Digital innovation has improved patient care both inside and outside the hospital. However, there remains a frustration among healthcare providers and patients that they are overloaded with too much technology that does not flow effectively from one aspect of care to the next.
Cherry Drulis, RN, is the Director of Healthcare Mobile B2B at Samsung Electronics America. She will be at Samsung's HIMSS24 booth 2667 to talk about the impact of patchwork digital health technologies, including healthcare worker burnout, patient confusion, and ineffective communication between healthcare teams.
We believe that streamlined, continuous care based on intuitive, secure mobile technology and wearables, including the newly announced Samsung Galaxy Ring, are critical to making the hospital of the future a reality. We interviewed her to get some insight into why she thinks so.
Q. This week, you talked about how you think there's frustration between providers and patients who are overburdened by medical technology that isn't flowing well. Please elaborate on what you told the participants.
A. Although medical technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, clinical communication technology has not yet caught up in many medical institutions. While many leaders place as much emphasis on employee experience as patient experience, doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals are experiencing unnecessary stress due to issues related to information delivery and data access. Continuing.
Digital health solutions can continue to relieve pressure on increasingly overburdened and sometimes under-resourced healthcare systems. Hospitals struggling to retain and support skilled staff have an opportunity to improve overall performance by modernizing their clinical communication infrastructure.
But too many different devices, operating systems, and disparate apps make it difficult for IT departments to truly optimize communications and workflows.
To increase productivity without burdening clinicians, hospitals are seamlessly integrating mobile technology into their workflows, providing doctors and nurses with real-time patient data and delivering high-quality care and a superior patient experience. You should consider providing the essential communication channels needed to do so without adding to your existing services. Tough workload.
Q. You also discuss what you see as a patchwork of digital health systems. What does this mean and what is the problem?
A. As hospitals deploy more devices and communication solutions, the strain on IT resources increases and security is at risk. Efficient and effective management of mobile clinical solutions by IT requires an integrated platform, developer-friendly integration options, and robust device configuration and management capabilities.
This means standardizing your devices and giving you maximum control over them. Another important way to reduce IT burden is to invest in a unified communications solution that includes voice, text messaging, and video conferencing solutions that are compatible with your existing legacy technology. Without this investment, IT departments will face the challenge of managing an increasing number of vendors and software platforms.
Q. This patchwork effect can lead to provider burnout, patient confusion, and ineffective communication between healthcare teams. Your company's answer is mobile technology and wearables, including the new Samsung Galaxy Ring. Talk about these technologies and how they can help you.
A. Clinicians and healthcare providers can use a single mobile device to perform a wide range of tasks, including multichannel nurse communication, access to electronic medical records, virtual patient examinations, remote monitoring of bedside equipment, and medication scanning. It can be processed. Smartphones support collaboration with colleagues and communication with patients, providing real-time insights to improve patient care.
With all the necessary contacts and data at their fingertips, clinicians can remotely get the help and information they need to treat patients effectively and efficiently. This integrated approach streamlines healthcare delivery and enhances both provider performance and patient care.
Wearables have also transformed patient care. Major health systems across the United States are using wearables to deliver home health care and improve long-term outcomes for patients. These devices are especially useful when providing care after a major health event, as they allow patients to recover from the comfort of their home and keep their doctors informed of their condition.
Hospital networks that use wearables for this purpose significantly reduce readmission rates, improve overall patient health, and have much higher completion rates than programs that require multiple visits to the doctor's office. I did.
Mobile devices and wearables can harness the power of data in meaningful ways across the care continuum, insofar as they enhance rather than hinder productivity, communication, and most importantly, patient care.
Regardless of the devices deployed, they will be used from the time they first enter the hospital parking lot, to patient engagement for bedside education and entertainment, and ultimately to seamless transfers. , must be part of a more connected continuum of care rooted in improving every step of the patient journey. Manage the care of patients after they are discharged from the hospital.
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Email: bsiwicki@himss.org
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