The last year and a half has thrown into sharp contrast the variations in healthcare across the country. It has also shown that the facilities best equipped to deal with these unprecedented circumstances are those that showed a willingness to embrace technology and had a keen eye on their overheads and expenses.
First of all, the number of face-to-face appointments decreased as various lockdowns and stay-at-home orders made remote appointments online or via telephone more frequent, with those and other changes making different and extra demands on the needs of the facility that were then reflected in unusual financial results.
For those healthcare facilities still looking to improve what they do, here are two steps that look to have worked well in other areas:
Embracing EMR technology
This would involve more than the use of EMR telemedicine software used over the last year, which has allowed facilities to reach out to their patients, especially those with chronic illnesses that make up a great deal of the facility’s ongoing care workload. These patients often use online apps to manage aspects of their own health care, and the possibility of synchronizing these could be seen as a huge step forward by many.
Using EMR will also standardize many procedures and add to the compatibility of different aspects of the facility’s healthcare, allowing more access to information, greater efficiency and ultimately a better program of care for the patient.
The major stumbling block in this equation is, unfortunately, the cost, as implementing this kind of change goes beyond the budget of many healthcare facilities. However, one way of addressing that imbalance would be to look at the costs incurred in other parts of the facility.
Examining and reassessing utility needs and costs
While the increased use of EMR technology can contribute to the efficiency of the healthcare facility and, therefore, the bottom line, the profitability can also be added to by looking at the annual spend on the utilities that are essential to running a healthcare facility and providing a good quality of patient care.
While these are considered essential, it does not mean that an audit into their annual costs will not provide a saving. In a healthcare facility, it is not necessarily possible to simply use less electricity or water to save money. However, the volumes used by such facilities can allow healthcare facility administrators to negotiate a better deal with their suppliers. Companies such as https://www.businesswaterquotes.co.uk/ can help administrators assess their options to provide the best solution.
To wrap things up
The last 18 months have had a profound effect on the healthcare system and have brought about several changes. Some of these have been brought about by necessity and have seen the adoption of EMR technology to streamline patients’ records and diagnosis to improve care. In addition, it has highlighted the things that need to be reviewed to increase the bottom line as a result of the covid-19 pandemic are the changes to the costs associated with running the facility.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.