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Improving Patient Experience through Patient Smart Rooming

The Traditional Patient Care Journey is an inherently time and resource inefficient process. Many patients dread clinical visits due to long and uncomfortable wait times. For clinics, this improper use of staff and money results in increased costs and lost revenue. However, a centralized planning system that streamlines the patient workflow could transform the Care Journey. This is where Patient Smart Rooming can emerge as an efficient tool for streamlining the patient journey. Before diving into this innovative solution, it is important to understand the Patient Rooming process.

Pre-Visit Preparation

Before engaging with the patient, it is important for the medical assistant to understand more about them. Medical Assistants can use a pre-visit checklist to prepare for the appointment by learning more about the patient’s medical history. Assistants should review the patients’ current condition, treatment plan, and feedback from past visits. Previous test/screening results should be readily available for the physician to observe. Ensure that any age or condition-specific tests, screenings, and immunizations are up to date.

By preparing for the patient prior to the visits, medical assistants can be proactive about what they may be facing during the rooming process. They better anticipate any patient questions/concerns and prepare accordingly. This also allows them to share any glaring concerns with the patient and physician. A Pre-Visit checklist can also save time by identifying areas of concern before the patient even arrives. After completing this checklist, the assistant can approach the patient and begin the rooming process.

Patient Rooming Tasks

Efficient Patient Rooming requires the medical assistant to perform a variety of tasks. Here are the common steps involved in Patient Rooming:

Patient Introduction: Greet the patient in the waiting room and lead them to the appointment room. Ensure that you are engaging with the patient in a warm and welcoming fashion.
Inquire About Appointment Objective: In a kind and compassionate manner, inquire about the patient’s objective of the appointment. Understand why they are there and what they seek to accomplish from the visit. Identify the most high-priority health concerns.
Update Health Records: Add any new conditions or symptoms to the patient’s health record. Be sure that any recent tests or screenings have been indicated on the record.
Address Patient Questions: Encourage patients to be open about any concerns they have about their treatment or condition. Inform the physician of any questions that are relevant to the appointment.
Conduct Patient Screening: Screen the patient using standard protocol to determine any tests or procedures that they will need to undergo. Prepare the patient for any tests that the physician will be performing and if necessary provide them with the appropriate protective gear.
Briefing The Physician: After collecting all the required details from the patient, be able to summarize this information to the physician. Highlight any glaring issues from the health record or any urgent patient concerns.

The Rooming process ends when the Medical Assistant transfers the responsibility of care to the physician. An efficient exchange of care means minimizing time without compromising on the quality of care.

Characteristics of Patient Smart Rooming

Patient Smart Rooming has risen from the increasing acceptance of Value-Based Care. This shift emphasizes the importance of patient outcomes as opposed to the purely profit-based “fee-for-service” outlook. Patient Smart Rooming can increase the convenience of care and subsequently enhance patient satisfaction.

Centralized Platform: An all-inclusive software platform that has relevant data at readily available.
Pre-Visit Checklist: Acts as a guide for what Medical Assistants should cover in the rooming process.
Access to EMR/EHR: Informs the Assistants about the patient’s existing conditions or previous tests/procedures.

How Patient Smart Rooming Streamlines the Care Journey

Due to the many different steps involved, Patient Rooming is often a long and tedious process for both patients and care providers. HealthViewX’s Patient Smart Rooming software provides clinics the opportunity to digitize the entire care journey. By utilizing a centralized software, care providers can access any important patient information on one platform. This tool also allows clinics to track valuable data like wait/rooming times or availability of assistants. This allows clinics to identify inefficiencies in their practice by tracking every step of the patient journey.

Talk to us to understand more about the advancements in the healthcare industry and we will guide you to achieve our common goal “Quality Care for All” seamlessly.

Could AI Transform the Way Healthcare Operates?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) involves the use of machines to perform human activities such as comprehension, interpretation, and analysis. AI has been an emerging force in all computerized fields and has gained significant attention amongst health tech innovators in the past few years. While AI remains heavily experimental, the results have been extremely promising with regard to the future potential of AI-based procedures. The prospects of AI-related technology have the opportunity to transform the future of healthcare delivery.

Current Status of AI in Healthcare

AI is still in the early stages of development in the health tech industry and it has yet to fully penetrate the market. However, AI investment is projected to grow from $600 million to $6.6 billion between 2014 and 2021, indicative of the large and growing demand for such services. AI is already used by many health systems for everyday activities such as streamlining workflows, patient education, diagnosis, and predictive analysis. Including these practices has helped clinics save millions of dollars and serve patients more efficiently. Thanks to the rapid growth of AI, the healthcare industry will experience an influx of innovative techniques to help solve modern healthcare problems.

Machine Learning in Healthcare

Machine Learning (ML) is a method within AI in which machines are given the opportunity to learn through experience rather than constant programming. In essence, this trains machines to think like humans and learn from practical examples. Areas of healthcare where ML is already prevalent include data collection, diagnosis, and clinical trials. This method is being experimented in the health industry due to the abundance of data needed to make informed decisions. ML can allow computers to process millions of data points in just seconds, resulting in a faster and more efficient result. In the future, effective use of ML could hold the key to vaccine development and cancer treatment. One hurdle ML faces is that it would need large-scale testing in order to become readily available for use in all areas of healthcare. This is due to ML being rooted in experience-based learning rather than rigid programming.

Precision Medicine

Precision Medicine involves diagnosis and treatment plans that are specialized to the individual patient. This method greatly differs from traditional diagnosis and treatment as it analyzes millions of relevant variables to produce a patient-specific care plan. AI/ML-based machines can analyze more variables than humans could in a fraction of the time. One intriguing aspect of this technique is Whole-Genome Sequencing, which involves the analysis and discovery of an individual’s entire DNA sequence. AI/ML makes this technique possible by simplifying an extremely complex process. Ultimately, a streamlined version of Precision Medicine can shift healthcare away from standardization and towards personalized care. Like many AI techniques, Precision Medicine is highly developmental and will likely require large financial investments. Additionally, this method is quite controversial as it is still unproven and involves information about patients’ DNA.

Robotics

Robots are a clear example of how AI could be put into practice in the near future. Many large or high-budget clinics already employ the use of robotic machines. These instruments can carry out different tasks depending on their design. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, robots are being used to direct patients within a health facility to eliminate the risk of patient to care provider transmission. They have proven to be very effective in guiding patients when a human is unavailable. In a non-Pandemic context, robots would be useful in rural or undermanned health clinics, where similar situations could arise. Robotic AI machines could also be used for long term care patients who need daily monitoring and reminders related to their treatment. One area where Robotic-based AI can drastically reduce discrepancies in rural health accessibility is through Remote Treatment. Robotic devices could allow doctors to operate on patients without being physically present. The incorporation of Virtual/Augmented Reality devices could help with both clinical training as well as virtual appointments. The main obstacle associated with robots is that providers must make a significant financial commitment. This will subsequently make healthcare costlier for all parties involved, including patients and the Federal Government.

Artificial Intelligence is opening the door for more efficient and accessible health care. The astronomical increase in AI investment proves the effectiveness of new developmental methods. If the industry is able to address the remaining financial obstacles, we can experience AI leading the healthcare industry into the future.

Talk to us to understand more about the advancements in the healthcare industry and we will guide you to achieve our common goal “Quality Care for All” seamlessly.

How COVID-19 is changing the Healthcare Industry

The COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly challenged the existing capabilities of the Healthcare Industry. The rapid spread of the virus has brought the world to a standstill and has health leaders scrambling to find new approaches to healthcare. Despite the obstacles that have been thrust upon the industry, the prospect of technological advancement gives the healthcare industry an opportunity for accelerated growth.

Short-Term Impact of COVID-19

One of the main consequences of the Pandemic has been undermanned or under-equipped health staff. The intensity of the virus has left many clinics with less than the required resources to help COVID patients. Another related issue faced mainly by urban health clinics is Hospital Overcrowding. Non-COVID related patients will also see delays in their care journeys. The healthcare industry must also prepare for the following long-term impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Increasing Role of Virtual Health services

The pandemic has revealed the importance of virtual health care services such as Telehealth and Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM). The contagious nature of COVID-19 has forced many clinics to close their doors to non-COVID patients. Without virtual care technology, many patients with chronic or other severe conditions would lose access to essential healthcare. In addition, clinics would be losing a significant portion of their revenue. However, providers who utilize a virtual telemedicine platform are still able to connect with their patients. As of 2017, some form of Telemedicine platform is employed by over three-quarters of hospitals in the US. The pandemic will cause that number to increase while encouraging existing users of telehealth to make their platforms more extensive.

Eliminating the Traditional Care Journey

The emergence of telemedicine has allowed for the virtual exchange of high-quality health services. By using virtual technology, physicians are able to provide check-ups, patient education, and care plans. Patients can access these services from the comfort of their homes. This new development due to the pandemic has brought into question the future of traditional clinical visits. Hassle-free telemedicine solutions have exposed the inefficiencies of conventional care journeys. Previously, patients might waste an entire day for a simple check-up due to long wait times and large clinical facilities. In the end, they may not even receive conclusive treatment if they are referred to another practice. These inefficiencies contribute to a high patient no-show rate, which costs the American healthcare industry over $150 billion/year. Convenient telemedicine platforms remind patients ahead of their appointments and provide them with effective and timely care.

Altering the future of Value-Based Care

While the “Value-Based Care” movement has been gaining momentum for a few decades, the COVID-19 pandemic might slow down the shift. The decrease in elective surgeries and non-COVID related care has been financially crippling for many practices. While RPM and Telehealth reimbursement codes cover for some of these losses, clinics are still seeing a decline in revenue due to the pandemic. The deal-breaker for most clinics involves the financial risk involved in a Value-Based model. Many Value-Based contracts involve a great deal of downside risk, or potential financial shortcomings due to missed targets. This financial risk may have over half of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) consider abandoning this model. This may also encourage current fee-for-service providers to avoid adopting a Value-Based platform in the future. In order to mitigate a large-scale exodus from the Value-Based scheme, the CMS could subsidize providers by removing downside risk clauses for the near future.

Accelerating the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a new solution for the current healthcare-related issues. AI involves the use of machines to perform human activities such as learning, interpreting, and analyzing. While AI in healthcare has not yet reached its full potential, investment in this field is expected to grow tenfold between 2014 and 2024. While AI systems are still in an early developmental stage, they are already used by many providers in areas such as diagnosis, patient education, and predictive analysis.

Robotic machines are an example of how AI could be put into action in a healthcare setting in the near future. These systems could carry out tasks like patient engagement, or even remote surgery. When dealing with infectious diseases like COVID-19, AI based robots could eliminate unnecessary human interactions, thus decreasing the risk of transmission. When used for diagnosis and treatment, these machines are significantly more accurate than existing technology. In the long run, AI could lead the way for virtual/augmented reality to make its way into mainstream healthcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a watershed event in the history of medical care. While the industry continues to face immense challenges, greater opportunities for growth lay ahead.

Talk to us to understand how HealthViewX is transforming the Care Journey for both patients and providers!

Emerging Technologies that will shape the Future of the Healthcare Industry

The Healthcare Industry has witnessed a great deal of innovation over the past few centuries. Some pioneering breakthroughs include the discovery of vaccines, antibiotics, and insulin. Developments such as these have drastically increased the overall quality of life for billions of people across the planet. These substantial improvements over the past two centuries have led to the emergence of recent tech-based health innovations.

How the move to Value-Based Care affects Innovation

The Healthcare industry has witnessed a shift towards “Value-Based Care” over the past few decades. This model focuses on the patient outcome more than any other factor. This has influenced technological innovations to be patient-centric rather than purely profit-focused.

RPM Devices

Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM) is a form of real-time telehealth that employs the use of technology in the live collection of vital parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, weight, or any other relevant measure. These compact gadgets track and send these parameters to qualified health professionals who can analyze the results. RPM devices give patients the opportunity to monitor their condition on a daily basis without constant clinical visits. These devices have allowed providers to remain updated with their patients when a physical visit is not possible. Effective use of these devices is proven to decrease the number of readmissions, which costs the industry over $41 billion a year. The RPM market is expected to grow to $2.7 billion by 2020, per a projection by Research and Markets. If RPM devices can prove their value in a competitive health tech market, they may become an integral part of human life. Their compact nature can allow them to become as ubiquitous as a wristwatch, especially for aging populations.

Telehealth

Telehealth involves the transfer of healthcare services through a telecommunications platform. While it includes monitoring and education, it is most commonly used as a tool for virtual appointments between providers and patients. Commonly used Telehealth platforms involve the use of a video/audio system with the ability to send EHR/EMRs or other health records by message. Telehealth acts as an added revenue stream as the CMS reimburses providers who employ telehealth services. For patients, telehealth means they can access high-quality healthcare from the comfort of their homes. The use of telehealth has rapidly grown over the past decade as 75% of hospitals utilized a telehealth platform in 2017 as opposed to 35% in 2010. In the long run, telehealth can help eliminate nonessential patient visits which waste both time and resources. With technological advances, telehealth might soon adopt a “virtual reality” based format. This can increase patient-provider interaction while enhancing the quality of care.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) involves the use of machines to perform human activities such as comprehension and analysis. In a healthcare setting, it can be used to make an advanced interpretation of health-based data. The amount of investment in health-based AI is projected to grow from $600 million to $6.6 billion between 2014 and 2021. AI can make patient-specific care plans by accounting for millions of variables involving the patient’s health condition and trajectory. AI could potentially open the door for “Precision Medicine,” which could be a landmark development in modern medicine. While this method is still highly experimental and embroiled in controversy, the prospects of an effective model remains promising.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Health Tech Innovations

The COVID-19 Pandemic has placed a heightened focus on the current capabilities of the Healthcare industry. The pandemic has offered both challenges and opportunities for technological innovation. One of the primary flaws of the industry that COVID-19 has highlighted is the prevalence of unnecessary and inconvenient patient visits. As health centers across the country have been focused on tackling the pandemic, patients with other conditions have been encouraged to stay home and receive virtual care. Many patients are able to mitigate their existing conditions without time-consuming visits to a clinic. At the same time, this provides an opportunity for a widespread adoption of telehealth services. Many providers have experienced the efficiency of virtual health services and will continue to invest in these solutions. Clinics without such platforms will likely adopt telehealth to address their lack of virtual care services. The pandemic will no doubt leave an enduring mark on the healthcare industry. The lessons learned from the pandemic will surely shift the focus of innovations towards virtual health solutions.

Talk to us to understand more about Value-Based Care and we will guide you to achieve our common goal “Quality Care for All” seamlessly.

The Importance of Clinical Call Center Nurses in the RPM Care Journey

The emergence of Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM) has greatly contributed to the rapid adoption of virtual health services. This practice would not be possible without the work of clinical call center nurses, who observe the condition of patients and accordingly make relevant health decisions.

How does RPM work?

RPM uses technology to track a patient’s vital parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, weight, etc. This data is recorded by the device and sent to health professionals involved with the patient’s care. The care provider can then make informed decisions on the patient’s health. RPM devices notify the care provider if any abnormal vitals are detected. They also allow patients to receive quality health care from a virtual setting. Effective RPM systems result in higher patient satisfaction while increasing the revenue of care providers.

The role of Call Centers in RPM

Clinical Call Centers play a crucial role in the RPM care journey. RPM devices track a large number of complex metrics relating to the patient’s health. Any data recorded by an RPM device is useless until a qualified health professional is able to analyze it. This is where call center nurses factor into the Care Journey. The RPM device emits data through the provider’s RPM software to the clinical center. Here the data can be received and analyzed by the nurses in charge of the virtual patient care. They can record a patient’s progress and better understand how a patient responds to treatment. If there are any slight deviations from the care plan, nurses can video conference with the patient to identify and address the source of the irregularity. If there are any concerning metrics, the nurses can immediately connect the patient with the necessary professional.

How RPM help Call Center Nurses

Call Center Nurses may be in charge of monitoring hundreds of patients in a virtual manner. Without a Remote Monitoring option, nurses need to manually contact individual patients. RPM devices can connect with these patients on a daily basis, without constant human interaction. These devices can collect the data of hundreds of patients and send these results to the call center in just a few minutes. RPM also allows patients to track their health from the comfort of their homes-meaning providers are able to turn their attention to their most at-need patients.

RPM and the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of virtual care services like RPM. The pandemic has greatly decreased the healthcare industry’s focus on combating non-COVID related ailments. However, providers with existing RPM mechanisms are benefiting from the ability to monitor health through a virtual platform. In addition, patients who suffer from chronic conditions are still able to receive daily updates on their health.

Characteristics of a functional RPM platform

The following characteristics can be found among all effective RPM systems:

Reduce Emergency Situations: RPM devices can track any abnormal patterns and immediately report them to a health center. Emergency situations are of increased danger to the health of chronic care patients. RPM devices can provide a timely intervention and allow the patient to receive care before an emergency situation unfolds.
Reduce Readmissions: An efficient RPM platform can prevent patients from being readmitted for their existing conditions. By tracking the trajectory of the patient’s health, nurses can notify patients when they deviate from their care plan. This helps patients stay on top of their treatment while decreasing the probability that they are readmitted.
Increased Patient Involvement: The interactive nature of RPM gives patients the opportunity to be more involved in their care. This means patients are more informed on their condition and the treatment plan referred to them. Ultimately a more involved patient increases the likelihood of recovery.

The increased importance of virtual care has allowed RPM to emerge as a powerful tool in care delivery. The proper use of these technologies greatly enhances the convenience and effectiveness of health care.

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Technology’s Role in the Shift Towards Value-Based Care

Value-Based Care is an increasingly popular healthcare model in which providers receive reimbursement that reflects the outcome of the patient. This concept emphasizes the importance of improved patient health and accordingly benefits providers who are able to deliver to their patients. The traditional “Fee-For-Service” model which involves flat rate payments irrespective of patient outcomes or care quality has grown out of favor.

The move away from a purely profit-focused model and towards a patient-centric model highlights the trend of developments in the US healthcare industry. This seismic shift towards Value-Based Care is not possible without some of the modern health tech innovations which are at the forefront of the movement.

The move towards Value-Based Care

For quite some time, the healthcare industry was known as a purely profit-based industry. In order to shift the care focus towards the patient outcome, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has laid the groundwork for various Federal Acts that incentivize providers who adopt a value-based model. The most notable of these was the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). This aligns with the “Triple Aim” framework promoted by the CMS:

The increase in concrete support from the Federal Government influenced many providers in shifting to a Value-Based model.

Why Value-Based Care?

The attractiveness of the Value-Based structure can be attributed to its numerous benefits for both patients and providers. This model is highly popular amongst patients as it highlights provider accountability for the outcome of their care. Patients can achieve peace of mind knowing that the improvement of their health is the primary goal.

For providers, this model offers a larger patient outreach while handing out incentives for better performance. The increased use of technology has helped practices use reliable data to make informed business decisions. While this structure is inherently appealing for all parties involved, the advancement of technology has fueled its widespread acceptance.

Achieving Value-Based Care through Enhanced Care Journey Mapping

Enhanced Care Journey Mapping involves the tracking of patient activities throughout their care process. It is used to conceptualize the process and eliminate any tedious or redundant tasks. Journey Mapping is a prime example of Value-Based care as it seeks to improve patient outcomes. Providers can identify areas where patients face inconvenience and take measures to address them. By analyzing the overall care journey, providers can optimize the patient experience.

What technology solutions are involved?

The large-scale move to a Value-Based Care model has been made possible by the following solutions:

- Telehealth: Telehealth involves the exchange of virtual health services (such as video conferencing) using an electronic platform. The emergence of telehealth software has given patients high accessibility to quality care. Providers can open a new revenue stream while staying up-to-date with their patients, even when a physical meeting is not possible.
- Remote Patient Monitoring: Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is a healthcare practice that uses technology to monitor patients in a virtual manner. RPM allows patients to monitor their health daily and encourages them to be more involved with their care. The adoption of RPM services can be directly attributed to a decrease in readmission rates. RPM gives providers valuable insights into the patient’s current condition.
- Chronic Care Management: Chronic Care Management (CCM) involves the facilitation of patients suffering from two or more chronic conditions. Virtual health software services have greatly improved the quality of CCM. Providers save time and money by using these services to connect with their chronic care patients. Patients with chronic conditions can eliminate unnecessary clinic visits and receive timely health feedback from the convenience of their homes.
- Referral Management: Providers have increasingly adopted software systems that streamline their patient referrals. Patients can expect increased efficiency while not having to worry about documentation and processing issues. This has greatly decreased referral leakage which can cost individual practices millions of dollars each year.

Challenges in shifting to a Value-Based Model

While providers across the nation have welcomed the value-based model, some significant obstacles remain before it becomes the industry standard.

Technological Disparities: Many practices do not have the necessary tech infrastructure to operate a value-based model. Many practices lack programs like RPM and EHR Integration, which are integral to the operability of the model.
Government Support: While the CMS has supported many value-based initiatives, it remains to be seen how the Federal Government will include all patients and providers under the triple aim
Financial Risk: This shift, like any large financial investment, comes with a moderate level of risk. Many smaller practices cannot afford to gamble on a move that may not pan out.

Nonetheless, the Value-Based model has shown great promise in bringing change to provider-patient relationships. The response to these issues will determine the success of the model in the long run.

Talk to us to understand more about Value-Based Care and we will guide you to achieve our common goal “Quality Care for All” seamlessly.