In order to improve patient outcomes, a large number of factors come into play. It’s a complex balancing act between finding the right medications, treatments, and courses of action to not only allow the patient to survive, but also thrive. One simple way to help amplify this effort is to incorporate technologies into your practice’s workflow that are designed to improve efficiency and help the patient’s overall wellbeing. Here are 5 major ways to improve patient outcomes by leveraging technology!
Incorporate Telehealth
Oftentimes, a patient needs care, but they don’t have the means to visit an office in-person. Physical mobility issues and lack of transportation have the potential for someone requiring serious medical attention to never receive it. Thankfully, when a practice offers telehealth, patients like this have the ability to connect with providers from their homes, possibly improving their outcome if they have an immediate need for medical guidance.
Reduce Medical Errors
One of the strongest cases for ramping up technology in a practice is the power it has to prevent medical errors. No matter how fastidious staff members are, let’s face it: the more they have to intake manually, the more human error arises. These errors could lead to dire consequences for the patient, even if they seem minor. For example, hiccups in coordination of care could arise, ultimately leading to a suboptimal outcome. This is why clinical efficiency tools tied seamlessly to your EHR are vital. The more data is automatically updated without the need for human intervention, the less chance for mistakes.
Improve Patient Safety
According to the World Health Organization, poor health outcomes due to unsafe care is one of the ten leading causes of death worldwide. One of the ways a patient visit becomes unsafe is when a waiting room is overcrowded, causing people to potentially spread viruses to one another. Controlled two-way texting is an excellent way to keep patients safe by allowing them to wait in their cars until you’re ready to see them. This exposes them to less viruses they could potentially contract in a busy practice, ultimately improving their outcome.
Analyze Your EHR’s Data
When you turn to a patient’s electronic health record for insights on a patient, you see a bigger picture than what a single office visit offers. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) reported that 75% of doctors found EHRs helped them deliver better care. This is because they have access to more information about the patient like social determinants of health (SDOH), previous drug interactions, and life-threatening allergies that can be shared among care teams. Moreover, this data helps providers to identify and rectify operational inefficiencies or safety issues in a practice, which also has the power to help patient outcomes across the board.
Emphasize Digital Communication
Sometimes, the best way to improve outcomes is to better educate patients on their conditions and care plans. In addition to verbally sharing this information during their visit, digitally sending them important notes or materials as a follow-up is a good idea. This way, if they were unclear or forgot about something that was explained in the visit, they’ll have a reference handy. In addition, automatically sending appointment reminders via email or text is a perfect way to prevent the patient from missing their visit, which could naturally affect their outcomes.
Improve Patient Outcomes With DocResponse
DocResponse’s patient engagement platform has the power to improve patient outcomes by providing technology to help practices do the following:
- Their telehealth software promotes virtual visits for patients who are unable to easily attend in-office visits
- Medical errors are eliminated by their comprehensive digital check-in
- Controlled two-way SMS messaging allows patients to safely stay in their cars until you’re ready to see them
- Real-time updates into EHRs ensure physicians analyzing data within the EHR are seeing the most up-to-date information
- Appointment reminders are automatically sent to patients so that they never miss a visit
While patient outcomes aref dependent on a wide range of factors, having technology to promote positive outcomes is a great starting point. Interested in learning more about DocResponse’s capabilities? Schedule a time to chat with our sales team today!