Reigniting the passion of those called to health care

As our industry evolves away from fee-for-service and toward value-based reimbursement, the health IT industry has incredible opportunity to impact the world’s health. Suppliers can evolve technologies to support the delivery of care as health care provider organizations align with this shift. Technology is a key enabler for health care providers working to increase the value and quality of care that is provided, while ultimately creating a better experience for patients, including improved health outcomes and safety. At the same time, advances in technology can improve the work life of health care providers as well – truly satisfying the quadruple aim.

We are beginning to see the foundation of these evolutions today. Consider the effort to use technology to assess health care workflows and identify gaps in care, and the statistics around patients who leave the hospital with outstanding diagnostic tests. One study showed that more than 40 percent of all patients leave the hospital with diagnostic tests still outstanding – of those, more than 9 percent of the test results would have changed the patient’s care. That means a large selection of discharged patients – a group that providers are required to improve metrics upon by the government – are leaving the hospital with potentially undiagnosed conditions, which could lead to a readmission. This is detrimental for the patient who wants to get better and also the health system that wants to meet quality and safety regulations.

While that was an example of opportunity in the acute care space, there are applications to leverage health IT solutions and practical knowledge in the post-acute setting as well. First, it’s important to note that clinician-to-patient ratios in the post-acute care setting, like rehab and recovery facilities, are typically larger, especially as pressure mounts for increasingly affordable rehab options. The high staff-to-patient ratio created by the need for affordable care, alongside more patients being referred to these facilities, creates high potential for clinician burnout. And it creates challenges for monitoring these patients.

I am proud to share an example of one of the many ways that my organization is leveraging technology to serve the needs of the patient and care provider alike. Working with Mission Health, we analyzed the patient monitoring program in the falls-risk section of the neurological ward in one of their hospitals. The program enlisted one-to-one sitters for this high risk population. The team decided to integrate Cerner Patient Observer, which includes advanced motion tracking technology, to monitor patients for specific movements that indicated they were about to get out of bed and potentially fall. The patient sitter was able to watch a dashboard of six different rooms and intervene when needed to prevent a fall. When a patient went beyond a boundary identified by the technology, the patient sitter could intervene. During the 3-month study, the average falls rate, as measured per 1,000 patient days of care, dropped from four per month to zero. What an incredible innovation that used technology and critical thinking to improve the health of patients and the satisfaction of providers. Cerner is continuing to invest in this area and is bringing this same solution to additional clients.

These are just two examples of how our industry can continue to develop technology that can improve patient safety while at the same time alleviating some of the stress faced by care providers. Not only do technology advancements like these improve lives, but they improve quality for the organization and have the potential to make it easier for providers to care for patients at scale, keeping costs lower and improving the satisfaction of clinicians who work day in and day out to provide high quality and safe care.

For those who work in health care, it’s a calling. Providers were drawn to serve because they are passionate about improving the health of the people they serve. Imagine what possibilities remain for helping providers improve care for patients through smarter technology. Technology has the power to make our health care providers more efficient while also improving the safety and quality of care they provide to their patients – the goal of all of those called to serve.