There is no denying the fact that technology has significantly acted as a boon to each and every industry around the world, including the medical industry. The traditional methods of keeping track of the patients, their treatment process, and their progress sometimes become extremely cumbersome, monotonous, and leave room for human errors. The introduction of technology and automated software help in eradicating such problems increasing the efficiency of the medical staff and doctors to tend to the patients in an elaborate manner.
Let’s dive deeper into the details of such software and how the patient tracking software and patient management software enhance the healthcare system for the better.
Help in process optimization
There have been studies that have tried to use electronic asset-tracking systems to track the patients as well. The system works in a manner where each patient is given a numbered tag with a barcode to wear on their wrist. Once the tags are scanned into the patient tracking system, they are connected to special software that receives data about their locations in real-time. This optimizes a plethora of operations in a medical facility like obtaining information about the patient with a simple scan, avoiding confusion about the whereabouts of the patients, and ease the process of bed turnovers in a hospital.
Ease of tracking hospital visits
Not only are these applications important to know about the location of the patients on the premises but are also used by some healthcare facilities to track the appointments and progress of the patients. The main idea behind the use of patient tracking software is to improve patient treatment across the continuum of care. It also aids in interoperability in the electronic healthcare records regarding the hospital stays to primary as well as other healthcare providers as the information is not transmitted easily otherwise.
Improves internal scheduling
Staff scheduling can be considered one of the most important aspects of managing a hospital. The patient tracking software makes it easier to observe the overall flow of patients according to the visits, planned appointments, movement from one department to another, and so on. It becomes infinitesimally easier for the administrator to set up staff shifts and monitor if, where, and when there is a need for extra personnel in the medical facility. The software also increases the accountability for accommodating the patients on each step of the way.
Reduces inventory costs and time
The nurses, physicians, and registration personnel have had to spend a lot of time looking up the patients’ information before the introduction of such technology. The patient tracking software has significantly reduced the time period they need to spend on this and help them actually pay attention to the treatment part for a longer period of time. Sometimes this also leads to a decrease in the length of stay at the hospital. Such enhanced experiences lead to a direct increase in patient referrals. The diligent recordkeeping decreases the potential liabilities and keeps the facility in the good books of accreditation agencies as well.
Finally, upgrades the revenue generation system
Patient tracking software can be useful in a multitude of ways. It has been known that along with faster response time in cases of emergencies, the application also expands to better charge capture and quicker revenue generation. There is greater accuracy in claims and denial management which benefits the overall system. There are various types of patient tracking software and it becomes easier to choose one on the basis of the classification of the patient flow challenges that the organization faces. Some of the factors that can help in deciding the appropriate software are determining whether there are patient flow problems like delay in the availability of resources, long waiting times, time and effort spent by the nurses to acquire the latest status on patient’s location, or lab results. Determine the one by such criteria as well as certain other factors in wings like ED and OR.
