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Patients deserve the highest quality treatment, which is what hospitals, physicians, and staff constantly strive to deliver. Making it happen consistently and over the long term has a myriad of components, many of which are technology-driven.
But the basics never change. At its heart, quality healthcare is a one-on-one process between the patient and the physician. That is why standard shift scheduling and emergency medicine scheduling are at the heart of how well care is delivered.
Here is a look at what constitutes quality healthcare and how technology can make it more efficient.
The Factors in Quality Care
Those immediately involved in healthcare can enhance their efforts toward excellent patient care when they understand its components. Here is a look at five.
#1. Use medical research effectively. The number of studies done on best practices for patient care is overwhelming, far too many for a physician to track. These hundreds of thousands of articles often don’t get translated into clinical practice for years.
#2. Coordinating care among several doctors. Many patients have several conditions that need treating, resulting in several doctors overseeing their care. Communication and making collaborative decisions is difficult.
#3. Pricing for quality, not volume. Market driven healthcare means physicians and hospitals get more money, a necessity to stay open, the more people they see. This can impact the quality of care.
#4. Electronic health records and other computerized information technology. Advances in high tech are helping prevent medical errors. It is giving both patients and physicians information they can use to make the best decisions about medication and treatments.
#5. Scheduling for physicians and staff. Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff must keep departments going 24/7/365. This has a major impact on their work/life balance and on their physical health. Balancing the needs of workers, department staff levels, skills required, and patient care is an extremely complicated operation.
Delivering Quality Care
Given the factors that make up quality care, it is clear that staying abreast of modern technology is essential. It can:
- Make it easier for physicians to access and search research studies and store relevant data for a later study.
- Use technology for instant communication and group discussion via remote hookup to coordinate patient care.
- Make the best use of electronic devices to get routine information from patients, saving money and time in the process. This frees up the physician’s valuable time for essential one-on-one care with a patient. Using the two methods together provides a way to deliver quality care more affordably.
- Expand on the secure use of computerized IT to prevent errors and give patient and doctor access to the latest medical information.
- Utilize physician scheduling software to make the most efficient use of physician time and to keep the right mix of staff skills on each shift.
Technology is key for better patient care when it is used as a tool for enhancing the efficiency of medical staffing, coordinating care, and providing better communication. A healthcare schedule maker takes into consideration the needs of physicians, while making sure the right doctor is in the right place at the right time.
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