In my last post, I mentioned having worked on both sides of the fence as a full-time employee with a single organization and as a consultant where I went between many different client sites to implement technology solutions.
I stand firmly with and can definitively say that having a well-structured, onsite information technology (IT) department is a critical element of the success of any and all technology initiatives.
With the many individuals that make up a long-term care facility, the array of personalities, disciplines, needs and wants all equate to every environment being a very eclectic and unique experience. Staff typically have enough on their plate to where they are hyper-focused on their role within the facility and have little time to evaluate the up and downstream links in the workflow chain they may be a part of.
Combine this with facilities that are feeling the pressures of staffing challenges and burnout, there is little room for the natural manifestation of enthusiasm for pursuing critical thought in terms of seeking innovation. The desire to improve efficiencies is a far thought when we are just trying to get through the day.
Though now, more than ever, is the time we need to examine our workflows and see where we can improve moving data from point A to point B in order to specifically give time back to our medical staff.
With minimum staffing requirements largely measured in hours of care per resident, it is imperative that IT focus on examining workflows in granular detail. We should be asking individuals high and low on the food chain about the particulars. Questions can be similar to (but obviously not limited to) the following:
- Do you spend a lot of time entering data?
- Is there something you wish just “automatically populated” in the EMR?
- Does the equipment that sends data do so in a timely manner (ex: Vital sign machines sending data to the patient record)
- Does the EMR have accurate/efficient forms (Ex: is a lot of time spent on the “other” field)
- How are caregivers communicated to for “potentially” minor items such as a change of medication?
- Does the internet feel fast enough?
- Do systems feel readily available?
IT problems often go unreported because our end users that don’t consider themselves to be “tech-savvy” fear they will sound (for lack of a better term) dumb. How many times have you had a technician come by your workspace and fix something for you in what feels like an instant? The end-user inevitably responds, “Oh? It was that simple?” or “I feel silly… I’ll try not to bother you with this again.”
Thus, for important items like process deficiencies, workarounds are formed and accepted as part of the normal flow of things. These inefficiencies can add up over the period of a shift and when we are talking about the difference of minutes to an hour average variance in resident care, the minor details are what we need to take the microscope to.
IT individuals can do their part by being proactive with questions like the ones above to identify ways for improvement. A good IT administrator is a good detective.
And given that sometimes IT-related subjects or tasks can seem overbearing at first, the onsite IT individual can work with the staff at their pace. The goal is to make individuals feel as comfortable as possible.
We do not always have to spend on IT. There is a great deal that can be done with the products we have in place already that are just begging to be utilized. Challenge your IT department to see what else can be done with even the most basic products like Microsoft. You will find that a lot of these technologies are not a mile wide and an inch deep, but rather a mile wide and a mile deep.
Inevitably (and with the right staff with the right mindset), this will start to build a foundation where the employees understand that their support staff is truly there to support them. This baseline allows for opportunities to bring evolution and innovation into the organization. Software updates/upgrades will be easier to adopt as the staff will be more comfortable asking the “dumb” questions. Workarounds will lessen in frequency.
And best of all, new technologies that can truly unlock the potential for better resident care and resident experiences will be able to more easily “bolt” onto the existing infrastructure.
Adam Saalman is the Director of Information Technology for Holiday Health Care in Evansville, IN. Over the years he has developed a passion for the delivery of efficient IT solutions and services to the medical professionals he serves.
The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.
