Unfortunately, there’s aren’t thousands of nurses available to fill those spots despite a mandate requiring an increase in the nurse-to-population ratio.
Strategic use of healthcare IT can help senior living and post-acute care organizations address staff shortages. Interoperability between systems plays a significant role in improving the efficiency of an organization and the job satisfaction of employees.
Integrated health IT tools can reduce the number of staff needed and help retain existing staff through improved experiences.
How Do Integrated Health IT Tools Improve Senior Care Efficiency?
Senior living and skilled nursing organizations want nurses and caregivers to be able to work at the top of their licenses. Health IT tools with automation capabilities can take care of rote tasks and, as a result, improve productivity and alleviate the need to hire additional staff. Removing redundant systems and repetitive manual work improves workflow efficiency. It can also reduce human error.
Charnetski pointed out that, in nursing homes with a high number of Medicaid patients, electronic health record use was associated with 50% higher likelihood of achieving a better quality rating. Another study showed significant reductions in patient malnutrition and urinary tract infections after implementing an EHR. This shows that having an EHR improves health outcomes, which is a goal for all organizations, and relieves caregivers of some of the stress associated with caring for residents or patients.
“It is a virtuous cycle among streamlined workflows, better access to information and increased job satisfaction,” says Charnetski, adding that clinicians now have access to real-time data they can use to improve care delivery.
Integrating virtual care with an EHR allows quick access to qualified physicians, which can enhance staff confidence and efficiency. Another health IT tool that can mitigate the effects of staff shortages is automated communication around scheduling. Tools can pull in census data to assist schedulers in meeting hours. They can broadcast open shifts to selected staff and have the schedule filled quickly.
Charnetski emphasized that the adoption of health IT solutions alone won’t solve a problem, but it’s a start and a necessary factor to alleviate staffing challenges.
“Technology needs to be supported by user-friendly systems,” he said.
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The Impact of Interoperability Standards on Senior Care
When it comes to interoperability, regulation is increasingly moving from the federal to state level. Different states are doing different things, which creates complexity according to Charnetski, especially for those operating across state borders.
Another area of complexity: More senior living organizations now have a physician onsite, which can bring increased state or federal regulation. If there are different rules at the state level about the exchange of health information between providers, then it can be unclear what each organization should be doing.
“If we end up with standardized sharing across states, then there will be more consistent care delivery,” says Charnetski.
He adds that if there are going to be mandates related to national interoperability then the industry needs a robust health IT infrastructure in place. Aligning interoperability standards from state to state and sector to sector can optimize the value of investments and resources from health IT, added Charnetski.
“Interoperability is important for staff retention,” he said.
A bidirectional data flow enables organizations to improve outcomes in their own patient populations, but many organizations are still resistant. While PointClickCare doesn’t move data without an organization’s consent, Charnetski believes that it’s essential to continue the interoperability conversation.
“It’s important to show the value without minimizing the risk. The reality is that systems would be better off and able to create more value if they’re able to use data responsibly,” he said.
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