How you can streamline your healthcare facility to ensure maximum efficiency for patients
As any patient knows, a trip to a hospital or clinic can be an extremely stressful experience. They might be about to undergo an intensive, life-altering procedure, or be in search of answers to a persistent problem. Whatever the reason, your patients’ emotions are no doubt running high, and this stress could be exacerbated by a healthcare facility that is lagging behind in the efficiency stakes. Here are some ideas of how you can streamline your healthcare facility to ensure maximum efficiency for patients and to provide them with the best medical assistance possible.
photo/ Natasha Spenser
Encourage further training for staff
Nursing is a profession that welcomes people at every stage of their career journey. For instance, a certified nursing assistant—providing basic help with daily living to patients—requires the least amount of training, needing only a state-approved training certificate in the discipline. A registered nurse, on the other hand, requires a nursing degree followed by state licensure. Encourage all your staff to take further training opportunities whenever they come along. Not only will this ensure that your healthcare facility is staffed with healthcare professionals who are knowledgeable about up-to-date medical issues; proof of continuing education will also help staff to maintain their licensure.
Outsource chronic care management
Patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes often require additional support, either at home or in a number of different facilities. However, with healthcare facilities being stretched at the best of times, chronic care management can easily lag behind. By outsourcing your chronic care management, patients with chronic conditions will have the reassurance that they have access to nurses and physicians whenever they need them. This, in turn, reduces staff workload, allowing them to concentrate on patients visiting your facility.
Ensure that patient records are accurate and up to date
Medical facilities are busy places and often see hundreds of patients through the doors every week. In addition to this, with many different physicians and nurses working on-site and specializing in various conditions and treatments, it’s essential that patient records and other paperwork are kept up to date and correctly filed away. Use electronic medical records software to make the process simpler. Accurate patient records will make it easier if the patient is dealing with a number of different physicians, by providing a clear medical history to work from. It will also help to maintain the confidentiality of personal medical information.
Invest in patient education
Help patients take control of their health by providing information and education about common conditions and healthcare advice. For instance, providing education about leading an active lifestyle and eating a nutritionally balanced diet through resources such as leaflets and classes could potentially help to reduce the number of patients with obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. Also, by providing information about treating everyday illnesses such as colds and stomach upsets, patients may feel more confident in home treatment rather than visiting healthcare facilities.
Author: Carol Trehearn
