Mary Longe, senior healthcare consultant with AHA Solutions, made an astute observation in a comment on LinkedIn that advancements in patient flow comes in waves, according to a TeleTracking blog post.
According to Ms. Long, the first wave included white boards and phone calls, and due to lack of automation patients often ended up in units not meant for them.
The second wave drew cues from industry as hospitals started talking about "throughput" and "obstacles." Among the results was the recognition that overcrowding is not just an emergency department problem but one that extends through the hospital enterprise.
According to Ms. Longe, the third wave will include partnerships and front-line staff involved in buying enabling technologies. The third wave will also involve automating as many of the physical functions of the hospital as possible and monitoring them in real time to increase efficiency. Automating and optimizing systems and processes will also prevent time waste, according to the blog post.
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