Today, we bring to you the Six strategies for improving medical care and making it more productive
The world will remember the COVID-19 pandemic for putting the healthcare sector in a sticky situation. Till now, we see the after-effects of a dangerous pandemic.
The demand has increased tremendously, and facilities are forced to step up their game and equip themselves to deal with the flux of COVID-19 patients.
As the pressure to improve quality care and enhance productivity mounts on healthcare organizations, many have adopted new and innovative methods to catch up.
Nearly 45% of physicians report that the pandemic forced organizations to speed up technology adoption, which would’ve taken years.
This improvement has been challenging for developing countries because they also limited resources and need to ensure quality care to patients.
Today, improved patient care and satisfaction are the top priority for most healthcare providers. One of the many factors that affect patient care quality depends on how qualified and trained the staff is, how competent the personnel are, and how smooth operational systems are.
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Strategies for improving medical care
Following are six tips to help improve medical care for patients.
- Embrace technological advancement
Today there are many programs and tools designed for healthcare organizations that aid in innovative treatment interventions, streamlining the organization, and improving the quality of care.
CareCloud, for instance, is software that organizations can use to manage their health records.
Some apps are helpful for booking appointments, communicating within and outside the organization, and allowing patients to review their medical records whenever they want.
Using Electronic Health Records (EHR) helps save time and avoid human errors. Electronic Health Records allow several healthcare providers to access information simultaneously, keep information up-to-date and accurate, diagnose patients, and make prescribing more reliable.
In addition, a higher educational degree like an MBA degree in Healthcare Information Systems instills knowledge about laws about electronic health records, health insurance, and care management, among others in nurses and doctors.
A progressive medical institution should embrace new technologies without forgetting to ensure that healthcare providers are well-trained in their use.
- Set targets and strive to achieve them
You can only progress if you set goals and work to achieve them; this applies to all organizations, including healthcare facilities.
To form the basis of your goals, you should evaluate the patient population, collect outcome data, and use electronic health records.
Establish a baseline measure of the patient-care quality at your organization through satisfaction surveys, patient wellness data, and outcome studies.
Doing so will give you an idea of where there’s room for improvement and opportunities, then work on them.
Healthcare facilities should also focus on including patient safety, effectiveness, and efficiency in their list of things to improve.
Meanwhile, commit to frequent evaluation and adjustment, monitor the results of any interventions, and work on any weak areas.
- Create Integrated Practice Units
An innovative strategy for organizing how clinicians provide care is the use of Integrated Practice Units (IPUs).
The traditional specialty-based organization is being replaced by a patient-centered organization focusing on the specific patient’s complete medical conditions.
In an IPU, each patient is dealt with by a team of diverse clinical and non-clinical professionals who provide the entire care cycle and treat all related medical problems.
If a patient with diabetes develops eye and kidney complications, a team of professionals will treat them.
Similarly, for a breast cancer patient, a multidisciplinary IPU team will come together to treat the patient throughout the care cycle for any co-occurring medical problem.
These treatment units focus on everything from patient education and adherence to follow-up.
- Create a diverse and experienced team of professionals
Your healthcare team can make or break the quality of patient care because they are the frontline workers dealing with the patients.
Make sure that your team is well-rounded, diverse, and qualified. The ideal team includes members from different cultural backgrounds and various skill sets.
Teams should typically have a team leader, a clinical expert, and a project manager. Especially for IPU patient-centered teams, its composition is critical.
All the members need to be highly qualified and should have adequate training. Nowadays, many facilities provide training opportunities to their healthcare workers.
- Switch to bundled payments
Bundled payments are where the patient pays the cost of the entire treatment procedure or care cycle collectively.
So, for chronic conditions like cancers or organ transplants, patients should be able to pay for all involved tests, MRI scans, treatment interventions, etc., in one predetermined bill.
This payment method increases care quality and makes healthcare payments less risky for patients. A study showed that hospitals using bundled payments reduced costs by $3,286.
This did not compromise patient quality or volume and resulted in healthcare providers being more conscious about avoiding unnecessary complications and mistakes to reduce overall costs.
This payment method produces cost savings for both the payer and the service providers.
- Get patient feedback and follow up on the negative ones
Customer reviews are the primary considerations for people who could potentially seek your services. Research shows that online patient reviews give great insights into the quality of service at any facility.
More than half the Americans consider patient reviews somewhat critical when deciding which physician to visit.
Since patients don’t usually leave reviews on their own unless prompted, gather patient feedback while on-site, so you know which areas you need to work on.
Consider negative reviews as constructive criticism and an opportunity for improvement. Patient-care and satisfaction should be your top priority, and a feedback system will give you valuable insights into this.
If you’re able to get good feedback, it will present you positively to others.
On the other hand, follow up on any patients who have given negative feedback and address their concerns. Dissatisfied customers leave a disastrous impact on any business because of the widespread use of the internet and social media.
If you succeed in satisfying them, you will likely motivate them to change their review.
Final words
The need to improve the quality of medical care and make it more efficient than ever before.
The ongoing pandemic has put immense pressure on healthcare providers; they need to work on improving their services and becoming more productive.
To achieve this goal, encourage technological growth at your facility, identify weak areas and work on them, diversify your team, and get patient feedback.
With time, competition increases, and if you do not keep up, you are likely to lose customers. Focus on specific goals, upgrade with time, and motivate your healthcare team.
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Chibueze Uchegbu is a certified medical physiologist with a great passion for healthy living.