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Handheld Device Applications for Hospital Services

I had surgery this past January and I did not have the most pleasant experience. I was in a lot of pain and it was troublesome to get the attention of the nursing staff for medication, sanitary assistance, or even a food menu. I was not even aware of what procedures or tests I had scheduled for my stay. The ambiguity and lack of answers left a sour note for me and this hospital. I felt like a disruption every time I asked a question. If there was a way to get the answers, then this may have allowed me to rate this place higher.

Presently, it is very simple to carry out a multitude of tasks with the use of a handheld device. Companies like Apple and Samsung have software that permits people to shop, search, and rate products rapidly and across a variety of technological devices such as tablets, and telephones. Additionally, most institutions have information systems in place that hold vital information for the care team. Currently, “these tools help ease workflows and improve communication among clinicians. And they can perform an array of critical functions that once required additional or cumbersome technologies to execute.” (Shaw, 2019). Combining these systems with applications that provide a more patient-centered mindset can be a useful tool that aids both the healthcare team while enhancing the patient experience.

Issuing out handheld devices for patients carries a multitude of benefits. First, it permits conscious patients and healthcare proxies to be more involved with the course of treatment. The personnel involved with the care (patient care techs, nurses, providers, and case managers) can be listed and updated during real-time to reflect shift changes. Apps can be prefabricated that can be used to call for services, like dietary, environmental, and pain assessment. Patients can also view schedules, appointments, discharge plans, exercise, and view user-friendly laboratory, and radiological results. Finally, installing a frequently asked question user guide can reduce the need for calling over the healthcare team.

The healthcare team will also benefit from the use of patients receiving hospital only mobile devices. “The use of mobile devices has been shown to provide [health care providers] with numerous enhanced efficiencies, including increased quality of patient documentation through fewer errors and more complete records, more rapid access to new information, and improved workflow patterns.” (Ventola, 2014). First, it can reduce the number of unnecessary room visits. Nurses can reply to patients more expeditiously via text from anywhere on the floor. They will also have limited exposure to the patients. This is important especially now with COVID-19 being prevalent. Finally, the team will be freed from attending to redundant tasks and can focus on their primary duties.

“Improving that experience, ultimately, helps improve patient retention, peer referrals, and your brand, all of which directly impact your ability to attract new patients and increase revenue.” (Catley, 2017). Another important attribute is that patients will feel more empowered with their choice of treatment and progression of care. Transparency will increase trust in the health care system encouraging patients to adhere more to offered healthcare treatments, thus, leading to healthier outcomes.

         References

Catley, J. (2017, April 13). Why Authenticity Should Be At the Core of Your Hospital's Digital Marketing Strategy. https://www.mdconnectinc.com/medical-marketing-insights/authenticity-hospital-digital-marketing.Frakt, A. (2018, July 16). The Astonishingly High Administrative Costs of U.S. Health Care. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/upshot/costs-health-care-us.html.

Shaw, G. (2019, May 1). Mobile Computers for Healthcare: How They Benefit Patients and

Staff. Technology Solutions That Drive Healthcare.

https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2019/09/mobile-computers-healthcare-how-they-benefit-patients-and-staff.

Ventola, C. L. (2014, May). Mobile devices and apps for health care professionals: uses and

benefits. P & T: a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4029126/.

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The True Cost of the Healthcare Labor Workforce

Routinely, patients attending appointments in hospitals, on average, only interact with a few personnel before seeing their licensed provider. However, there a multitude of people, including aides, technicians, engineers, ancillary support members, facilities operators, and cleaning staff, that play key roles in this person’s healthcare. “At just over 25 percent of total spending on hospital care (or 1.4 percent of total United States economic output), American hospital administrative costs exceed those of all the other places” (Frakt, 2018). By identifying the costs, creating solutions, and predictive analytics, hospital administrators can maintain healthy operating finances.

There exists a multitude of expenses hospitals need to spend on their hired labor. The primary expenditure is the salary of their workers. Secondary to the aforementioned are benefits (healthcare, investment, commuter), continuing education, personal protective equipment for the staff, and general supplies. A hidden expense concerning labor is the costs of recruiting and retaining staff. High turnover incurs uncalculated operational increases and budgets may have to be adjusted to increase advertising, hire contract workers, and pay overtime to the current staff. “Recent studies of the costs of nurse turnover have reported results ranging from about $22,000 to over $64,000 (U.S.) per nurse turnover” (Jones & Gates, 2007). These costs need to be contained to mitigate damage to the operational budget.

With charts detailing that labor costs are only going to increase in the United States, it is up to senior leadership to find solutions to retain and recoup these losses. Administrators can focus on increasing revenue and diminishing costs. Priority should be placed on receiving due payments for services rendered. These payments can come from insurance companies, Medicaid/Medicare, and from patients. Forms of mitigating costs may come from renegotiating contracts with biotech companies and pharmaceuticals. “Additional labor savings can be provided by increased use of analytics to change workflows in the revenue cycle” (Daly, 2019). For example, implementing joint ventures with other healthcare institutions to share costs, staff, and revenue may help sustain budgets and create an opportunity for novel ideas.

Government policies, such as the Affordable Care Act, have reinvented how hospitals are reimbursed. Further mandating of revenue reimbursement from a per-cost system to a value-based one, will target budgets directly. These laws have been set in place for a few years now and administrators have had sufficient time to reevaluate their processes and to reorganize workflows. With the advent of bioinformatics and data collection, institutions can use predictive analytics to reassess true expenses, and hidden costs to curtail any leaks unnecessary lost revenue.  Additionally, managers can use this data to reallocate staff appropriately from lesser utilized locations to those in higher need without the necessity of hiring new staff.

           Labor costs are a substantial component in the operations of a hospital. It is up to administrators to think of intrepid concepts to lessen the impact of these expenses. Having foresight with the assistance of data analytics can aid any institution in maintaining a healthy operation while not diminishing the care of its patients.

 References

Daly, R. (2019, October 1). Hospitals innovate to control labor costs. Healthcare Financial Management Association. https://www.hfma.org/topics/hfm/2019/october/hospitals-innovate-to-control-labor-costs.html.

Frakt, A. (2018, July 16). The Astonishingly High Administrative Costs of U.S. Health Care. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/upshot/costs-health-care-us.html.

Jones, C. B., & Gates, M. (2007, September). The Costs and Benefits of Nurse Turnover: A Business Case for Nurse Retention. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume122007/No3Sept07/NurseRetention.html.

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From Green to Blue: Forging Leadership and Authenticity

           When I was 17 years old, I went into a Marine Corps recruiting office and was given a choice of word magnets to select those characteristics which were most important to me. Among the 4 magnets I selected, leadership was number 1. At that time, I lacked self-confidence in myself and my life choices. I felt that perhaps with great mentors and a structured organization, then maybe I can become something more. I use the Marine Corps as a guidebook into defining the leader I am today.

An important lesson I learned from my senior drill instructor was that among all of our recruits, there is always a leader. This does not inherently mean that they are good at what they do. I was informed to scrutinize these “leaders”. My instructors advised me to learn from those who lead from the front, and practice what they preach. Furthermore, it was just as important to learn from the bad leaders about which practices not to replicate when I chose to become a leader.

Who am I as a leader today? According to Morgan, “…a leader is someone who does more than just leads people. They have to be driven by the right motivation and make a positive impact on the people around them.” (2020).  I acknowledge that I am a leader who is also a student. I need to remain flexible to the constant changes occurring in my life, whether at home or work. I strive to continue excelling by advancing myself academically by obtaining a master’s degree in healthcare administration. This program has taught me vital lessons that I can return to my employment. Also, I seek counsel from those in higher positions so that I can improve myself and my team. Finally, I pursue networking opportunities for exchanging ideas, resolving problems, and creating growth.

My employer expects me to deliver on the objectives of the administration. Those include leading my team towards delivering optimal laboratory results within respectable turnaround time. Maintaining and troubleshooting our laboratory equipment worth over 1 million dollars. Remaining cost-effective by reducing unnecessary utilization of medical reagents and supplies. Finally, and most importantly, to keep my team and me safe by adhering to universal precautions.  

Snook and Craig define, “Your leadership purpose is who you are and what makes you distinctive.” (2014). I have learned that my military core values are usable in a healthcare setting and I use this ethos at my workplace. In the Marines, they preach about “Honor, Courage, and Commitment.” These morals allow my leadership purpose to remain authentic. Furthermore, I must stay true to my capabilities. I strive to nurture the coworkers that exude potential by educating them and delegating additional responsibilities. Also, I assist those who are behind in their tasks. Additionally, I seek assistance from the experts and learn from them, thus improving my reliability. Last, I strive to remain accountable for all of my actions, hence building trust among my colleagues and management.

Though I feel I am heading in the right direction, I have learned through this course that there are subjects I need to work to be a better leader at my job. My first lesson is that it is ok to fail, and if I do then I should fall forward. This reinforces what my military instructors stated that no lesson is a bad lesson. Second, it is acceptable to pause and to reassess oneself. One way to do this is to seek feedback from trusted officials. Last, I should give feedback to my coworkers. It ensures that I am engaged with them and redirect them when not adhering to company protocol.

I gladly state that I utilized my lessons from the Marine Corps to create the foundation from which to build my leadership style. Mission accomplishment and leave no one behind are objectives that translate from the battlefield to my current healthcare setting. I hope to honor those leaders, both military and civilian by adhering to the principles they placed in me and will remain as authentic as possible.

 References

Morgan, J. (2020, January 13). What is leadership, and who is a leader? https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/01/06/what-is-leadership-and-who-is-a-leader/.

Snook, S. A., & Craig, N. (2014, August 18). From Purpose to Impact. Harvard Business

Review. https://hbr.org/2014/05/from-purpose-to-impact.

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From Green to Blue: Transforming Military to Healthcare Leadership

           In 1999 Marine Corps drill instructors forged this teen into a battle-ready Marine. They emphasized the importance of becoming a leader and to not remain as a follower. They told me that leaders inspire their troops through motivation, model behavior, and leading by example. To assist us into become future leaders they used the over 200-year history of the Marine Corps to instill pride. Kevin Kruse would say that my drill instructors exemplified his definition of leadership be restating, “Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.” (2015). Even though I am not in the Marines anymore, their lessons of leadership can be applied to the health care field.

        The driving goal of health care management is to provide the best quality of care to the patients entrusted in their care. My first encounter with healthcare leadership occurred

at the first hospital I was employed in. I was given a tour of the medical lab, the position I was hired for. My supervisor, Ann, picked up a purple blood tube. She explained that behind every specimen there exists a person attached to that sample. She continued, “Please remember this whenever you run a test.” The personification of this reminded me of my military values of troop welfare and service before self. I was grateful that my supervisor was able to engage me in the workplace at the onset of my career.

        Ann had the characteristics of an authentic leader. Some of her traits include having “drive…; leadership motivation (the desire to lead but not to seek power as an end in itself); honesty and integrity; self-confidence…; cognitive ability; and knowledge of the business,” (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991). She was an

inspiration who always valued the feedback of her employees and was always

willing to detail the actions of the staff to our senior management.

        The most effective exercise that I learned the most about how to be an effective leader occurred from scenario-based situations. When a lesson was being taught, a problem was explained that occurred in the lab. Before offering the resolution, Ann would ask the staff what went wrong. We would be allowed to brainstorm to explain all of the possible scenarios that may have led to a detrimental outcome. After we described all of the potential reasons for how the problem occurred, Ann would state exactly what happened but then she would use our examples to teach us how to prevent the problem from occurring again. Thus, not only did we learn how to resolve one problem but a multitude of similar problems at once.

          Leadership values can be transferred among different forms of institutions. Combining my military background with my civilian one permits me to tap into a more transcendent form of leadership. The life experiences from both provide me the tools that will enable me to be an effective leader

 References

Kirkpatick, S., & Locke, E. (1991, February 01). Leadership: Do traits matter? Retrieved June 09, 2020, from https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/ame.1991.4274679

Kruse, K. (2015, September 02). What Is Leadership? Retrieved June 08, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/

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Government Policies and Their Effects on Consumer Costs

           Government officials have a civic duty to use their constitutional powers allotted to them towards passing legislation that will yield the best health care results to its constituents. Unfortunately, these are moments when healthcare prices are rising and now the government must be reactive to lowering the costs before it becomes unaffordable to the regular American. One example is America Patients First detailed by the HHS to curtail pharmaceutical prices (HHS, 2018). Current policies have made healthcare providers scramble towards adapting from a fee-based to a value-based method of reimbursements. It has been argued that this will have positive and negative effects attached to the prices for care.

           As the USA focuses on value-based care, some positive effects will be created which will enhance a patient’s care. “While incentivizing volume can lead to reduced waiting times and better access to healthcare, fee-for-service... models lack incentives for improving quality: providers are paid for the quantity of care that they deliver, not for the impact on the health status of their patients,” (Vlaanderen et al., 2019) The primary effect is that providers must focus on improving the result of care. They will redirect resources on quality by reaching certainly established markers. By reducing the waste on the quantity which may be costly, price reductions will be passed towards its consumers.

          However, some controversies have been brought up by certain nonprofit institutions. They argue that creating quality markers will have negative effects. Kreidler added, “However, with the shift to integrated delivery systems, some researchers and practitioners argue that the philanthropic model is no longer viable in today's health system environment” (2018). These nonprofit healthcare providers may be forced to compete against other organizations (whether public or private) for patients. If patient volumes decrease, the survivability of these institutions is threatened since revenue will decrease. Less income will lead towards less revenue for charity-based reimbursements and eventually closure of these places. As places for healthcare decrease, they argue that prices will go up.

           Change has arrived to the healthcare sector. Larrat summarized, “In addition to dealing with federal and state initiatives, many public and private insurers have been affected by technological advances that have caused the reallocation of fiscal resources in the health insurance marketplace” (2012). Only time will tell whether these movements will truly benefit all of the people.

 References

American Patients First The Trump Administration Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce

Out-of-Pocket Costs . (2018, May). Retrieved from

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/AmericanPatientsFirst.pdf

Kreidler, M. L. (2018). Health Care Management. Health Care Management – Research

Starters Business, 1–11. Retrieved from

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=a02aadc2-2944-4927-931b

7d54fc1bbc4d%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPXNoaWImc2l0ZT1lZHMtGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=31962709&db=e6h

Larrat, E. P., Marcoux, R. M., & Vogenberg, F. R. (2012). Impact of federal and state legal

trends on health care services. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management, 37(4), 218–226. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3351856/

Vlaanderen, F. P., Tanke, M. A., Bloem, B. R., Faber, M. J., Eijkenaar, F., & Schut, F. T. (2019).

Design and Effects of Outcome-Based Payment Models in Healthcare: A Systematic

Review. European Journal of Health Economics, 20(2), 217–232. Retrieved from

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=6fab29f4-932e-4593

afa5-ecf27ca29f34%40sessionmgr4007

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Limit Medical Malpractice Claims

The purpose of filing a medical malpractice claim is to justifiable compensate a patient for an obvious malpractice scenario that occurred in the hospital. However, malpractice cases are running rampant and it is now in itself a business. Zaidi explains that “Critics argue that medical malpractice has, instead, negatively impacted health care in two specific ways: (1) the phenomenon of “lawsuit lottery” or “jackpot justice” and (2) the growth of “defensive medicine” (2018). With deceitful attorneys filling their pockets with promises of wealth to their clients, no regard is given to where the money is coming from. Limiting medical malpractice claims will curtail this business while saving hospitals per case “an average payment to plaintiffs of over $1.1 million” (Gonzalez, 2019).

          The first reason for passing this regulation is that standardization of malpractice will be defined. Currently, malpractice is demarcated by numerous state laws that are incompatible with one another. Standardization will help define the reasons for proceeding with a malpractice claim. This creates a simpler definition of what grounds can a malpractice claim occur and how much compensation they can get. This makes the process fairer and transparent among all of the citizens throughout the country.

          The second reason for limiting medical malpractice claims is the cost-saving measures this will provide towards hospital budgets. Placing caps on the compensation totals will deglamorize the for-profit medical claims that attorneys are running. This “reduces the incentive to sue” (CBO, 2016). Consequentially, this will create savings in the hospital budget by reducing the need for hiring lawyers for lengthy court cases. These savings can be utilized to reinvest towards community outreach and other hospital programs.

          Lastly, our providers will benefit greatly with a reduction in medical claims. The cost of providing care will decrease thus allowing providers to save by obtaining cheaper malpractice insurance. According to the CBO, a fair share rule will be implemented allowing, for providers to be sued for liability to only parts pertaining to the service they provided and not anything else beyond their control. Also, since the prices of malpractice will go down some providers can opt to stay within the specialties and not opt towards switching to practices that are currently lower in cost. This is the case gynecologists endure, “Malpractice litigation not only distracts and demoralizes but also increases the cost of professional liability insurance, making it difficult for OBGYNs to maintain affordable liability coverage” (Gonzalez, 2019).

          Savings can not be emphasized enough when describing the positives of limiting medical claims. Hospitals have a complicated budget with no promises of reimbursements from the clients they care for. Any investiture of income whether from outside sources or cost-effective saving actions will benefit the coffers of the hospital. This revenue can be reinvested into the communities they serve, technological advances, and towards employees they employ. These measures will positively impact the care of the patients in their service area.

   References

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE CBO Options for Reducing the Deficit. (Dec 2016). https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/52142-budgetoptions2.pdf

 Gonzalez, B. (2019). When Tort Falls Short: Crisis, Malpractice Liability, and Women’s Healthcare Access. Columbia Law Review, 119(4), 1099–1132.

 Zaidi, D. dzaidi@wakehealth. ed. (2018). Maintaining the Punitive Element of Tort through Social Sanctions in Malpractice Reform. Journal of Legal Medicine, 38(3/4), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1080/01947648.2018.1476275

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Genetic Testing and Healthcare

Genetic Testing and Healthcare

           The human genome is composed of a set of 23 chromosomes that carries the genetic blueprint (DNA) for the creation of each and every one of us. A few biotech companies like 23andme are leading the forefront into delivering over the counter access to this data to the individual consumer. The ability to have access to this information has brought new positive possibilities about catered individualized healthcare, in addition to, a whole new set of dilemmas.

           Certain positive outcomes that are advertised to the consumer include access to information that may prove beneficial to an individual’s health. Erdmann elaborates, “Medicine is already becoming highly personalized—for instance, cancer therapies can be based on the genetic makeup of a tumor, and tests can help predict how your body will react to certain medications” (2019). Additionally, testing for markers for genetic deficiencies can help aid providers towards the rapid identification of degenerative conditions. “A prolonged and sometimes complicated search for a diagnosis can effectively end when the specific gene cause(s) is identified for a child’s medical problems” (Falk, & Moreno, 2019). Both of these types of tests have optimized healthcare in the hospital and the clinical setting.

           However, genetic advancements have progressed so quickly that not all of the potentially negative consequences have been alleviated. Firstly, and most importantly, having a gene deficiency does not inherently mean that the individual will have an expressed condition. Secondly, legislation has not had the opportunity to protect the consumer entirely from the release of genetic data to third parties. Finally, the OTC kits like 23andme only provide information for a few genetic markers, thus giving their consumers a false sense of hope if they tested negatively for a cancer marker. Kaufman summarizes, “Fragmented and low-value health care only increases costs without evidence that they improve outcomes.” (2019).

           More information is always great but only when given to those that can interpret the data correctly. Dissecting the most pertinent of genetic details is best left to the providers who can use the data as a tool in addition to having the whole clinical picture of the patient. Healthcare is advancing rapidly and when guided with appropriate supervision, innovation will benefit all parties, the individual, and the healthcare team members.

  References

Erdmann, J. (2019). Consider Your Health Future with Care. Real Simple, 20(12), 67.

Falk, M. J., & Moreno, M. A. (2019). What Parents Need to Know About Genetic Testing. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(4), 404. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0005

Kaufman, R. (2019). Genetic Testing Gone Wild. Managed Care (Langhorne, Pa.), 28