from Shortage of milk and canned food Challenge discovery Sports shoes, large children’s toys, etc., Consumers across the country are experiencing the impact of supply chain logistics disruption.
For healthcare providers, supply chain issues remind people that when a single element of the trusted delivery model fails, it can cause serious damage.
But there is an important difference between supply chain logistics and healthcare delivery: Although the global shortage of computer chips may lead to Production shutdown In the fields of automobiles and computers, and in the field of healthcare, chain interruption can lead to bottlenecks in nursing services, thereby endangering lives.
We take it for granted that medical care will be provided when and where we need it. Covid-19 has given us a better understanding of the pressure on providers to meet community healthcare needs on demand, especially during crises. However, we still need to understand how to put a well-coordinated nursing experience (from diagnosis to treatment) into practice.
As with the supply chain, if a single element in the care delivery model fails (for example, diagnostic data is not obtained in time), the entire process may be interrupted. For some people, mistakes at any time can prevent receiving the right care at the right time. In addition, just as sometimes over-reliance on a single source of material can cause supply chain problems, putting too much pressure on an already overburdened doctor can have a negative impact on care delivery.
Providing diversified support for patients with major health needs can help prevent bottlenecks. What is needed: A collaborative, highly transparent model that brings all key stakeholders together to achieve the common goal of providing better results and a better experience at a lower cost. Three elements are essential.
No. 1: Well-structured nursing coordination support
When chronic disease care management is everyone’s job, it is not anyone’s job. In these cases, patients with complex illnesses can only take care of themselves when using the healthcare system-which can have disastrous consequences. I saw this when Becky, a lifelong friend of my wife, was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer at the age of 41. Worse than her prognosis is the frustration of encountering obstacles after receiving the care she needs, and no one is responsible for coordinating all this. A medical clinic has difficulty obtaining the medical records needed to make critical decisions. Since no one was responsible for ensuring that these requests were submitted correctly, it took several months to receive referrals from experts. At a time when timely intervention is more important than ever, Becky cannot expect healthcare providers to work together to meet her needs. Instead, my wife, a nurse practitioner, became her spokesperson. She contacted the nursing agency on behalf of Becky to collect the records needed to notify Becky of her care. However, even so, success is limited because my wife tries to accomplish these tasks from outside the organization.
This is an example of why care coordinators are so important, and why organizations should empower care coordinators to change the patient experience. These professionals anticipate the needs of patients and help prevent unnecessary complications. They can advocate for continuity of care, which is especially important when individuals with complex and even life-threatening conditions continue to face barriers to care. In addition, because certain types of care coordination are reimbursable under Medicare, healthcare providers can obtain financial resources to fund these programs. By investing in care coordinators who can anticipate patient needs and provide specialized support, healthcare providers can diagnose complex conditions and determine treatment options faster. This is a way to improve health outcomes and even save lives.
No. 2: Technology to identify care gaps and automatically prompt follow-up
Clinical workflow automation can combine patient data to find gaps in care, from appointments to laboratory tests and imaging scans, thereby facilitating early detection of diseases. From there, the system pushes the care coordinator to contact the patient to arrange the required diagnosis, upload the results, and ensure that the doctor receives the information they need.
Considering that prostate cancer has High five-year survival rate When it is detected in an early stage (stage 1, 2 or 3). However, when detected in stage 4, the survival rate dropped to 87.6%. In one of the largest urology clinics in Southern California, the use of automated clinical workflows enabled care coordinators to detect cancer progression in 89 patients more quickly within 12 months. It also resulted in the identification of new treatments for 220 patients, helping to reduce or eliminate side effects in 127 patients.
There are also financial advantages to clinical workflow automation. For the above-mentioned urology practice, the emphasis on chronic care management activities has increased the practice income of each deployed nursing coordinator by US$12,000 per month.
No. 3: Ability to capture data on specific conditions at the point of careIn order to optimize the care of patients with complex or life-threatening conditions, doctors need data to support deeper and more detailed conversations at the point of care. Today, leading professional nursing practices rely on artificial intelligence-based tools to help nursing coordinators engage in deeper conversations with patients. Such tools will prompt medical assistants to ask questions about specific diseases, identify risk factors and help determine the patient’s position in the care process. With this information, doctors can gain the insight needed to provide information for medical decision-making and office follow-up.
The aforementioned Southern California urology practice uses artificial intelligence-based tools to empower care coordinators to collect the data needed to help predict the needs of patients throughout the care process. It also avoids unnecessary complications. In 12 months, the symptoms of 295 patients improved.
Fine-tune nursing coordination logistics
While facing serious illness, walking through the labyrinth of healthcare providers, processes, and protocols can be daunting – but it doesn’t have to be. By embedding expert care coordination support in professional practice, leaders can simplify the logistics of patient care while achieving better results at a lower cost.
Photo: Marchmeena29, Getty Images
