica Vojnic, business development associate, Wisetek.
Cybercrimes are on the rise across the Internet and the healthcare sector is certainly no different in terms of the risks. This is why storing patient data in a confidential manner is extremely important. Let us take a look at some effective practices as well as what benefits such methods entail.
Make Employees Aware of Potential Threats
In-house training is arguably one of the most important steps. Medical staff should be properly educated in regard to how data should be stored, collated and shared. Even simple mistakes can lead to serious security concerns, so this ground-up strategy will be quite effective.
Implement Access Control Points
Who will be provided with proprietary access to private patient data? Management needs to create layered access control points so that only specific individuals can retrieve sensitive information. While SSL encryption is a powerful tool, other methods such as two-factor authentication are equally valuable to employ.
Have you finally decided to advance your career? If so, this is the right place for you to be. After being in a profession for some time, it is natural to feel stagnant and bored with the same routine and job responsibilities.
A career direction rejuvenates your career and makes you more energetic and excited to perform your new roles and responsibilities. Bedside care nurses perform recurring activities every day, so excelling in your career is an excellent way to offload the monotony of your job. When you advance in nursing, meeting new people and performing meaningful roles comes with it.
Evolving your nursing career through educational advancement
For growing in your profession, taking an interest in new educational avenues might suit you the most. Besides, the nursing field is quite different from others. There are more career opportunities for skilled individuals than in any other career. If you have spent some time exploring new educational degrees in nursing, you will know there is a long list of degrees that you can pursue. But the most frequently recommended degree is a BSN qualification which corresponds to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Why go for a BSN degree?
Most RNs go for a BSN degree after their diploma qualification. According to 2018 estimates, 57% of the nurses have BSN or higher education. Getting higher education in nursing has been rising for a few years, but it showed an upsurge due to the recent pandemic. But if you ask why earning a bachelor’s in nursing is worth it, the answer is straightforward. A BSN nurse has more theoretical and practical knowledge of the nursing field. Their curriculum is designed to impart students with the most recent trends and information in nursing.
BSN students are better prepared to analyze patient data, forecast patient outcomes, understand evidence-based practices, and promote patient safety. In addition, they learn to work around patients with novel infections and administer innovative treatments and procedures.
As a BSN student, you are viewed as more qualified and respected than other medical professionals. Other benefits include:
Many people with hearing loss benefit from wearing hearing aids and using other technology. Permanent hearing loss can’t be cured but it can be treated with the right tools and aids. Hearing aids have come a long way as different technologies have developed and they can now do a lot more than they used to do. There are also much smaller hearing aids available than there used to be, with some of them being practically invisible. People who wear hearing aids are benefitting from a range of technological advancements that give them a better hearing experience and improve their quality of life.
Improved Sound Processing
The way that hearing aids process sound and respond to different frequencies has improved over time. When hearing aids process sound, they need to separate sounds into different bands of frequency and digitize them so that the sound can be amplified for the wearer. Hearing aids that use more advanced technology are more capable of separating sound into specific bands for the hearing aid wearer. This helps to ensure that the most important frequencies are amplified, compensating for the wearer’s exact hearing loss by matching their prescription.
AI
Artificial intelligence is used in some top-of-the-line hearing aids. The AI technology helps with sound processing by tapping into a neural network. The processing of sound can then be optimized and customized for different situations and environments. The user can set their preferences for volume and use different programs to get the best experience from their hearing aids. For example, they might have specific settings for a crowded environment with a lot of background noise. The hearing aids can start to recognize this type of environment automatically and adjust the settings of the hearing aids as needed. They can process sound in a way that’s similar to the brain.
Health information technology is a booming industry with so much potential for growth. Naturally, IT services have continued to become more and more important to this industry as time goes on. Health information technicians are the ones who ensure that the information technology infrastructure of a healthcare organization is stable, secure, and up-to-date. They also manage the software that makes it all possible.
The demand for health IT technicians is on the rise, so if you’re considering a career in healthcare or just want to be part of an exciting new field, health IT might be right for you.
The Growing Demand for Health Information Technicians
Health IT technicians are the backbone of the healthcare industry. They are the ones who ensure that the information technology infrastructure of a healthcare organization is stable, secure, and up-to-date.
Health information technicians also manage the software that makes it all possible. This includes software for electronic medical records, patient portals, patient care management, and more.
Health information technology is a growing and highly in-demand profession. In fact, there is a huge demand for health IT technicians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of health IT technicians is expected to grow by 9% between 2020 and 2030, with as many as 34,300 job openings per year.
You can enroll online in health information technology programs and find a curriculum that offers a flexible schedule, giving you the training you need to enter this career, while still maintaining a job and social life.
What is the Role of a Health Information Technology Technician?
Health information technicians (HITs) have a variety of tasks on a daily basis, but they all have one thing in common: they are essential to the healthcare industry. Health information technicians have a large impact on a patient’s experience, from billing and diagnosis tracking, to patient information management and test results.
All of this information is managed using electronic healthcare records (EHRs), so it’s important that the technicians who work with these systems are knowledgeable in medical terminology, classification of disease coding, pharmacology, and other core skills that are taught during the course of a program.
Health information technicians must also follow data security practices outlined by HIPAA, as well as HIPAA-compliant security protocols. This is to ensure that EHRs don’t fall into the wrong hands, and that patient information is protected.
Education Requirements and Salary
Exact requirements may vary between healthcare facilities, but the position of a healthcare technology technician typically requires:
A two-year Associate Degree
Completion of a core course
A general education course
Overall, it takes between two to four years to become a health information technician, but once education is completed, finding an entry-level position is relatively easy in the current and projected job market.
The average salary for a health information technician is around $51,040 per year, though this varies by city and state. In highly urban areas where demand is higher, so is the salary.
Why get into the health information technology field?
Health information technology is an exciting field. It can be a rewarding career, with a variety of benefits, both personal and altruistic. For starters, HITs have the opportunity to lower healthcare costs for patients, by identifying processes in their healthcare organization that can be improved.
Health information technology also allows for improved patient care. By streamlining the process of patient care, health information technology can help reduce the time between a patient’s arrival at the hospital and their treatment.
There is also much room for career advancement and vertical promotions into leadership positions within a healthcare organization. With these promotions come higher salaries, benefits, and more opportunities for advancement.
Healthcare professionals provide an incredible service across a range of areas. Chiropractors, psychiatrists, dentists, therapists, and addiction services, are just some areas covered by private practitioners. These professionals often train for years at a huge financial cost to themselves before becoming qualified in their chosen fields.
Regardless of the discipline, it has taken for them to practice, and the care they provide, they are still working in a commercial field. These types of clinics require patients, and they need to make an income just to run. In fact, they need to make a healthy income so that the clinic can improve and continue to provide excellent service.
One area that affects this is scheduling. In particular, patient no-shows. The amount of patients that visit a clinic directly impacts the revenue that is made.
How can you attract more patients to your clinic?
Regardless of what type of clinic is being run, whether it be a dental clinic or a chiropractor, some things work the same way. Any clinic today needs to have a meaningful online presence. This means being visible on Google My Business and having a private website.
It isn’t just good enough to be visible though. There should be up-to-date content, testimonials, a clear description of your services, and your licenses to practice. Engaging in social media is also essential these days to attract more people to a clinic. One area is paramount though. Standards must be very high, and there should be a continuous drive for improvement.
One problem area can be with scheduling. Using technology can help make appointment booking simpler and smoother for the patient. For instance, medical appointment scheduling software will lower the chances of no-shows and improve patient trust and loyalty.
Have you finally decided to advance your career? If so, this is the right place for you to be. After being in a profession for some time, it is natural to feel stagnant and bored with the same routine and job responsibilities.
Health information technology is a booming industry with so much potential for growth. Naturally, IT services have continued to become more and more important to this industry as time goes on. 