Improving Clinical Workflow

Improving clinical workflows in a hospital or treatment clinic is the best way of achieving greater efficiency, happier staff and more content patients. By streamlining workflows and removing typical annoyances in a typical treatment workflow using a solution like secure messaging a hospital can enhance its reputation and be seen as a proper center of excellence.

The reason that secure messaging is key to this is that it automatically enhances the flow of communication between staff of the hospital. It does so while remaining compliant with all regulatory requirements. This means that workers can avoid getting into a game of phone tag, with consultants for examples, when they are attempting to complete a treatment-related process.

Older forms of communication like text messaging, phone calls, fax, pagers , etc are unreliable and not secured so there is a chance that the information can be breached when it is on route. This method of communication instills improved staff morale as there is less spent chasing a reply to an initial message and, generally, patients are more at ease as if feels as though they are being tended to with much more speed.

Secure messaging benefits include:

• Messages are answered more quickly so there is extra time for medical workers to spend in tending to the needs of their patients.
• All clinic staff employ their personal mobile devices in order to correspond with the relevant consultants for the provision of a patient’s care.
• Less chance of private data getting hacked.
• Guaranteed compliance with HIPAA and qualification for the Meaningful Use incentive program.

Processes that are Made Better by Improved Clinical Workflow:

1. Hospital Admissions: Patients are admitted to hospital in less time following a quicker identification of available beds, production of lab results and communications between all relevant consultants. Additionally, integrating this with an EMR or EHR will see the results being instantly accessible once they are uploaded to the proper network.
2. Hospital Discharges: Discharges take place much more quickly, keeping patients which are anxious to return home much happier as automated alerts can be sent to everyone involved in the discharge process. This means discharge planners, unit secretaries, nurses and other relevant people can complete required actions so the patient can move toward authorized discharge in a shorter period of time.
3. Emergency Room, Laboratory and Pharmacy Workflows: First responders can inform Emergency Room staff in relation to the condition of incoming patients when they are travelling towards the hospital. Images and video can be shared over the secure platform. Hospital laboratories can implement secure messaging to eliminate mistakes in medication ordering and arranging follow-up tests and ensure correct patient identification.