Strategies For Boosting Efficiency In Healthcare Teams

Published on: 28 August 2024 Last Updated on: 31 October 2024

Medical facilities & healthcare teams face numerous challenges from staying a step ahead of patients’ constantly changing needs to managing expenses.

At the same time, technology and treatments are continually evolving. Keeping up with the latest advancements and making them available to patients is a struggle all its own.

Cybersecurity threats and the measures medical facilities are expected to take to mitigate them are also making matters more complicated. On top of those issues, the ongoing shortage of medical professionals continues to grow, which is leading to staffing difficulties.

In addition to those factors, and largely because of them, inefficient workflows are causing significant problems for medical facilities.

They’re affecting the quality of care hospitals and clinics deliver to their patients, and they’re having a negative impact on staff members. By extension, they’re having adverse effects on medical facilities as a whole. Fortunately, a range of clinical workforce solutions is available to help medical facilities overcome those hurdles.

Embracing Technology

Many people believe that technology lies at the heart of medical facilities’ daily operations. That’s certainly true to an extent, but much of the technology hospitals and clinics use focuses on patient care.

Quite a few have yet to incorporate technological advancements that can address internal issues and streamline their workflows.

Those include vendor management systems, patient CRM software, hospital management solutions, patient flow management systems, and many others.

Each of those solutions can help medical facilities automate and improve many of their processes. That reduces workloads on staff members and improves efficiency, and it can lead to more effective patient care.

Recruitment And Staffing Services

Another way medical facilities can boost efficiency is by turning to recruitment and staffing agencies. As mentioned, staffing shortages are among the leading problems hospitals are facing at this point, and they’re expected to grow worse moving forward.

Recruitment and staffing agencies can help their clients overcome staffing shortages. They handle recruitment, credentialing, and other requirements on behalf of medical facilities.

That reduces the administrative burden involved and can shorten the hiring process. These agencies can also address clients’ specific staffing needs via locum tenens providers, specialty physicians, and other solutions.

Medical Facility Advisory Services

Additionally, in healthcare terms professional advisory services can make a world of difference for medical facilities that are struggling with inefficiencies.

Advisors analyze facilities’ workflows and address their specific issues. They can identify bottlenecks, ineffective uses of resources, and other inefficiencies. From there, they offer medical facilities advice on improving their workflows.

They can help their clients implement changes as well to ensure they’re able to make the most of them. Many also offer leadership training to enable medical facilities to sustain efficiency on their own.

Streamlining Workflows For Medical Facilities

Numerous options are available to help medical facilities streamline their healthcare teams. Those listed here are only a few of the general solutions hospitals and clinics have at their disposal.

Just-in-time learning, improved resource management strategies, developing more streamlined facility layouts, and many other effective alternatives are also available.

Medical facilities can also cross-train staff members, implement lean healthcare strategies, and outsource certain processes for improved efficiency.

These solutions can help to reduce administrative burdens, minimize human error, reduce costs, and prevent burnout among other advantages.

They also help medical facilities become more flexible so they can adapt more easily to unexpected changes. Overall, improving efficiency benefits medical facilities, their employees, and their patients.

Challenges Are Inevitable

We talked about the use of technology to improve efficiency, but it fails to mention that there is a barrier for medical facilities and healthcare teams to be able to do so.

Cost Is High

First off, implementing such technologies is expensive. The initial investment and ongoing maintenance cost can be too much for some smaller institutions that do not have large budgets.

What About The Staff?

Secondly, when new technologies are implemented, staff must learn how to use them and adjust their work processes accordingly.

Often, this means taking staff away from their regular workplace duties to attend training sessions on how to use the systems.

This can create a backlog in work productivity when these staff members aren’t performing their regular functions. In addition, it might still take time for a staffer to become accustomed (…and efficient) to using the new system(s) after attending training sessions.

Another common barrier is resistance to change. Some staff may resist adopting new technology due to fear of the unknown or concerns about job security. However, you can reduce these concerns through clear communication and involving staff in the decision-making process.

Is It Reliable?

We also mentioned the advantages of recruitment and staffing services. However, this does not explain whether relying on these services is sustainable in the long run.

From a financial perspective, continuously outsourcing through high-end technology can be costly. If the facility is too dependent on external agencies, this may also overshadow its benefits.

Also, if there are too many temporary staff, Regular staff may feel alienated from their temporary peers. This could potentially affect teamwork and overall morale.

Over time, this lack of cohesion could potentially impact patient care, which is more important than anything in this industry.

They Are Not Replacements!

It’s important to understand that these technological advisory services in healthcare terms are just “advisory.” They’re not a replacement for professional operations staff, and they’re not going to prevent the loss of jobs for operational heads.

The right approach here is probably something in between. Using technology through third parties to cover the gaps where you might be short. However, we also continue to develop internal talent who are competent across all areas of operation performance.

Another strategy is to conduct periodic feedback sessions with the workforce to determine whether their changes make sense and work in a real-life facility.

Final Note!

Improving efficiency in medical facilities is important but not always easy. While technology, recruitment, and advisory services can help, it’s essential to be aware of the challenges and long-term effects of using them.

Balancing outside help with building up your own team and keeping open communication with staff can make this process smoother. In the end, a well-rounded approach will improve patient care, make staff happier, and help the facility run better overall.

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Deepanwita Dey

Deepanwita is a seasoned practitioner of ‘jumping the ship’. She started out her journey with literature and now holds a double graduation degree, one of which is in psychology. As a result, she is now using this skill to help confused job seekers to pick a direction. Given her academic background, her writing is laden with analytical analogies and deep research. As one of Content Rally’s most regular contributors, readers can find a sense of confidence in her writing.

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Intermittent Fasting: How Does It Work and Crucial Things to Consider?

Most of us would prefer to lose a few KGs or pounds quickly before going on a summer vacation. However, it is difficult for anyone to change his/her life-long eating habits. Because most diets that follow a predetermined diet or exclude whole food groups are never really a long-term solution. In fact, you can lose weight noticeably in a very short time through diet cures. As soon as the cure is over, you gain weight again just as quickly. Even worse, nutritionists warn that lightning diets can even cause additional weight gain. However, fasting has been rediscovered in recent years. While diets usually harm health, fasting is said to have numerous health-promoting effects. In particular, the intermittent fasting is to prove the support fat loss, to lower blood pressure and inhibit inflammation. We have summarized for you how interval fasting works and how it can be combined with taking natural hemp oil. What Is Intermittent Fasting and Why It Is Practiced Fasting is understood as voluntary withholding of food for spiritual, health, or other reasons. You must not be underweighted and have enough fat reserves that can supply the body with energy during the period. In most of human history, fasting was part of everyday life. Because hunters and gatherers could not keep their food for long without freezers. Whatever was found or captured had to be eaten quickly. That's why nutritionists are convinced that fasting regularly is more natural than snacking all day long. This change in our eating habits could have made obesity more common than ever. Several individuals fast for many days or even weeks. However, this method is unsuitable for most of us. There comes interval fasting (or intermittent fasting) into play. In contrast to conventional diets, it does not require tiny portions and no omission of favorite foods. In other words, it is not like a traditional diet. Rather, it is a planned eating behavior, in which one limits the food intake to a certain period of the day or the week. How Does Therapeutic Fasting Affect the Body? There are many different reasons why fasting is practiced. In the past, it was more often a religious or cultural tradition. But so-called therapeutic fasting has also been practiced for a long time for medical purposes. The term therapeutic fasting refers to the practice of fasting to promote health and well-being. Further studies have recognized the positive effects of fasting for rheumatism, high blood pressure, and high levels of fat and sugar in the blood. Another health benefit of fasting is the onset of autophagy after 16 hours without food. This is a vital process that some describe as the body's “recycling program.” This is because cells that are damaged or are no longer needed are disassembled and recycled. With this form of cell cleaning, autophagy ensures that we have healthy body cells and a strong immune system. How Long Should You Fast? There are two popular and best methods: 16:8 – Meals are scheduled so that there are 16 hours between the last meal the day before and the first meal the day after. The first meal of the day starts an 8-hour period in which you eat. After that, a fasting period of 16 hours begins again. 5:2 – This method divides the week into fasting days and non-fasting days. On 5 days you can eat normally, on 2 days you fast. Since this reduces calorie intake, both methods should lead to weight loss. Just make sure that you continue to eat normal servings. Otherwise, despite fasting, you might consume as many calories as you normally would. What to Pay Attention To? It is recommended to start with a shorter fast. For instance, you can get used to not eating anything after 6 in the evening. If you then have breakfast at 7 in the morning, it is already 13 hours in which you have had no food. From here you can slowly feel for long periods. The 16:8 method is the best long-term option for most. It is very easy to follow to them by adjusting your daily routine. Some skip breakfast, others dinner. Over time, the body gets used to it and the "diet" becomes a lifestyle. During this, apart from food, calorie drinks are also avoided. You should only drink a lot of water. Unsweetened tea or a bowl of thin vegetable soup can also be enjoyed. There should always be a break of at least 4 hours between each meal. Take a little walk right afterward, because exercise is good for digestion. During this time, it is also important not to eat snacks. When the blood sugar rises, the body begins to release insulin, and the fat loss stops. In some cases, this can even lead to food cravings. Nevertheless, be careful not to eat larger portions than usual. It is also recommended to eat healthy sources of protein and plenty of vegetables. This way you will be full for much longer and fasting will be easier. But people with any medical conditions should consult a doctor before starting this fasting. CBD Oil in Combination with Intermittent Fasting CBD users who would like to start with intermittent fasting and those who want to make fasting easier with CBD often ask themselves whether one can and should safely combine the two. Fasters already know that MCT oil is a suggested supplement when you are on interval fasting. It is an extract from coconut oil that is often touted as a “keto booster.” Slowly body begins burning reserved fat and it is called Ketosis This can only happen if no carbohydrates are available. The result is straightforward - we lose body fat and weight. Exactly this principle also works with interval fasting. Another dietary supplement that is being used more and more by fasting people is CBD oil which can be bought from online dispensary Canada. Due to its effect on the endocannabinoid system, which affects many important body processes, CBD can support interval fasting in various ways. A study showed that it can encourage metabolism. It is therefore considered by experts as a potential means of treating and preventing obesity. There is also evidence that it can inhibit appetite. The well-known cravings of marijuana do not come from CBD, but from THC which can, you get from stashclub. For example, while high-THC medicinal cannabis is used by cancer patients to stimulate appetite, CBD can do just the opposite for many users. Can CBD Oil Break Fasting? Most people do without any calories when fasting. Since CBD oil is made with a carrier oil such as hemp seed oil, coconut oil, or olive oil, every drop has calories. Technically speaking, it could, so to speak, interrupt fasting. Intermittent fasting can be avoided by simply consuming the CBD product of your choice during the period in which you eat. Another recommendation from fasters is to use an MCT-based CBD oil because the combination of these two agents most effectively supports ketosis during fasting. Many fasters swear by CBD and therefore take it to help them get by without food and to prevent food cravings. For example, even if you tend to eat from stress and anxiety, it could help you to be successful in fasting. Read Also: 7 Health Benefits of Black Seed Oil You Need to Avoid These Foods for Breakfast 5 Best Sports To Lose Weight Fast in 2020

8 Motivations to Start Up Health & Fitness

The holiday season is officially over, which means it’s time to start working off some of the extra pounds you picked up at mom’s house. While people generally love the idea of looking like the dudes who do commercials for home-exercise equipment, most of us still hate working out and dieting. If you are one of them, don’t worry. There are a ton of startups offering the kind of motivation you need in the form of mobile apps. Such apps use activity tracking as well as fitness and health risk assessment apps. Today we’ll be exercising our startup muscles by taking a look at some of these young companies and what makes them tick. 8 Motivations to Start Up Health & Fitness: Fitness gamification is huge right now, which makes sense given that it adds a much-needed dimension of play to the arduous task of getting fit. A great example of fitness gamification is Tep, which is basically a cross between a fitness tracker and a Tamagotchi; though, in the case of Tep, the star is a niftily-designed giraffe rather than a globular cluster of black pixels. The more a user exercises, the better the giraffe does (users can buy their long-necked pets treats with rewards points they earn from walking, running and cycling). If users slack off, though, it’s curtains for the poor creature. According to the app’s creators, a group of five super-talented self-starters from Szeged, Hungary, «Tep’s competitive edge relies on emotional connection and the mental „threat“ that the beloved pet might suffer from the lack of proper physical activity and thus offers a solution for curve fatigue effect.» Does that sound a little dark? Sure. But it’s for a good cause. The founding team’s goal is to help users lose eight million pounds of fat in the next three years; there’s also talk of buying a giraffe. The founding team built Tep on their own time and dime, but are currently funded by Traction Tribe and prizes from Microsoft’s Imagine Cup. Tep is available in beta for Android and Windows phones, with an iOS version coming soon. Wokamon If you like the idea of a digital workout buddy helping you toe the line, but giraffes aren’t really your thing, then you might dig Wokamon, which comes to us from Mars Zhu and Hazim Abdul Hamid of Noodum. Wokamon features dozens of animated monsters that get bigger and stronger as you do. Since it comes with a pedometer and syncs with wearables like Jawbone, Fitbit, and Up, you can be sure that every calorie burned gets counted and fed to your growing army of critters. Connecting with friends on social media through Wokamon earns you reward points, which you can burn on unlocking new creatures. Noodum and Wokamon are currently being funded by an $18,000 seed investment from Manchester Metropolitan University’s Innospace Incubator. Gamified fitness apps like Wokamon and Tep have a lot of options when it comes to future monetization. They can either take the Zombies, Run! The approach of charging for downloads (which works if you’re as niche and well-made as that app) or offer in-app purchases for things like new backgrounds, characters, or crystals and boosters for your pet monsters. For now, though, we can take advantage of both Tep and Wokamon for free. Teamster Teamster is an iOS app that, contrary to its name, has absolutely nothing to do with trucking. What teamster does do, though, is help you connect with other people in your area who are interested in the same sorts of athletic activities as you. Conveniently, users are able to identify which sports they like and their level of skill in each on a scale of 1 to 5, which means you won’t be totally outmatched when you meet up for a game with other users. When you find another user who shares your interests and skill set, swipe right in the app to add them to your team. Sounds like Tinder is ubiquitous, doesn’t it? Users can then create activities for other users or teams to join. Teamster comes to us from the Melbourne based duo of Henry Chan and 22-year old Sam McCallum, who has a background in competitive running, cycling, and skiing. Actually, 2015 is shaping up to be an awesome year for apps that bring social networking logic to the gym. Take Boston-based Perspyre, for example, which is coming out soon with a beta version for Android and iOS. The whole point of Perspyre is connecting people who love to sweat and giving them access to workouts, advice, and motivation. Users can log into the app via Facebook and take post-workout selfies, record workouts, and brag about new personal records. Though it’s admittedly a little intense for beginners, Persypre is perfect for those who are already «motivated and dedicated» enough to willingly visit Crossfit and P90x classes. Perspyre is the brainchild of Jason Chisholm and Jeremy Mays and has received $25,000 in seed funding from John Piret of the investment firm Newbury Piret & Co. If Perspyre sounds like it’s right up your alley, keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-launched SternFit iOS app which also gives workout buffs a great platform for sharing pics, tips, and workouts. Rocket Journey If your meteoric rise to peak physical perfection is still in the launch phase, you’ll find a helpful companion in RocketJourney, which bills itself as the «smartest and friendliest way to a fitness lifestyle.» The app’s founding trio of Carlos Ayala, Pablo Artee, and Ernesto Cambuston has received funding from 500 Startups, the seed fund and startup accelerator comprised of Google and PayPal alums. RocketJourney tracks all of your fitness activities from cycling to yoga to lifting to competitive eating — just kidding about that last one — and verifies that you’ve actually worked out through GPS and wearables integration. The app motivates you to stick to your fitness regime by giving you points for completed workouts and taking away points for missed ones. The same logic holds true for user-created «teams» which add the pinch of peer-pressure that it just might take to keep you on track. You can register for updates on RocketJourney’s release on the website. OneSet OneSet — «Vine for Fitness» — is another promising app to stay tuned for in the months to come. Users can create 15-second videos demonstrating an exercise or «stack» other users’ videos into workouts. Since videos are organized by muscle group or goal, it’s easy to find the right moves for you. OneSet’s founding team is based in Waterloo, Canada, and consists of brothers Amad and Shameel Abdullah, as well as full-stack developer George Xu. GYM radio Sometimes all it takes to reach the athlete within is finding the right music to sweat to, or the right gym to do it in. Though GYM radio’s online music streaming service has been around since 2013, its new iOS, Android, and Windows phone releases have made it easier than ever to get amped up and pumped up at the same time. The app features three music settings — cardio, gym, and hardcore-tailored to give your workout the right feel. Here’s the best part: GYM radio is completely ad-free, which means your runners high won’t get interrupted by voice-actors pitching toothpaste or discount car insurance. GYM radio also offers a premium upgrade which, for a monthly or yearly subscription, will let you listen offline, skip songs, and get access to material unavailable on the standard version. Gymhopper Gymhopper — «Uber for gyms»- is a Swiss startup that aims to help you find the right gym by offering its users discounted individual training passes. Gyms benefit from the app by getting a little extra exposure as well as a shot at their target market, people who are actively searching for a new place to get sweaty. Gymhopper is currently in series A fundraising but expects an iOS release later this year. What can fitness startups learn from RunKeeper? Figuring out how to actually make money with your app is a problem that can plague even the biggest of startup fish. Each of the aforementioned apps will have to figure out the right monetization strategy for their product and user-base. One good model employed by the leading fitness tracker RunKeeper is to partner with other businesses to provide sponsored advertising to users. That means Teamster’s users could theoretically get discounts on Nike products for showing up at local softball games, and Perspyre users could get 25% off gym memberships for visiting p90x classes 3 times a week. There are a lot of good ways to get back in shape, and a lot of good startups out there creating more every day. Read Also: 8 Fitness Hacks That Will Make Your Life Better How Do I Get Back In Shape? Fitness Experts Share Their Tips!

9 Signs You Have a Prescription Opiate Addiction

It is no longer a secret that the abuse of opioids is growing and becoming a significant problem in America. It is estimated that more than 2.4 million people in America are abusing prescription painkillers and around half a million individuals are suffering from the abuse of heroin. However, individuals who are abusing opioids often face an extra burden of depression. When left unattended to, depression can make it hard for one to achieve total recovery. Opioid or opiate painkillers are medications that are narcotic and generally prescribed by a doctor. Opioids are used to control pain in many people. Opioid narcotics involve such medicines like morphine, codeine, methadone, heroin, hydrocodone, hydrocodone, and Oxycontin. Opioid abuse and depression : According to studies, the relationship between depression and opioid abuse is bi-directional. This only means that the addition of opioids can lead to recession and depression can lead to opiate addiction. Opioid abuse takes place when a prescription opioid is used for other reasons other than medical or using it for a longer duration than expected. Additionally, taking vast amounts than prescribed leads to opioid abuse. The abuse of opioid has a close associated with higher rates of: Anxiety Depression Bipolar disorders Antisocial personality disorder Schizophrenia Borderline personality disorder Conduct disorders Signs and symptoms of prescription opioid addiction : Several symptoms and signs indicate opiate addiction. It is important to note that not all people experiencing an opiate addiction will show all the following signs. In addition to this, there are some of the symptoms that are common to almost everybody who has a prescription opiate addiction. The symptoms involve: Usage increase: one will be seen increasing their doses more than expected by the doctor. Usage increase eventually results in a growing tolerance to the said drug and finding means of getting the drug to achieve the same effect. Change in personality: shifts in mood, concentration, and energy as a result of making everyday accountabilities a secondary priority to the want for the drug. Social withdrawal: in most cases, the addicted person will distant themselves from friends and family due to that fact that they would want their close members to know about what they are doing or experiencing. On-going use: one will continue using the prescription opioids even after the condition to which the drug was prescribed is over. Increased sensitivity: this involves hallucinations. Normal emotions, sounds, and sights start becoming exaggeratedly stimulating to the individual. Forgetfulness and blackouts: addicted individuals are more likely to forget what just took place as well as experiencing blackouts. Change in appearance and daily habits: the individual will experience a change in eating and sleeping habits and a decline in personal hygiene, constant cough and glazed eyes. Neglects responsibilities: the addicted person will ignore bills and the household chore, as well as calling in sick more often to the workplace or school. Defensiveness: one becomes more defensive as well as lashing out to simple questions to try and hide the dependency on drugs if they feel like somebody will discover them. Causes of prescription opioids addiction : There is no precise cause of why one person will develop an addiction while the other will not when using opioids. According to studies, it is believed that addiction occurs after some factors work interchangeably. The factors include: Genetic: addiction could be hereditary such that if there is a member of the family that has suffered addiction before, it will be passed on to the next generation. While this is not an accurate indicator, it is believed to contribute to addiction. Biological: some studies indicate that there are few chances whereby one is born without the neurotransmitter “endorphins.” In such cases, individuals may turn to outside sources like opium narcotics to fill this inborn deficit. Environmental: people who grow up or find themselves in environments that are chaotic and full of people addicted to drugs, are more probable to experience an addiction at some point in their lives. Psychological: while some addictions are brought up by people trying to self-medicate the signs of an undiagnosed mental disorder, mental illness is a reliable gauge of addiction potential. The prescription opioid addiction is on the rise in America. With people trying to ease pains through painkillers, these painkillers come with their adverse side effects. However, behavioral therapies and medications can help change the situation and restore one to good health.

Strategies For Boosting Efficiency In Healthcare Teams

Embracing Technology

Recruitment And Staffing Services

Medical Facility Advisory Services

Streamlining Workflows For Medical Facilities