Introduction
Hospital wait times have long been an issue amongst patients in emergency rooms as it’s unrealistic for every patient to receive assistance as soon as they arrive in the emergency department. Those with life-threatening injuries have priority while those without are still suffering and have no alternative but to wait for medical attention. In an age where technology has solved numerous everyday problems and businesses are continually evolving with new innovations, is it possible for hospitals to implement similar concepts to create an efficient organizational structure and increase employee productivity? This short paper explores alternative solutions to reducing wait times by reassigning hospital duties, implementing a new pay
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Organization and Efficiency
Hospitals are massive industries that have hundreds of operations occur in short periods of time. With all of these operations occurring simultaneously, there has to be an effective organizational system to handle all of these processes. When the organizational system fails to keep processes from operating there are repercussions that occur that affect hospital staff, their current patients, and all new incoming patients. We can see these repercussions today from the extremely long wait times in hospitals. The severity of these wait times has adverse effects on the morality of the hospital staff as well as those who seek care. Currently, wait times for both complex and minor conditions appear unbearably long. Looking at the Ontario Ministry of health and long-term care it is evident that there are incredibly long wait times. The provincial targets are at a total time of 8 hours for complex conditions and 4 hours for minor conditions. One can search the site for wait times in the past month (ED Wait Times). There are hospitals that fall below the provincial target
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These non-nursing jobs consist of but are not limited to changing linens, transporting patients, and taking out the garbage (Robeznieks 2015). The amount of time used for non-nursing tasks could be allocated to assisting in the duties that a nurse is obligated to fulfill. With nurses performing the correct duties, there will be increased efficiency throughout the emergency and triage departments and the non-nursing duties can be delegated to the medical assistants who can easily handle the tasks. The overall increase in efficiency is undeniable as trained medical staff does not need to be transporting patients themselves from department to department. Medical assistants can easily pick up the excess non-nursing tasks to create a more efficient environment. Looking at all the staff there has to be implementation or an evaluation or the current process that is untaken in emergency
As compassionate organized individuals, they are involved in providing hands-on patient care as well as efficient office management, which entail tasks such as: • Assisting with minor surgeries • Evaluating vital signs and measuring patient's height and weight • Performing basic laboratory tests • Removing stitches and changing dressings • Scheduling
Decision makers will need to determine how to best utilize nurses, technicians, and other professionals to close the gap in providing services to patients. Nurses require less time to train, are less expensive to train, cost less to employ, and can increase the efficiency and productivity of physicians who provide care to patients. The increase in the use of health care services as well as the increase in the number of venues where health care is provided has also increased the job opportunities for nurses and other members of the healthcare workforce. The demand for primary care services has stimulated the training of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse
Both O’Shea and NEHI are correct in their statements. When non-emergent patients seek care in the emergency departments, waiting increases for those less acute patients. Emergency departments triage patients to determine which patients have the more serve cases. Those patients are brought back to been seen first, and those less urgent patients end up waiting to be seen (NEHI, 2008). All of these excess patients leads to overcrowding in the waiting room, but also in the emergency department (O’Shea, 2007).
Introduction For several decades, government officials and healthcare experts have been discussing the broken and dysfunctional US healthcare system. The US ranks highest for cost and lowest for outcomes. Healthcare accounted for 17.4 percent of the gross domestic product in 2013 (CMS.gov). The Institute for Healthcare Improvement highlighted the quality of healthcare in the US or lack of quality with the 100,000 lives campaign. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement brought national attention and awareness to the epidemic of hospital errors and the loss of life related to those errors.
I. VA Healthcare Problems with the Media Concerning Wait Times a. The media reported many complaints that they heard about and discovered form veterans. Many of the veterans were not receiving proper treatment in time and some were even dying. This caused alarm to both military personal and the Federal Government.
Working in a renal/urology medical-surgical unit, it is a challenge for both the nursing staff and nursing administration to have readmissions due to fluid and electrolyte imbalance from patients with ESRD and CHF. In my own experience, patients who have been in and out of the hospital for the past six months to a year are at a higher risk of acquiring nosocomial infections resulting in a weaker immune system to an already compromised one, as well as longer hospital stay. Readmissions from these patients pose as a physical, emotional and financial strain to both patients and/or their families. Additionally, readmissions within 30 days for patients with CHF poses as an additional cost for hospitals as there is reduced Medicare payments for Inpatient
As a new student in the healthcare industry, I have been intrigued by the many career paths that are available to me. One career that has caught my attention is medical assisting, which is a vital and growing profession in healthcare. Medical assisting is a great career ladder for individuals who want to work in the healthcare industry because it provides a broad range of skills, opportunities for advancement, and a chance to make a meaningful impact on people's lives. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), medical assistants play a critical role in healthcare facilities, and their demand is expected to grow by 19 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Some of the cons while working in a hospital is inconsistent, overnight hours, exposure to illnesses, and stressful situations that may arise regularly.” working in a Hospital: Healthcare Insiders on the Pros and Cons. " Working in a Hospital: Healthcare Insiders on the Pros and Cons. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2016.
However, the metric indicate that aspects such as consumer convenience and efficient handling of the patients have been noted. On the other hand, most of the employees are developing resistance towards the new system due to the high level of accountability required. The report therefore looks into the suitable decision that the hospital management should consider. What are the key decisions that have to be made at GGH?
This would result in more queries for clinicians which adds up to the time medical coders and clinicians will be unable to prepare ICD-9 claims. Ironically, this comes at a time when practices are being encouraged to make their business practices increasingly efficient and save cash to get through periods of delayed reimbursements after October 1. However, there is a solution of hiring more coders as employees or freelancers to cover the deficit. But this comes at the cost of more planning and budgeting for staffing.
Other tasks may include maintaining the front desk and waiting areas, and performing general accounting, bookkeeping, and billing tasks. A major duty of an Administrative Medical Assistant is to keep the physician’s office running as smoothly as possible. Specialized Medical Assistant’s primary focus is on performing specialized clinical tasks. This allows them to work more closely with the physician, and serve the patients more directly. Specialized Medical Assistant’s report directly to the physician or the administrative manager.
Hospital Readmission has a high burden to both healthcare systems and patients. Most readmission is thought to be related to the quality of healthcare system. In the US, nearly 20 percent of Medicare patients are readmitted within 30 days after discharge and related with an estimated annual cost of 17 billion (1). Hospital readmission for patients early after an inpatient stay can be a traumatic experience (2).
Previously, majority of healthcare systems were driven by other goals such as ensuring enhanced care access, containing the costs of healthcare delivery, and promoting patient convenience/customer service in a bid to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare. However, the financial collapse had far-reaching consequences for the healthcare systems as it
Nowadays, Canadians are concerned with many issues. Healthcare system in Canada is one of the major concerns of many Canadians. It is the government’s responsibility to find the best solution for this issue. The Canadian Health Care System provides many free clinical supports to all Canadian citizens that have the Canadian health card. There are many debates on the public health care system in Canada.