Author: Jennifer Gene

Healthcare Workforce Optimization Through Clinical Mobility

Healthcare organisations are doubling down on clinical mobility deployments, from rugged smartphones and tablets to wearables. More clinicians are equipped with mobile devices and the secure apps that run on them as part of their day-to-day activities. This healthcare technology trend is the result of healthcare organisations looking for technology solutions that help them provide the highest quality of care in an increasingly complex environment.

The Challenges Driving Healthcare Workforce Optimization Solution Adoption

Healthcare organisations are facing pressures on several fronts that create barriers to meeting the demand for care, operating compliantly, and creating positive patient experiences to provide the best outcomes. Current healthcare workforce challenges include the following:

Adapting to Clinician Shortages

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts physician shortages of between 37,800 and 124,000 professionals by 2034. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at BLS.gov, there will be an average of 189,100 openings for registered nurses each year this decade, outpacing the number of people entering the field. Furthermore, professionals working on understaffed teams can experience burnout, leading to resignations and additional vacant positions. With the volume of patients seeking care in an ageing population, the burden on clinicians will only increase. Healthcare teams need the support of technology to accomplish more successfully with fewer people.

Changing Patient Expectations

The evolution of the healthcare industry has included a shift from provider-driven to consumer-driven decision-making. Patients want attentive care without an excessive wait. They also demand personalised care, transparent pricing, and to stay informed about their treatments and expected outcomes. Having data readily available at clinicians' fingertips with mobile solutions helps to influence empowered patient-consumers as they choose their providers.

Preventing Medical Errors

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that medical errors contribute to hundreds of thousands of negative patient outcomes and $20 billion in annual costs to the industry. Teams need better processes to communicate, manage data, and reconcile medication protocols. Automating data entry and patient ID verification can mitigate errors.

Keeping Up with Constantly Changing Regulations

Government regulations, industry standards, and local policies continually change based on the best available information. However, changing requirements can lead to an increasing administrative burden. Teams will benefit from healthcare workforce optimisation solutions that make the latest information readily available, ease the burden of frequent staff training, and balance compliance with care delivery.

Upgrading to the Latest Technologies

Technology itself can create challenges if solutions are complex and come with a steep learning curve. Healthcare solutions should be intuitive so teams aren't focusing on training on a new device instead of on patients.

What Technologies Are Available for Healthcare Workforce Optimization?

Clinical mobility solutions are often the key to overcoming the challenges that healthcare workforces face. Depending on the clinician's role and the task at hand, organisations can deploy a variety of healthcare-specific solutions to save time, increase accuracy, and improve employee and patient experiences:

• Tablets for access to electronic health records (EHR) or the organisation's applications and to streamline data entry
• Barcode/QR code scanners for confirming patient ID, tracking, supplies management, and accurate medication administration
• Smartphones equipped with push-to-talk for efficient communication and collaboration
• Mobile workstations that give clinicians easy access to a PC, barcode scanner, and communications, along with other essential equipment and supplies

Clinical Mobility Helps Overcome Healthcare Workforce Challenges

Clinical mobility solutions make technology tools and data instantly available to healthcare professionals as they provide care. They save time, allowing teams to focus on patient care and protecting clinicians from overwork and burnout. Specifically, mobile solutions for healthcare support workforces in the following ways:

EHR Integration

Clinicians have on-demand access to patient data, whether they're in an exam room, the emergency room, a hospital room, or in a telemedicine meeting. They can review charts, lab work, and care plans immediately to make informed decisions without delay.

Easy Collaboration and Communication

Communicating with legacy paging systems frequently led to waiting for a response. Healthcare workforce optimisation leveraging mobility solutions can give care teams direct lines of communication to all members for improved decision-making and collaboration.

Digital Patient Communication

In addition to facilitating communication for the care team, clinical mobility solutions can also make clinician-patient communications easier. Mobile healthcare solutions give clinicians tools they can use for telehealth meetings, secure patient messaging, and alerts from patient monitoring devices. Clinicians can manage their time better, saving in-person appointments for the most critical needs.

Streamlined Admin Tasks

Using optimised and easy to use mobile solutions, teams can keep track of their time, streamline scheduling, and manage HR documents - eliminating paper and speeding manager approvals. In departments where time is a premium, minimising the hours on administrative tasks can ease stress on employees.

The ROI of Clinical Mobility

Although patient care, accuracy, and optimal patient outcomes are the primary focus, clinical mobility also has benefits for the healthcare organisation itself. Allowing the clinician to update charts immediately eliminates the need for another team member to perform that task later. By eliminating that step, managers can assign staff to more critical tasks. Additionally, the overall time savings that mobile devices deliver lead to prompt care, improved patient experiences, and the ability to see more patients within office hours or a hospital shift.

Because mobile healthcare workforce optimisation solutions accurately keep track of time and services that clinicians provide, they result in more accurate charges. Software provider HybridChart reports that paper-based systems lead to a loss of 8% to 12% of hospital-based charges. Mobile solutions mitigate those losses by recording charges as clinicians provide care.

Clinical mobility solutions are also effective tools for patient education. They give nurses an easy, familiar way to review discharge instructions, which can reduce readmissions.

Learn How Your Healthcare Workforce Can Go Mobile

Healthcare teams are facing an unprecedented onslaught of challenges, from labour shortages and changing patient expectations to keeping up with changing regulations and advancing technology. Fortunately, mobile solutions give healthcare workforces user-friendly options to access applications and data, save time, reduce errors, and deliver the best possible patient outcomes.

Levata's healthcare team can help match the right clinical mobility solution to your workforce's needs to optimise workflows. Let's work together to keep nurses at the bedside focused on patient care with technology solutions to meet their needs.

Contact us to learn more.

About the Author:
Jennifer Gene is the Vice President of Healthcare and Public Sales at Levata. With over 20 years of deep experience leading high-performing teams and advising healthcare organisations, Jennifer brings a strategic, outcomes-driven approach to healthcare technology transformation. Throughout her career, Jennifer has partnered with hospitals, health systems, and care networks to navigate the unique operational, regulatory, and clinical challenges that define the healthcare industry. Specializing in mobility, automation, and real-time visibility solutions, Jennifer helps healthcare leaders implement technology that empowers frontline staff, streamlines workflows, and increases productivity—without disrupting patient care.