As a healthcare professional, you want to provide the best possible care to your patients. However, the efficiency of your clinic’s workflow can have a significant impact on your ability to provide high-quality care. Health data and patient information are frequently segregated, unstructured, and challenging to access, which hinders efficient decision-making and creates workflow bottlenecks.
At the recent HIMSS 2023 conference, topics relating to optimization in health system efficiency and solutions to workflow challenges were heavily discussed. Research supports the idea that a well-optimized workflow can help save time, reduce costs, and improve patient satisfaction. In this blog, we’ll discuss some tips on how to optimize your clinic’s workflow.
Optimize Clinical Communication
According to a study published in the Journal of Healthcare Management, an average 500-bed hospital loses more than $4 million each year due to communication inefficiencies.
Integrations with leading electronic health records provide streamlined workflows, standardized processes, and smooth data transfers, unlocking greater potential to improve patient care. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are digital versions of patients’ medical records. Using EHRs can help you streamline your workflow by reducing paperwork and manual data entry. EHRs can also help you track patient data over time, monitor clinical outcomes, and provide more accurate diagnoses.
In the United States, 1 in 4 hospitals still use pagers, and 90% still use fax machines. These technologies formerly made hospital communication simpler, but they are now obsolete for effective healthcare workflows.
Healthcare businesses now have access to quicker and more effective communication tools. Hospitals can further expedite processes and patient capacity, enhance patient safety, produce better clinical outcomes, and lower costs by bringing healthcare communication into the twenty-first century.
Automate, Automate, Automate
Data normalization and interoperability tools, along with cutting-edge health technology powered by AI and NLP, can offer crucial insights that can assist health administrators in reducing waste and inefficiencies while also enhancing the quality of care decisions.
Enhanced patient automation and self-service through engagement outreach and accessible health content make care more personalized and optimize the time and efforts of clinical staff. Healthcare automation can go a step further and incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning processes.
Using an online appointment scheduling system can help you optimize your clinic’s workflow by reducing the time it takes to schedule appointments. Patients can book their appointments online, which eliminates the need for phone calls and reduces the risk of errors. Automated appointment scheduling can also help you manage your schedule more efficiently by allowing you to block off time slots for specific types of appointments.
Patient reminders can help you reduce missed appointments and improve patient outcomes. Using automated patient reminders can help you optimize your workflow by reducing the time it takes to send reminders. Automated reminders can also help you track patient compliance and improve patient satisfaction.
Healthcare automation gives patients the freedom to stay where they are most comfortable while enabling better diagnosis and monitoring. It also reduces the time and money needed for physical processes that can otherwise be automated, increasing resources to go into different areas.
Telehealth Services & Training
Telehealth services can help you optimize your workflow by allowing you to see patients remotely. This can help you reduce the amount of time patients spend in your clinic, as well as, reduce the risk of infection. Telehealth services can also help you reach patients who live in remote or underserved areas.
Telehealth is widely used at many healthcare facilities and is starting to see many improvements. Telehealth utilization has stabilized at levels 38X higher than before the pandemic. The increased use of telehealth has created a need for healthcare professionals to receive adequate training to effectively and efficiently provide care through telehealth platforms.
Workstations on Wheels (WoWs) have significantly improved healthcare ergonomics and optimization, which can help staff and patients alike. With increased mobility and efficiency at the top of the benefits list, medical facilities can accomplish their goals faster than ever.
DATACART™’s telehealth carts and other medical computer carts are specifically made with our healthcare and IT specialists in mind. All our powered and non-powered carts are completely customizable and adjustable, and offer mobile storage for all professionals!
Electronic Platforms to Increase Personalized Care
Advancements in medical technology and software allow clinical teams to detect and diagnose health complications earlier. As mentioned before, the use of AI and automated processes is extremely useful in healthcare, specifically in streamlining services and offering very personalized care. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) and Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS), which use technology to monitor health indicators and identify potential problems, frequently make this possible.
Any change in a patient’s vital signs can be automatically reported by RPM technology. Clinical professionals can perform diagnostic procedures without upsetting the patient thanks to wearable technology like remote cardiac monitoring systems. Patients can perform these diagnostic tests at home when wearable technology and RPM are combined. When specific elements or symptoms are identified, the data is automatically logged and shared with doctors.
Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) are computer-based tools that help healthcare professionals make more informed clinical decisions. CDSS can help you optimize your workflow by providing you with real-time clinical data and treatment recommendations. This can help you make more accurate diagnoses, reduce errors, and improve patient outcomes.
Additionally, using electronic prescription refills can help you optimize your workflow by reducing the amount of time it takes to refill prescriptions. Electronic prescription refills can also help you reduce errors, track medication usage, and improve patient compliance.
Continuously Monitor & Improve Workflow
Optimizing your clinic’s workflow is an ongoing process. It’s important to monitor your workflow regularly and make adjustments as needed. This can help you identify areas for improvement and implement new strategies to streamline your workflow.
Standardizing processes is critical to ensuring the consistent delivery of healthcare services. It involves defining and implementing standard procedures, protocols, and guidelines for various clinical and administrative tasks.
Healthcare providers should track key performance metrics such as patient wait times, appointment scheduling, work efficiency, care timeline, patient outcomes, and patient satisfaction. These metrics can provide insights into areas where workflows need improvement and help healthcare providers identify opportunities for process optimization.
