Dmitry Knysh
01.05.2021
It goes without saying that over the last 14 months, the healthcare sector has witnessed some of its most radical changes in decades. Healthcare providers have needed to adapt rapidly and creatively in order to meet the demands of this constantly evolving situation. With a reduction in patient access to on-site medicare, there has been a need for providers to shift to telehealth and home-based healthcare.
However, many providers were underprepared for this transition, facing logistical challenges caused by deficiencies in the infrastructure necessary for the efficient operation of healthcare field services. The implementation of digitized processes has played a key role in facilitating the restructuring process and ensuring the efficiency and efficacy of remote services for the client.
Digitalization provides a synergy of the three key areas of field-based healthcare service systems: patient records, patient workflow management and payments. Automated processes have facilitated cross platform information exchange, in order that all relevant case data can be accessed by interacting personnel. Digitalization has also streamlined operating systems, replacing outmoded and redundant processes, resulting in improved time and cost effectiveness for providers. In addition, automated management of data storage within an integrated system has eliminated many of the accessibility and security issues that can occur.
A major complication that providers have experienced during the past year arose around storing, updating and accessing client data. Whilst healthcare companies routinely collect patient data, these records are often held in vast centralised data silos. These can be difficult for personnel to access and navigate when they are working remotely, and as a result, critical information is missed or misinterpreted. Switching to a fully integrated, intelligent automated healthcare system facilitates both on-site and off-site access to client information. Furthermore, the system is able to analyse this data in order to provide more effective and efficient outcomes.
When using a digitized system, patient records are automatically updated after each interaction, creating a full and complete medical history. Data is also collected via patient surveys and this too is added to the client file. The availability of complete well-managed client records ensures that field healthcare staff have access to the necessary information, at the time they need it. In this way, each visit can be completed efficiently and with accuracy, and the required outcomes are achieved.
The availability of accurate and complete patient records also facilitates the implementation of a Patient Rehabilitation Program. Automated analysis of the data held on each client ensures that a coordinated personalised healthcare plan can be put into place. Details of the client’s medical history are available to all healthcare professionals involved in the case and serves to support their interactions. It also ensures that follow up appointments are scheduled in advance and medicines can be prescribed or reviewed on a regular basis. The program’s progress is updated by the service personnel after each interaction, and recommendations are noted. In this way the efficacy of the Rehabilitation Program can be evaluated on an ongoing basis and any adaptations implemented as required.
The field healthcare service sector is notoriously beset by workflow management issues. Too often a company’s efficiency and reputation suffer as a result of staff and/or client availability conflicts, or an incorrect match of staff skills to a specific task. Having a digitized patient workflow management system enables providers to improve the efficiency of their work scheduling process as it correlates staff schedules and profiles against task requirements.
From the time that an order is received into the back office, the automated system will manage the scheduling procedure. A care request is immediately scheduled to the field service team according to their availability, thus reducing appointment wait times. The service team is able to access all relevant information relating to the client visit in order to ensure satisfactory outcomes. Furthermore, utilization of staff is more efficient as job allocation times are more accurately estimated. This leads to improved efficiency in service staff scheduling, with a result that the workflow is smoother and instances of double booking and ‘dead hours’ are eliminated.
As the system is fully integrated, paper-based timesheets and job completion sheets are no longer necessary. The data on staff work schedules feeds directly to the payroll functionality, and in this way the number of hours worked is updated on an ongoing basis. Not only is this a more reliable and efficient system for payment calculations, it also facilitates the management of work hour allocations. Furthermore, digitized systems can cross reference data in order to manage travel reimbursement, and automatically calculate the costs for each visit. This helps to streamline the entire travel expenses process, which can be notoriously time-consuming and inaccurate.
Paper-based invoicing systems are often one of the most cumbersome aspects of a company’s operation. Somehow they seem to evolve into circuitous processes that involve numerous staff producing various forms and requests. Not only is this costly in terms of staffing and resources, but it is far too common that forms/requests/attendance sheets are incorrectly completed, or get mislaid, and pricing discrepancies occur. Automated systems can dramatically reduce inefficiency in the invoicing process.
A paperless office eliminates redundant or repetitive stages in the receivables process, resulting in improved efficiency and a decrease in administrative costs. In a digitized system, the work scheduling processes are fully integrated with the accounting functionality, therefore ensuring accurate and efficient invoicing for each service visit. Not only can companies save time and money when they move from paper-based invoicing systems, it’s also an important step towards developing a more environmentally sustainable approach in their practices overall.
The insurance compensation reporting process is also made more efficient through digitalization and gives improved turnaround times on report production. The availability of comprehensive client records ensures that reports are completed accurately and efficiently. In addition, field service teams are able to evidence visits using photographic or video media held on the client file, and this can be included on reports to provide further clarity. Transparent reporting on insurance claims increases partner loyalty and reduces wait times for service compensation.
The challenges of this past year have pushed many healthcare providers to implement changes that had previously existed only as vague ideas for exploration. It is clear that in order to succeed and remain competitive in the current environment, healthcare companies need to transition away from site-based care to telehealth and home-based service provisions. Digitized processes can facilitate this transition, and help to resolve the pain points that occur along the way. They can streamline outdated, cumbersome procedures, making them more efficient and cost-effective. Intelligent data management facilitates the outcomes of the field service teams by providing them with an up-to-date, comprehensive client history. Overall, digitalization can be seen as a great opportunity for healthcare providers to develop their processes and improve on patient satisfaction.
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