Uncertainty is the Only Thing That’s Certain in Healthcare
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D.
I don’t like to write about politics, but politics is once again affecting the future of healthcare. With all the bluster about repelling and replacing the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), I was quite sure, that by now, we would have a new direction in place to chart our industry’s future. Alas, the bluster turned out to be no more than bluster.
It seems it’s much easier to criticize than to find workable solutions.
So, for now, Obamacare is the status quo. Whether we like it or dislike it, the Affordable Care Act is the framework in which we must work. All the while, we still hold our breath wondering if Obamacare might one day be replaced or more likely, amended. But will this make our jobs easier or harder? Uncertainty looms.
Regardless, the essential task is to ensure we keep our organizations viable so that we’re around to do our primary task of caring for people.
In this the call center will play a vital role. Of that, I am certain
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Medical Call Center News. He’s a passionate wordsmith whose goal is to change the world one word at a time.
The Contact Center’s Role in Care Coordination and Management of Patient Transitions
By Traci Haynes, MSN, RN, BA, CEN
The need to coordinate care and manage patient transitions is growing fast. The ever-increasing number of chronic conditions in both adults and children has placed greater demand on healthcare resources and services. US healthcare spending reached an all-time high of $3.4 trillion in 2016. The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease reported in 2015, 191 million Americans had at least one chronic disease and 75 million had two or more chronic diseases. It’s estimated that 15 to 18 percent of children in the US live with at least one chronic health condition.
Many of the complications of the most common and costly chronic conditions—such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, COPD, and asthma—could be prevented or better controlled. In addition, many individuals who struggle with multiple conditions also have combined social complexities. Even the most clinically astute patients have difficulty navigating the complex and fragmented healthcare systems, especially when the responsibility falls to the individual alone without effective support or partnering. This often results in inefficiencies, increased costs, and poor outcomes.
In 2012, The American Nurses Association (ANA) stated that “Patient centered care coordination is a core professional standard and competency for all nurses and should be the foundation for all care coordination programs.” They also said, “Nurses need to position themselves within the interprofessional team to perform this core nursing process and contribute to better patient outcomes.”
Correct care coordination is systematic, organized, and involves teamwork including the patient and family; it requires communication among all participants.
Currently, care coordination is a primary concern with the National Quality Agenda and one of the six priorities of the National Quality Strategy (NQS). A coordinated effort, involving an interprofessional team with the patient and their family, can help to achieve the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) Triple Aim goals of better care, better health, and reduced costs.
The contact center can play a vital role in the effort to manage and improve the patient’s condition. By routinely checking on the patient at predetermined intervals and monitoring the individual’s plan of care, the contact center can communicate with the interprofessional team providing a picture of the patient’s current and recent status at that point in time. Using telecommunications can provide invaluable connectivity not only to monitor patients, but also to provide a meaningful 24/7 clinical assessment capability for episodic care and interventions, should the need arise.
Nursing organizations including ANA, the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN), and the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) have contributed resources to care coordination in the form of position statements, whitepapers, frameworks, policy briefs, a core curriculum, courses, and a certification in care coordination and transition management. There are also effective models and tools, along with hospital and community initiated programs.
Care coordination and transition management is a win for our healthcare system, for the providers (interprofessional team), and, most importantly, for our patients.
Traci Haynes, MSN, RN, BA, CEN is the director of clinical services at LVM Systems, Inc.
Healthcare Call Center News
New Study Examines the Challenges of Healthcare Switchboard Operators
A whitepaper by Parlance looks at the many different call handling and non-call handling duties assigned to healthcare switchboard operators, which can create difficulties in balancing service for callers with support for hospital operations and internal communications. The paper also recommends ways hospitals can better support operators to allow them to easily meet their many competing responsibilities.
Voice communications continue to play a crucial role in healthcare for both internal resources as well as external patients, vendors, insurance agencies, and other public callers. The common denominator among these disparate caller communities is the switchboard operator.
Beyond greeting callers, prioritizing their needs, and connecting them to the appropriate destinations or resources, operators are frequently tasked with a wide array of additional duties, such as announcing and tracking medical codes, coordinating emergency responses and medflights, or monitoring medical gas supplies and facility alarm panels. The workload related to these additional responsibilities, some of which are a matter of life and death, can detract from an operator’s core function of delivering excellent service that improves the patient experience and builds the hospital’s brand.
Learn more at info.parlancecorp.com/empowering-operators.
TriageLogic CEO Honored at Enterprising Women of the Year
TriageLogic CEO, Charu Raheja, Ph.D., was honored at the Enterprising Women of the Year Awards. The Enterprising Women of the Year Awards is a prestigious recognition program for women business owners. Dr. Raheja was recognized April 2 at the 15th Annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards Celebration & Conference.
“The recipients of the 2017 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards represent an amazing group of women entrepreneurs from across the United States and as far away as The Netherlands, South Africa, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Canada,” said Monica Smiley, publisher, and CEO of Enterprising Women. “We could not be more proud to recognize their accomplishments as CEOs of fast-growth companies, community leaders, and role models and mentors to other women and girls.”
TriageLogic was also recently certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise and a Women-Owned Small Business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
Visit www.triagelogic.com for more information.
A Thought for Today
“To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better.” -Victor Hugo