As healthcare continues to grapple with workforce challenges, organizations must look at how they can harness the power of technology and innovative processes to alleviate the strains on their workers, Murielle Beene, DNP, RN, senior vice president and chief health informatics officer of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health told Becker's.
A critical aspect of this endeavor is exploring alternative avenues for delivering care, with a specific focus on leveraging the potential of health information technology, according to Dr. Beene.
One way organizations have been meeting this call to action is by expanding their use of virtual nurses and virtual sitters.
Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health said it intends to have virtual nursing in each of its markets by the end of 2023, with plans to have it across the entire system within five years, as the initiative has been producing promising outcomes for the system.
According to Kathy Sanford, RN, executive vice president and chief nursing officer at CommonSpirit Health, the health system has seen a significant boost in patient satisfaction scores and nursing satisfaction scores.
Virtual nursing at CommonSpirit has also contributed to a reduction in key metrics such as length of stay, infections and falls.
Other healthcare organizations following suit include Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems; Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare; and Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Many of the hospitals and health systems rolling out virtual nursing have reported that the approach has alleviated burdens on its nursing staff and is closing the gap with nursing shortages.
AI and ambient voice dictation
Healthcare organizations have also been introducing generative AI to their EHR systems to asynchronously draft responses to patient messages for providers.
Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health; UC San Diego Health; Madison, Wis.-based UW Health; and Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care are among the healthcare organizations piloting the new technology to take off the administrative load on their providers.
According to Brent Lamm, UNC Health's CIO, the technology has the power to help physicians spend more time with their patients and less time with the computer. The health system has been working very closely with Epic by having weekly check-ins to provide feedback that is directly incorporated into the application's design to improve clinician experience and patient outcomes.
These initiatives come at a time when many hospitals and health systems are looking at how technology can help redesign work processes in healthcare.
"I do think we need to rebuild the work in healthcare. We can't hire enough people today to fill the jobs we have. We need to redesign the jobs so they're doable," Rob Allen, president and CEO of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health told consulting firm A&M. "A lot of that, I believe, technology can help us with."