Top Tools to Boost Hospital Efficiency with Clinical Task Automation
by Arnab Dey Health Care Services Published on: 08 March 2023 Last Updated on: 24 September 2024
Hospital operations are getting more complex, and the need for automation has never been greater. However, hospitals don’t always have the time or money to dedicate to implementing new systems that will improve clinical efficiency.
The good news is there are many options available that can help streamline your workflow and save you time and money in the long run. Here are some of our favorite automation tools:
Revenue Cycle Management Software (RCM)
Medgadget reported recently that the American Hospital Association recognized 5,564 hospitals in the US in 2015. Notably, these hospitals admitted approximately 35 million patients in the same year. Because of the increase in hospitalization rates, revenue cycle management systems have become essential for the healthcare industry.
Revenue Cycle Management software is an all-in-one solution for automating the clinical tasks that hospitals and health systems perform throughout their revenue cycle. RCMs can be used as stand-alone applications or integrated with other solutions, such as EHRs and patient engagement platforms.
In addition to helping you manage your billing process more efficiently, RCMs offer several benefits:
- Improved financial performance. RCMs automate manual processes, allowing staff members more time for higher-value activities like managing patient care or improving quality measures. This leads to faster revenue cycles and better cash flow management overall, which helps improve your bottom line in turn.
- Better patient experience. By streamlining the billing process through automation, you will ensure that patients receive accurate bills faster than ever before, so they don’t have any surprises when it comes time for payment (and thus no reason not to pay).
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
According to GlobeNewswire, several countries have recently increased their focus on implementing electronic health records (EHRs) due to the growing demand for more advanced health information technology (HIT) that can provide better treatment outcomes while reducing costs.
EMRs have long been recognized as a crucial component of a successful health information system. In 2022, the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Market was worth $27.88 billion, with a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.4% during the forecast period 2023-2030. It is expected to reach $45.80 billion by 2030.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are an important tool for hospitals that want to improve their efficiency. They can be used to help improve patient care and safety, as well as communication between patients and providers.
The use of EHRs has been shown to have a positive impact on the quality of healthcare services provided by healthcare organizations by promoting better coordination among different departments within the hospital system.
It also helps provide accurate information about each patient’s medical history, thus helping doctors make informed decisions about treatment plans for them.
Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)
A Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) is a software application that helps clinicians make better decisions by providing them with evidence-based recommendations for treatment.
The system works by integrating data from multiple sources, including electronic medical records (EMR), clinical guidelines, and registries. It then analyzes this information in real-time to identify patterns of risk or poor outcomes among patients with similar conditions.
A CDSS can alert clinicians when certain conditions are present during their care of patients, thereby avoiding errors such as prescribing the wrong medication dose or performing unnecessary procedures on patients who don’t need them.
OpenPR estimates that the demand for clinical decision support systems (CDSS) is set to increase significantly in the coming years. Its market is driven by the need to control healthcare costs, improve the quality of care, and advancements in hospital healthcare IT. The global CDSS market is expected to reach over USD 3.41 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.43% in the coming years.
Automated Medication Dispensing Systems
AMDS are used to dispense medications to patients. They can help hospitals save time and reduce errors, as well as improve patient safety by reducing the handling of medication vials. Automation like this can also relieve some of the pressures on staff which, after a prolonged period, may manifest as burnout and fatigue – to learn more about the dangers and causes of physician burnout click here. AMDS, as such, offer a wide variety of benefits:
- Automated dispensing reduces the risk of error when administering medications.
- AMDS systems improve productivity by allowing staff members more time for other tasks that require their expertise or attention, such as checking vital signs or communicating with other departments within the hospital (e.g., surgical).
- Hospitals can use AMDS technology in any setting where automated dispensing is needed, from operating rooms (ORs) to intensive care units (ICUs), where nurses may need immediate access to certain medications during emergencies or even clinics outside healthcare facilities.
In addition, a good part of healthcare automation is that even a maid agency has access to these software and tools.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
Virtual and augmented reality can be used to enhance the patient experience through virtual hospital tours or virtual consultations with doctors. VR and AR can also be used by staff to train for surgical procedures or other clinical tasks that require training before being able to perform them in real life.
VR/AR technology is still relatively new, but it has already gained popularity as an educational tool for medical students because it allows them to practice on a computer without having any real-life consequences if something goes wrong during their simulation exercises.
Wearables
Wearables are used to monitor health and fitness but can also be used in the hospital setting. Wearables that track patients’ vitals, such as pulse rate, blood pressure, and heart rhythm, can be helpful for nurses who need to ensure that their patients are healthy enough to go home after surgery or stay overnight in the hospital.
Wearable technology can also help medical professionals monitor medications more closely. For example, an app on a patient’s phone may alert them when it’s time for them to take their next dose of medicine so that they don’t forget about it, or worse yet, take too much at once by accident.
Conclusion
The healthcare industry is facing a lot of challenges, and automation is one of the solutions to these. The use of technology in the medical field can help save lives and make them easier for patients to manage.
These six tools have been proven to help hospitals become more efficient and improve their overall workflow to provide better patient care.
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