The Journey Into Automation: Optimizing Care Delivery

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Automation as the foundation for optimizing care delivery

In a world where efficiency and precision are the cornerstones of progress, automation has become the unsung hero across diverse industries. From manufacturing floors to customer service, its transformative power has reshaped the way we work and deliver services.

Within the healthcare sector, automation has left no stone unturned, streamlining processes and boosting efficiency. Its impact is akin to a ripple effect, touching workflows from clinical communication to remote patient monitoring. In healthcare, embracing automation goes beyond riding the wave of a trendy innovation; it’s a fundamental shift towards a more efficient, accurate, and patient-centric approach.

In this blog, let’s uncover the influence automation has had on healthcare. Each automated process is a progressive step towards optimizing care delivery and reshaping the future of patient-centered care delivery.

The Efficiency Dividend

The benefits of automation are evident in the efficiency dividend it pays. Tasks that once demanded significant time and resources can now be executed promptly, allowing professionals to focus on what truly matters. In the context of healthcare, this means more than just time saved; it means more time for the human touch, for empathy, and for addressing the unique needs of each individual. In essence, the efficiency dividend transcends into a compassion dividend, improving care delivery.

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Automation in Healthcare with OnPage

As we navigate the complexity of a healthcare setting, the integration of automation becomes increasingly vital. Enter OnPage, where automation lies at the heart of the secure communication and collaboration (CC&C) solutions we offer. Whether it’s facilitating communications based on healthcare roles, on-call schedules, or routing rules, automation ensures a seamless and efficient flow of information. Providers are empowered to respond promptly to critical situations, collaborate effectively across healthcare teams, and deliver timely, well-coordinated care to patients.

In the following section, we discuss how OnPage’s solution, combined with its automation capabilities, frees up time for care providers by eliminating non-productive tasks, thereby making them more available for their patients.

1. Seamless Scheduling for Precision-Based Communication: OnPage’s On-call Schedules

Effective healthcare communication is at the core of OnPage’s solution. OnPage seamlessly integrates on-call schedule management into secure communication workflows, enabling precision-driven communication. The noteworthy feature is that communications unfold seamlessly. Through automation on the back end, communication goes beyond the send-and-forget mentality; it ensures that critical information follows the designated on-call schedules, fostering a more efficient and reliable clinical communication process. The seamless integration of on-call scheduler drives automation, ensuring that critical information, whether originating from critical healthcare systems (EHR, EMR, etc) or healthcare providers, automatically follows the on-call scheduler. Consequently, it effortlessly reaches the designated care provider at the right time, minimizing delays and optimizing the entire care delivery process. The beauty of automation lies in its practical ability to refine communication into an efficient process, where every step is precise and every element functions seamlessly.

2. Driving Failsafe Communication with Automation: OnPage’s Escalation Module

To ensure precision-led communication, OnPage takes a proactive approach to guarantee failsafe communication. The system is intelligently designed to include safeguards that extend beyond just initial alerting, ensuring a continuum of responsiveness. If the first message recipient does not respond promptly, OnPage’s automation seamlessly escalates the communication to the next provider in the on-call schedule. This failover mechanism is a pivotal aspect of OnPage’s commitment to reliability and responsiveness, offering healthcare professionals the confidence that critical messages will always find their way to the right recipient, even in volatile and time-sensitive situations.

3. Role-Based Messaging Powered by Automation: OnPage’s Regular Groups and Escalation Groups

OnPage leverages automation to drive role-based messaging, meeting the demands of healthcare organizations that require efficient and targeted communication. Seamlessly aligning with the intricate workflows of mid-sized to large hospitals, this feature positions OnPage at the forefront of healthcare communication solutions.

Role-based messaging enables healthcare providers to effortlessly target specific departments, eliminating the need to memorize individual names within each department before initiating a conversation. The concept of role-based messaging is simple yet powerful; it allows messages and critical alerts to be directed to the appropriate healthcare roles, such as on-call cardiology, ensuring that critical information reaches the on-call recipient available with precision and efficiency.

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4. 24/7/365 Access to Care Providers: The OnPage Way

Before we delve into this solution that primarily hinges on automation, let’s do some context setting to understand why it’s so crucial.

Very recently, one of our employees recounted their bafflement at not receiving the patient experience they would expect from a hospital consistently ranked among the best hospitals in the US. Their spouse had been discharged on Friday and provided with an after-visit summary (AVS) containing a phone number for after-surgery concerns. On Saturday, the spouse woke up with a bleeding incident and decided to call the provided number to rule out anything serious. After leaving a voicemail and a callback number, they spent the day anticipating a response. However, as Saturday turned to Sunday, and then Monday, no callback came. Their worry intensified as their call seemed to vanish into a void of unresponsiveness and the only option was to rush to the ER – inconvenient to the patient and expensive for the insurance.

This scenario underscores the critical need for hospitals to adopt after-hours dedicated line-based routing technology. Such a system could automatically direct those calls from discharged patients to an on-call hospitalist or specialist. By simply prompting the patient to leave a voicemail with their concern and callback number, the VM can be routed as an urgent notification/”page” to the on-shift medical staff. In the meantime, patients could rest assured that their message would promptly reach the right healthcare professional – improving patient experience and HCAHPS scores for the hospital.

Deploying this technology isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about alleviating patient anxiety and minimizing agony while also reducing readmission rates and healthcare costs. By ensuring prompt response to urgent concerns, hospitals can improve patient satisfaction, positively impact HCAHPS scores, reduce readmission rates and drive better outcomes.

A Future of Optimized Care Delivery

As we stand at the intersection of technology and healthcare, the journey into automation holds the promise of a future where care delivery is optimized to its fullest potential. The amalgamation of OnPage’s CC&C solutions powered by automation paves the way for a healthcare landscape that is not just efficient but also rooted in patient-centered care. The future is not a stark landscape of machines and algorithms; it’s a canvas where technology and compassion coalesce, creating a masterpiece of care delivery that is both efficient and deeply empathetic.

Conclusion

From everything we’ve discussed, one thing is clear – automation emerges as a key player in refining healthcare. The journey into automation signifies not only a technological leap but a commitment to enhancing the efficiency of care delivery. As we embrace automated solutions, the core of healthcare strengthens. The journey is dedicated to improving patient care and timeliness, setting the stage for a future where technology and compassion seamlessly align, ensuring that care delivery is both efficient and meaningful for humanity.

FAQs

Will increased automation improve patient safety?

Yes, with automated solutions that encourage collaboration and expedite communication, patients will receive more streamlined, quality care, significantly improving their safety and patient experience.

Should clinical communications be fully automated?

No, creating a empathetic and patient-centered experience can improve patient outcomes, so personal interactions play an integral role in clinical communications.

Does automation raise concerns about patient security?

Yes, when automating services, it is increasingly important for healthcare teams to take patient confidentiality and security into consideration. Healthcare teams must always ensure that they and their systems maintain HIPAA compliance.