Patient workflow inefficiencies are evidenced by a variety of
interconnected issues that can be encountered daily by healthcare
providers and patients. These include but are not limited to,
increased wait times, communication breakdowns between departments or
personnel, and administrative bottlenecks such as unnecessary manual
data entry or prolonged and inefficient documentation processes. These
inefficiencies can undercut the continuity and pace of patient care,
as well as challenge the morale of healthcare providers. For example,
long wait times routinely diminish patient satisfaction, excessive
handoffs of patients between staff members as well as communication
gaps between different departments can cause delays in treatment, and
administrative bottlenecks, such as manual data entry or burdensome
documentation procedures, could likely accelerate a loss in
productivity as well as increase the possibility of errors. All this
can compromise the speed and quality of healthcare, result in
substantial depletion of limited resources, and ultimately undermine
healthcare providers.
Patient workflows, that is, the series of steps and activities a
patient goes through during their interaction with a healthcare
provider, are vital for the increase of healthcare efficiency.
Preventive and curative healthcare services are a means to a larger
health benefit – and increased efficiency can only help raise the
quality of care while also reducing costs at the same time. Efficient
workflows for healthcare providers have been shown to reduce patient
waiting times, streamline communication, decrease the burden of
administrative tasks, and, as a result, reduce the number of errors in
patient care delivery and potentially improve patient outcomes.
Efficient workflows also enable providers to spend more time with
patients and less time spending the day in front of a computer, which
can significantly boost the morale of these professionals while
potentially reducing burnout and turnover. Consequently, efficient
workflows can raise provider productivity, meaning that more people
are able to be helped and to a higher, more accurate standard.
Custom
software is uniquely positioned to tackle the workflow challenges
faced by healthcare providers. This software, tailored to the specific
needs and processes of a healthcare organization, can automate unique
practices, integrate with the current technical environment, and
create automated deliverables that provide real-time data streams for
medical personnel to use in decision-making. There are numerous
examples of custom software that, when combined with workflow
analysis, have revolutionized how healthcare providers work, leading
to greater efficiencies, improved patient outcomes, and increased
overall productivity.
The efficiency of patient workflow means that patients receive timely
care with zero bottlenecks or missed handovers. The appointment is
scheduled at the right time and place. A nurse opens the patient’s
file, verifies the information, and quickly moves into the examination
room. The procedure is performed efficiently, with no delays. After
the procedure, if appropriate, the discharge follows smoothly, without
holding the patient while someone gathers information on whether to
send the invoice or call the patient’s insurance company. The
efficiency of the workflow means that all the patient journey
activities occur at the right time and in the right sequence. This
means that the healthcare provider effectively uses every minute of an
appointment, every minute provided by an already busy nurse, to handle
another file.
These are important ideas, and in ideal circumstances, they would
enable healthcare workers to provide quick, easy care and information
to patients at the point of care. However, healthcare organizations
still struggle with many long-standing pain points, such as an
excessive reliance on manual workflows such as paper-based
documentation and data entry, frustration from disjointed systems that
don’t work seamlessly together, and information silos where critical
information isn’t always available across all relevant staff. All of
these factors add bottlenecks or backorders in the workflow, making
everyone feel stressed on both sides of the interaction.
As with work in any setting, inefficient workflows directly impact and
constrain patient experience and clinical outcomes. For patients, this
could include longer wait times, decreased satisfaction, and, in
severe cases, risks to health should urgent care be delayed, for
example. For providers, inefficiency can mean lower productivity
levels, greater stress, and a trend toward errors, which can translate
into subpar patient safety and clinical care. When work is not done
well or well enough, it becomes difficult for organizations to scale
up operations or respond to changing demand, compounding these issues
further. In sum, enhancing patient care while personally Or
structurally optimizing workflows should be a priority.
One of the clear benefits of custom-building software is that it’s
configured to meet the unique patient workflows and procedures of a
healthcare organization (as opposed to off-the-shelf software,
inherent software, or running the existing processes from a bare
system, which requires reworking to address the pain points). Custom
software is designed to align with how an organization works – so you
don’t have to change how you work. Whether you’re building a system
around the existing procedures, such as automating routine
administrative tasks or tailoring a broader system around patient
intake to speed up the entire workflow, custom software is built to
align with your organization. What are the emerging and long-term
trends that will transform the patient experience, especially in light
of software solutions? Where will humans need to be involved, and
where will skillsets need to change?
Customization is another
overlooked advantage of custom software. The software can be developed
with integrations in mind, particularly with EHRs, telemedicine, and
other platforms the organization is already using. These integrations
mean a more seamless flow of information between departments, less
chance of data entry duplication, fewer errors, and the fact that data
will be there when it is needed. Custom software can also be
customized over time as the organization shifts its internal workflows
or seeks to adopt new technologies.
By contrast, off-the-shelf
solutions usually don’t take into account the particularity of a
provider organization’s workflow challenges. Generic software is
customized in the sense that various features are added or taken away,
but the software itself is a ‘one size fits all’ product. Custom
software starts with a blank screen and works upwards, incorporating
the peculiarities of an organization’s operations in the initial
briefing and continually testing various possibilities in coded
algorithms. In other words, custom software has the advantage of
having been built from the ground up for the purpose of better
addressing the actual operational requirements of a provider
organisation. That level of granularity results in both more efficient
workflows and more effective patient care; it increases patient
satisfaction as well as job satisfaction among healthcare providers.
Customized software solutions for the workplace can feature some important key features that can really improve workflow efficiency for healthcare organizations. One glaring improvement to optimize is scheduling and appointments. Automating the scheduling of appointments can lower wait times for patients while eliminating potential opportunities for over-scheduling or double-booking. An automated scheduling system can also reduce administrative staffing requirements by removing the need to schedule as many appointments manually or reduce live staffing requirements by programming in the times not required by staff.
Another important feature of custom software is the ease of inputting patient data and documentation. With the use of electronic forms and data capture, the level of employee effort to enter data manually on case record forms and charts can be reduced, as can data-entry errors. It is possible for case-record forms to collect information in a balanced, well-designed electronic form, thereby reducing the reply burden. The ability to share data in real-time across departments can ensure that all downstream activities have upstream data when they need it. For example, a physical therapist conducting gait training with a patient will know that they have a left-leg amputation or a left-hip replacement when writing orders for exercises. This can save a lot of time in re-evaluation of the patient.
Better communication tools are also an important aspect of custom software that supports workflow efficiency. Secure messaging platforms and notification systems for staff enable much-needed communication regarding patient care at the point of service so that staff and patients are updated in a timely fashion, and all involved in the patient’s care are ‘on the same page’. Custom software can also provide collaboration tools for multidisciplinary teams to enable communication and coordination of patient care among healthcare service providers from different care settings. These platforms can aid in managing care that is too complex or costly to be provided in a single setting and can support the information sharing, case discussion, and coordination dialogue essential to high-quality, patient-centered care.
Finally, robust data analytics and reporting tools are commonly seen in custom software designed to support workflow efficiency. Such tools enable healthcare organizations to track workflow and detect where bottlenecks or areas of waste exist in the process so that appropriate decisions may be made to optimize efficiency in terms of patient workflow. Customizable dashboards and reports enable providers to monitor key metrics and make changes in their processes at ‘the speed of light’ to address inefficiencies.
When custom software is used to enable more efficient patient
workflows, going through these steps will help ensure the result is
actually a viable fit for the healthcare organization’s needs. 1.
First, workflow analysis. For this edition of the HCPLive article, we
will start with workflow. It is impossible to jump ahead to specific
workflow customization without broad knowledge of existing workflow
challenges. As an example, we might need a patient to enter lab
information into her electronic medical record (EMR) but don’t want
her to enter information that has already been collected somewhere
else. This workflow detail would have been impossible to build without
a prior understanding of the organization’s existing workflow
structure. Analyzing workflow gives you insight into how the existing
tasks or processes work, where the sticky points are, and which
processes could be eliminated or automated. Process mapping, staff
interviews, and time-motion studies are all ways of collecting this
information.
Stakeholder collaboration, a final key practice,
involves bringing together the relevant stakeholders to inform the
software design. Armed with a broad understanding of the need and
vision for the custom software, why not include representatives from
the stakeholder groups in the vendors’ or consultants’ project
meetings to guide the design? If you put healthcare providers in the
same room, you may just have to ask permission to take lunch breaks:
the providers are going to be asking all the questions. Providers can
provide detailed input into clinical care realities. IT personnel can
ask questions from the perspective of the technology, informing design
and integration. Administrators can help ensure the software helps
advance other strategic organizational goals, such as compliance with
regulatory requirements and financial sustainability. Collaborating
with stakeholders to integrate the software program into the realities
of the organization can result in a custom-built solution that does
more than help achieve workflow efficiency. It can also support the
overall mission and vision of the organization.
Lastly, intensive
rounds of training and support are necessary since even the
best-designed software will fail its practical purpose if staff aren’t
fully trained to use it. Necessary training programs should be
deployed for all users of the new system to familiarize them with the
software and assist them in understanding how to adapt the
functionalities available in the new system for fast, accurate, and
efficient ways of working. Likewise, the updates and periodic reviews
of the organizational requirements in line with evolving technological
advances, which are crucial in optimizing the efficiency of the
software, remain key in project fantasies.
In conclusion, custom solutions with the skills and knowledge to design software that fulfills an organization's specific needs can be a powerful way of improving workflow efficiency in healthcare settings. This can be achieved by adapting the organization’s workflow to existing systems, replacing parts that seem to be causing bottlenecks, and integrating the new system into its technology stack so that the existing workflow continues seamlessly. Through this process, organizations can eliminate bottlenecks in their workflow, improve patient experiences, prevent backlogs, and ultimately become more productive. Automated scheduling, streamlined patient intake, improved communication tools, and data analytics are some of the key features that can significantly optimize workflows. To ensure that custom software is well suited to the functional needs of healthcare providers, it is essential to follow the recommended best practices when undertaking their implementation.