Healthcare Informatics Short Paper

Healthcare Informatics Short Paper The information that is gathered every day in healthcare drives patient care and the improvement of the quality of care. For the purpose of this paper we are going to look at how the Director of Admissions uses technology systems to improve patient care and minimize costs while maximizing efficiency. We are also going to look at how the system the Director of Admissions uses drives the decision making within the institution. The technology system a healthcare organization uses is extremely import to the Director of Admissions and their staff in the area of patient care because they are the first line of defense when it comes to getting people admitted and into a room in a timely matter. “Admitting a patient to inpatient care is a complex process that, unless carefully managed, can lead to long delays in service and a poor patient experience.” (healthcatalyst.com) Technology systems can help improve the quality of patient care by allowing for direct admission. Direct admission is when a patient is admitted before arriving at the hospital and can be planned or unplanned. Planned direct admission is when a patient is coming in for a scheduled procedure and an unplanned direct admission is when a physician decides to admit a patient rather then send them through an emergency department. (healthcatalyst.com) In order for direct admission to do its job in improving patient flow, shorter wait times, and improve patient experiences, the Director of Admissions needs to ensure everyone is on the same page and there is an open line of communication between physicians, nurses, registration staff, and other departments. The Director of Admissions can also help to minimize costs while maximizing efficiency by reducing the number of patients readmitted each year. The Director of Admissions and their staff can help with this goal by identifying the top reasons patients were readmitted. If the Director of Admissions and their staff can identify certain race, income, or payer status, along with certain conditions such as, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or renal failure as the top reasons for readmission they can work with other departments to come up with a better system for when patients are discharged. (guidewaycare.com) They can work with other departments to improve things like the quality of discharge instructions, and scheduling follow up appointments. Ensuring that patients understands discharge instructions is crucial in lowering readmission rates because if a patient does not understand how to treat themselves at home their condition will only worsen. Follow up appointments are crucial also because it gives the patient the opportunity to address any issues, they have had with their discharge instructions. Technology systems can also assist the Director of Admissions in decision making by easily providing information regarding goals that have been set. For example, If the healthcare institution has set a goal to reduce emergency department wait times, the director of admissions can see if they have or have not met this goal. If they have failed to reach the goal the system would be able to help them decide what areas still need to be improved upon to continue reducing wait times. Most of the technology systems also keep track of supplies and inventory to better assist in reordering. They also keep track of employee logins and how they are using the system so the Director of Admissions can better track their employees progress in utilizing the system and decide who needs more training in what areas. The information that is gathered every day in healthcare drives patient care and the improvement of the quality of care. For the purpose of this paper we are going to look at how the Director of Admissions uses technology systems to improve patient care and minimize costs while maximizing efficiency. Technology systems can help improve the quality of patient care by allowing for direct admission. Direct admission is when a patient is admitted before arriving at the hospital and can be planned or unplanned. The Director of Admissions can also help to minimize costs while maximizing efficiency by reducing the number of patients readmitted each year. The Director of Admissions and their staff can help with this goal by identifying the top reasons patients were readmitted. They also keep track of employee logins and how they are using the system so the Director of Admissions can better track their employees progress in utilizing the system and decide who needs more training in what areas.