Here are three systems your hospital should use for improved efficiency.
1. Bar code tags for inventory management. Tagging equipment with bar codes as they arrive at the hospital will help organize the process, says Adam Lynch of Principle Valuation. The bar code tag should be recorded with an asset's place on the fixed asset ledger. You can use bar code systems to ensure equipment is maintained to a standard code. When equipment is disposed of, it can be easily identified and removed from the records. The bar code tag system also helps you keep track of the equipment as it moves between departments in a hospital or between hospitals within a health system.
2. Use data to predict patterns. Melinda Noonan, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, director of nursing operations at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, says Rush uses TeleTracking software to collect and analyze data, which then improves the hospital's ability to predict staffing needs, patient volume and other trends. "People like to say that emergency admissions are random," she says. "They are and they aren't. There is some predictability. Mondays are called 'ER Mondays' all over the country. We actually took historical data and put it through simulation software so we can see that 80 percent of the time, this is what our census is going to be on a given day and shift."
She says the ability to simulate patient flow and throughput is essential when mistakes are not an option. "You've got to get matching of staffing and census right now. You can't afford to have mistakes on it anymore," she says. The ability to predict staffing levels on a particular day saves the hospital money by reducing staffing waste and decreases patient wait time by assigning the correct number of providers to the predicted volume.
3. Stay updated on revenue cycle technology. It's important to stay abreast of the ever-changing technology in the healthcare environment, according to a report from National Patient Account Services. When implementing new revenue cycle and collections technology at your hospital, you want to make sure your manual processes are effective and Business Process Outsourcers can help with smoothing out a an inefficiencies.
1. Bar code tags for inventory management. Tagging equipment with bar codes as they arrive at the hospital will help organize the process, says Adam Lynch of Principle Valuation. The bar code tag should be recorded with an asset's place on the fixed asset ledger. You can use bar code systems to ensure equipment is maintained to a standard code. When equipment is disposed of, it can be easily identified and removed from the records. The bar code tag system also helps you keep track of the equipment as it moves between departments in a hospital or between hospitals within a health system.
2. Use data to predict patterns. Melinda Noonan, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, director of nursing operations at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, says Rush uses TeleTracking software to collect and analyze data, which then improves the hospital's ability to predict staffing needs, patient volume and other trends. "People like to say that emergency admissions are random," she says. "They are and they aren't. There is some predictability. Mondays are called 'ER Mondays' all over the country. We actually took historical data and put it through simulation software so we can see that 80 percent of the time, this is what our census is going to be on a given day and shift."
She says the ability to simulate patient flow and throughput is essential when mistakes are not an option. "You've got to get matching of staffing and census right now. You can't afford to have mistakes on it anymore," she says. The ability to predict staffing levels on a particular day saves the hospital money by reducing staffing waste and decreases patient wait time by assigning the correct number of providers to the predicted volume.
3. Stay updated on revenue cycle technology. It's important to stay abreast of the ever-changing technology in the healthcare environment, according to a report from National Patient Account Services. When implementing new revenue cycle and collections technology at your hospital, you want to make sure your manual processes are effective and Business Process Outsourcers can help with smoothing out a an inefficiencies.