Documentation mistakes can put organizations and agencies at risk of consequences, including audits. Your home health and hospice agency can operate more efficiently and retain happier staff members by implementing a scalable automation solution. In addition, implementing a tool to manage the important administrative responsibilities of your organization can free up your caregivers to concentrate on what they do best — providing high-quality care.
How Many Errors Are Reported Each Year Due to Human Error?
Medical errors are mistakes made in the course of providing medical care to a patient. They’re preventable and often severe.
According to a 2016 study conducted at Johns Hopkins, approximately 250,000 people pass away every year as a result of medical mistakes, making this the third most common cause of death in the US. Roughly 9.5% of all deaths in the nation are due to medical errors.
But, luckily, there are technological advancements that can help home health care and hospice agencies prevent these types of fatal errors.
Accurate documentation provides protection from malpractice and helps ensure patient safety. For example, incomplete information about patients in electronic medical records (EMRs) can cause:
- Duplicate testing
- Increased expenses for patients
- Unsafe situations for the patient — for example, if an allergy to a particular medicine isn’t documented
Proper record-keeping is essential to ensure that patients receive the quality care they require in the home.
With the aid of a customizable home health and hospice agency automation system, our nurses and doctors can automate the same care that we could deliver to patients in a hospital setting. The system can also handle scheduling, correspondence, billing, and other documentation requirements so we can concentrate on our patients’ needs.
How Much Do Employees Appreciate Modern Technological Solutions at Work?
Employees want technology to make their jobs easier so they can do them more efficiently and accurately.
Clinicians in home health and hospice need to effectively communicate with everyone involved in patient care. Being able to easily access a patient’s entire medical history in one location is another crucial aspect for staff members of home health and hospice agencies. We can pay more attention to the patient if we don’t have to spend as much time looking for patient data.
Modern technology has also improved how connected employees feel to the company they work for. Better technology encourages better engagement, which boosts productivity. This way, we can devote more time to patient care and less time to office work. Payroll and billing are important, of course, but a data management system not only reduces errors but also allows for cost savings.
The ability to streamline workflow for home health and hospice agencies is another advantage of an automation system. This eliminates the need for caregivers to spend time retrieving medical records and processing insurance claims. Caregivers will be happy to be able to focus on the needs of their patients rather than the paperwork, which will allow patients to receive even more attention.
How Does Using Modern Technology Make Your Agency an Attractive Place to Work?
Utilizing platforms for employee recognition programs is one way to use modern technology to raise employee morale. According to a Forbes study, organizations with employee recognition programs had a 31% lower rate of voluntary turnover.
Since the COVID-19 epidemic pushed the workforce to remote and hybrid work environments, employees are increasingly looking for recognition for their hard work and dedication. There are several recognition program platforms to help keep employees satisfied and engaged.
Another way that technology can make your agency appear more appealing to potential employees is by digitizing all of your agency’s data. Providing clinical teams with access to all of the patients’ data at all times allows health and home care workers to focus on providing care rather than asking repetitive questions about medications or allergies.
Employees who use the platform frequently need a user-friendly interface to quickly navigate through all the necessary documents and get to the actual care. It’s also important to remember that many older patients will be using this technology, so the interface must be simple and easy to use.
Implement a Customizable Automation Fit for Your Agency’s Needs
Your home health care or hospice agency can gain a competitive advantage in the healthcare market by automating manual and routine tasks.
Replace your time-consuming and frequently illegible paper workflows with a digital system that will improve patient care and make your job easier.
Integrate all of your physical and digital documentation into one place with WorldView.
