If one wanted to put it in somewhat edgy terms, one could say Bill Charnetski has gotten around.

Or to put it another way, Charnetski is a man of the world. His studies and experiences in his nation’s capital have served him well. When it comes to the intersection of government, law and business, he knows how to make the connections.

Working in federal foreign affairs and defense departments will do that for you. And that’s not even taking into consideration perspectives Charnetski gained while working in global affairs for a major pharmaceutical company.

That’s why it pays not to shrug off his observations, especially as they relate to our struggle to escape the pandemic’s grip.

Take, for example, the deadly global health emergency has also provided some good. Like a schoolyard bully who’s yet to meet his comeuppance, COVID-19 has forced us to put up our dukes and figure out better ways to survive.

Sure, it’s laid bare systemic insufficiencies and inequities. Federal regulators and mainstream media have been only too glad to point out that.

But the key is the pandemic has compelled caregivers, among many others, to recognize and discuss weaknesses and then pursue solutions. To historic proportions, COVID has been both oppressor and motivator.

This is a good thing, Charnetski rightly points out.

Now, more than ever, is the time to achieve greater connectivity among data sets, such as health records, billing systems and other software applications.

It’s time to eliminate as many hard-copy paper tasks as possible. With crippling workforce shortages in play, any hour that can be taken from filling out papers by hand or faxing forms around may mean an hour less of expensive agency staffing.

It’s time for certifying EHR adoption that better supports health information exchange and promotes the notion of true, systemic interoperability.

In Charnetski’s current role as executive vice president in charge of health system solutions and governmental affairs at PointClickCare, it’s understandable he would be a cheerleader for better ways to integrate data into patient care.

But the same could be said for countless other long-term care stakeholders. And players in the healthcare universe (writ large).

There’s no other way to get out of the Gordian Knot we find ourselves in, other than by investing in technology and greater innovation. When staff — from nursing aides on up to building administrators — are so often in short supply, work processes must be modified. “Doing more with less” should become “doing more with more (technology in play).”

Nurses need to be practicing to the top of their certifications, not transcribing notes by hand and  stapling records to patient gurneys as they’re wheeled out the door. That’s called an invitation to human error, burnout and more hospital readmissions.

As Charnetski pointed out to me this week, providers have, by and large, been working with very small margins and have been overburdened since before the pandemic.

“Add in staffing issues, combined with the slow return of census … if you put that all together, we’re never going to get the tech investment without the help of policymakers. There needs to be incentives in place — carrots and sticks.”

To that end, it would be nice if long-term care finally got a seat at the Meaningful Use table. To hold nursing homes up to high standards without being allowed a speck of the federal funding in that program — like their acute-care cousins were treated to — is one of the true debacles of the last decade.

Some good news, however, is that there have been technological advances accelerated by the pandemic. For just one very low-level example at the personal level, try to recall life without Zoom meetings or Google hangouts. It’s tough, isn’t it? The advances in healthcare administration and technology, especially telehealth, are vocational examples.

In multiple ways, COVID has compelled us to do better. Even if sometimes it’s just to have discussions that in the past were too easy to put off. Not any more.

James M. Berklan is McKnight’s Executive Editor.

Opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News columns are not necessarily those of McKnight’s.