Care Delivery 2019: Staying the Course

By Matt Bourne, VP of Medical Sales

January 8, 2019

 

As we begin the new year, ‘tis the season for annual prediction posts. We all wonder what the year will hold. What should we anticipate in healthcare?

 

Predictably, 2019 will continue to bring lots of change for the healthcare industry, especially our ambulatory care customers. New technologies are poised to affect changes in care methods, the supply of quality caregivers is in high demand and outpatient volumes are increasing.

 

Healthcare systems will need increased access to primary care to manage disease states for their expanding patient populations—think hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and asthma. Primary care also acts as a feeder program to the higher acuity services health systems provide.

 

Increased patient flow tends to stress current healthcare system design, workflow and staff, drawing more attention to existing pain points. Our dedicated and knowledgeable sales team works closely with customers to understand those pain points. Paraphrased care provider comments like these listed below provide insight into the challenges and issues confronting ambulatory care.

 

  • My experience is that many of my fellow care providers don’t always take the time to take BP the way we were taught in school. It’s not uncommon to see patients on fixed-height exam tables with feet hanging off the end and arms by their side.
  • Most of the time, we have to ask wheelchair patients their weight instead of actually weighing them.
  • I hear reports of 2-3 patient falls off the exam table per week.
  • I find that turning my back to the patient is a problem. Some of us just hold the laptop so we can face our patient.
  • Knowing cycle times with vital signs equipment is important in proving we can save time and decrease errors.
  • As we’ve expanded, we’ve lost visibility to patients. We don’t know how long our patients have spent waiting in waiting areas or alone in exam rooms.

 

Each of these comments illustrates a challenge that Midmark is well-equipped to help our customers face. We can help our customers deliver better outcomes by teaching them how to harmonize technology and equipment with the right workflows to create better care.

 

Understanding that new technologies will change the industry this year, our work with caregivers in their daily tasks shows us there’s still a real need to help our customers standardize on good processes to reduce waste, improve care, and drive towards better outcomes.