It's Essential: Digital Technology in Medicine
As industries across the globe become more reliant on technology and data-driven solutions, it is essential that health systems adopt digital tools to thrive and keep pace. Hospitals and patient care staff have long been reluctant to adopt technology, in part due to a fear that the investment will dehumanize patient care.
Yet, this desire to protect the human element in healthcare has decreased as wait times and staff burdens have increased.
While the human touch is a hallmark attribute of helping professions, it does not need to be the only tool that hospitals rely on to make an impact. Industry pain points such as chronic understaffing, increased demand for services, and financial pressures cannot be solved by solely relying on compassionate healthcare workers. Health systems need a practical and innovative solution to drive growth, lessen staff burden, and streamline patient care.
ERAdvisor is that solution. It is a digital platform for the emergency department that simplifies patient care by:
Utilizing data you are already collecting and transforming it into relevant and informative patient-facing information.
Centralizing answers to common patient questions.
Acting as a digital concierge by providing wait time and facility information, patient education on lab orders and results, and routing patient requests to the right department.
Digital tools enhance patient care
Digital tools are not a replacement for connection but rather a way to enhance the human component of patient care. ERAdvisor allows physicians and nurses to focus on patients rather than tracking down answers to informational questions. It uses data that already exists in the EHR to generate personalized content for patients – easing the burden of staff members who are currently expected to be care providers, emotional support people, concierges, and more.
The features of ERAdvisor give time and mental space back to your staff members and encourage human interaction by:
Empowering patients to engage in their care.
Answering informational questions about a visit to drive focused and productive care team interactions.
Connecting patients to follow-up care, driving positive long-term patient health outcomes.
Healthcare professionals have an uncanny ability to monitor the health status of numerous patients while simultaneously managing a variety of clinical and non-clinical tasks and stimuli. Their competency must be praised and appreciated. However, it must also be acknowledged that there are finite resources that constrain even the most veteran healthcare heroes: time, physical energy, mental load, and facility resources. Digital solutions like Vital’s emergency and inpatient solutions can reduce staff burden and simplify non-clinical tasks.
Things ERAdvisor does with data you already have (so you don’t have to):
Provide wait time estimates and descriptions of each step in the ER visit
Streamline patient requests by sending them to the appropriate department
Provide lab order and results education in language a patient can understand
Drive traffic to your patient portal to encourage engagement in care
Remind patients of recommended follow up to PCPs and specialists
In a world driven by innovation and technology, digital solutions are no longer a nice-to-have feature but a necessary tool in healthcare. When discussing the need to reprioritize patient care and help those who provide it, we have to acknowledge the reality facing clinicians, hospitals, health systems: unprecedented financial and operational pressures.
To keep up with record breaking wait times, continued staff shortages, and financial losses, investing in a tool that streamlines patient care and drives revenue to the system is imperative.
ERAdvisor can drive system revenue in several ways, including:
Decreasing left without being seen (LWBS) rates by decreasing the ambiguity of wait times.
Connecting patients to necessary follow up care and providing relevant reminders.
Empowering patients to take an active role in their healthcare, leading to higher compliance with follow-up appointments and medication usage.
For a nurse who knows both the joys and burdens of patient care in the current healthscape, digital tools are a welcome reprieve. When systems hesitate to utilize digital tools, they are hesitating to prioritize patient care, staff efficacy, and financial stewardship. The empathy that characterizes healthcare workers will not disappear in the light of technology but will grow with fervor as patients and staff get the support that they desperately need. We live in an age where innovative technology can dramatically enhance the quality of patient care, and it's our responsibility as those in the helping profession to capitalize on the opportunity.
We offer solutions for your emergency department and for the inpatient setting. Want to learn more? View a client reference or schedule a meeting.