Changes that are Expected in Hospital Management after Covid19
June 24, 2020Hospitals & Clinics, are the first line of defence and the last line of hope, in the fight against COVID-19. In order to fulfill those expectations, they are making radical new changes to their infrastructure.
It’s no mystery that the healthcare system in many countries is bursting at its seams. South-East Asia, North America and Europe, all are being affected by the sudden pressure being put on public healthcare.
A Hospital in Sao Paulo was marked “near collapse” as it continues to battle increased patient volume at 90% capacity. In order to avoid such situations from arising, the following changes in Hospital Management are advised by experts;
- New agile methodologies for catering increased demand and allocating resources.
- Striving for operational excellence using better management techniques.
- Expanding the delivery of healthcare services via Telehealth and Telemedicine approaches.
Let’s understand these upcoming changes and discover methods by which your Hospital or Clinic can readily adapt the same.
Repurposing Infrastructure
Hospitals are reorienting their wardrooms and ICUs for increased infection control, by placing the beds further apart from each other. The beds are being designed in a way to quickly reform into an ICU bed when needed. The capacity to add more beds faster is being developed.
Containment Wards or Centralized Units are being developed, with the added functionality of remote monitoring for isolating patients. These wards will leverage new technologies such as Telemedicine software internally to offer better care to the patients.
Trials for Virtual ICUs or home-based quarantine ICUs are underway and hospitals will look to integrate the same in their patient management policies. Such units offer a way out to manage the dearth of capacity in the hospital.
Onboarding and Care Delivery via Online Platforms
Hospitals are quickly expanding their onboarding capabilities using Hospital Management Software that provides digital means for the same.
Patients don’t have to physically visit the reception, they can schedule an appointment and begin their medicare journey using a website or a mobile app.
Telemedicine Software platforms enable Clinics and Medical Facilities to create the virtual infrastructure for handling the increased volume of appointments.
In many cases, care delivery is also provided via telecommunication devices, Virtual Reality or simple phone-based transactions.
Smart Costing Strategies to Cope with Reduced Revenues
As the economy takes a hit, the ability to sustain revenues over a long time will also be compromised. Factors like unemployment, reduced spending, budget cuts and funding pitfalls will come into play.
In order to deal with this, new strategies for smart costing and revenue management will be needed. Hospitals will have to prioritize expenditures, look for alternate revenue streams and enable patient care via virtual platforms, to keep up with the shortfall.
Diversification into Telemedicine platforms offering Physicians available on digital media is one of the key strategies. Some proposed diversifications are as follows;
- Using third-party fully functional Telehealth platforms for offering medicare services.
- Branching into specialisations with increased demand in the community, such as paediatrics, obstetrics, etc.
- Offering remote behavioural monitoring, remote care and screenings, for potential subscribers.
Regulatory Changes
A number of regulatory changes will also be observed in order to cope with patient volume keeping community-transmission of COVID-19.
- Re-skilling the employees with a wider range of capabilities, in order to make them crisis-ready.
- Installing multi-purpose equipment such as repurposable beds, temporary medical hubs and similar supplies.
- A shift to e-prescribing platforms for remote ordering and delivery of medication to the customers.
- Reducing the need for discretionary visits.
Recommended Read: What do you need to look when Choosing Hospital Management Software
Technology Adoption
The apparent need for strengthening stakeholder communication, and improving operational efficiencies will give rise to quicker technology adoption.
Hospitals are quickly expanding their Telemedicine Software solution. This includes virtual diagnostics, cloud storage, patient medical data analysis, and information distribution.
American Hospital Association reported that the number of hospitals adopting Hospital Management Software increased from 35% in 2010 to 76% in 2017.
SoftClinic Hospital Management & Telemedicine Software
SoftClinic is a full-fledged hospital information management software that enables hospitals, ambulatory care institutes and clinics to make smart managerial improvisations as COVID-19 threats continue to grapple the industry.
It offers a wide variety of modules such as Video-Conferencing, Remote Screening, Patient Data Analysis, & EMR. The ease-of-use and affordability of SoftClinic make it possible for small to large hospitals to begin using it out of the box.
Conclusion
Hospitals and the entire healthcare framework is undergoing immense pressure to meet the increased demand for critical healthcare. New Management principles and Technology adoption are underway. The scope has shifted from Emergency Response to Continuous Improvement, which is becoming an inevitability for modern hospitals. Is your hospital implementing the changes proactively? SoftClinic is helping hospitals worldwide to make the transition possible. Discover benefits, and technologies, that put your forward in the healthcare landscape.
References:
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/technology/how-covid-19-pandemic-will-change-healthcare-delivery