Burdened by a surge of patients, your ER is beginning to experience a slowdown. Registration clerks and nurses alike are scrambling to get patients registered and seen, but the team just can’t seem to get ahead of the surge. At the same time, one of your patients is at home, experiencing minor chest pains and a slight shortness of breath.
Although EHR technology has been around since the 60’s, preliminary estimates in 2008 suggested that almost 62% of physicians in the U.S. were still storing their patient data in folders and file cabinets. Thanks to over $25 billion in incentives from the Obama administration, that number has been reduced to under 15% today, but now a new health IT adoption challenge looms.
Although the healthcare sector was one of the sectors expected to benefit most from big data technology, progress has been slow. Big data technology may offer healthcare enterprises a way to use information already at their disposal to drive growth and reduce waste in their operations, but how will those enterprises be connected with the tools, knowledge, and assistance to overcome integration challenges, understand BI technology, and ultimately capitalize on big data?
While many providers are adopting telemedicine as a way to continue care without contact, some care situations still require in-person treatment. Limiting physical contact between individuals in such situations is still as important as ever. For patients, visiting the hospital now elicits worry of transmission, and the thought of having to exchange registration forms, ID cards, and credit cards to accomplish routine intake procedures – all things which previously weren’t even blinked at – now fosters feelings of discomfort and unease.
COVID-19 has influenced major changes in the way individuals think, act, live, and work, and the world’s leading business decision-makers are no exception. Several corporate technology executives were recently asked what their greatest business concerns were during the coronavirus pandemic.
Virtual meetings have become commonplace in a time when social distancing and telecommuting are expected, but that doesn’t mean everyone has embraced the new norm for communication with colleagues and clients cheerfully. In fact, a report that surveyed over 230 full-time American workers found that nearly a fourth of respondents felt uncomfortable with video conferencing, while another three-fourths said they still prefer audio to video.
With thousands of new cases still being reported each day, the COVID-19 fight continues to be waged, casting doubts on any hopeful vision of a speedy return to normalcy. Over the past two weeks, some states–such as Texas and Louisiana – have experienced upticks in daily averages of new cases, while others – such as Mississippi and Michigan – have remained consistent or even declined, respectively. But there is no question that the war has yet to be won.
States are continuing to reopen little by little. Governing authorities are seeking to give relief to crippled local economies. And healthcare workers – they remain at the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19, continually serving and hoping and putting their own health on the line for the sake of others. Although new phases of the battle are being entered and new challenges are taking shape, there are still ways for hospitals to capitalize on digital solutions to make a meaningful difference at new battle fronts.
The overwhelming advantage of telehealth technologies, in these times, is that they enable clinicians to provide care at any distance. And this advantage remains abundantly helpful for many hospitals and healthcare systems across the nation, even as they move into different phases of their fight against COVID-19. According to a recent headline in the live coronavirus updates of The Times, all 50 states have begun to reopen to some degree.
We all have a vital role to play in maintaining public health and minimizing the spread. For healthcare providers, the difficulty comes in finding safe ways to continue providing care while protecting both patients and staff. Our Patient Check-in & Registration Kiosk is one solution already being used to solve that problem by bringing social distancing practices, hospital
staff, and patient registration data together in a harmonious workflow solution.
Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Closed