Guy, a recognized industry thought leader, is the president of SmartSense, IoT solutions for the enterprise.
As the healthcare industry works to improve access to care, the use of pop-up clinics and other drop-in locations is gaining popularity. Considering reliable transportation is a key social determinant of health, forward-thinking healthcare organizations are working to meet patients where they live to offset barriers to care.
To maintain the same standards of quality in remote access points, they must invest in proper equipment, technology and process optimization.
Managing Location And Condition
As healthcare organizations work to maintain the trust of patients while they show up in new, distributed locations to deliver care, they must take a holistic approach to quality control. It’s not just the medications, samples and vaccines that must be stored and handled properly. The care rooms, prep areas, beds, carts and overall facilities must be kept in the highest quality condition as well.
Meeting patients where they are means transporting necessary equipment to and from the pop-up location. Real-time location services can help healthcare organizations keep track of examination tables, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, stethoscopes, bandages and wound dressing supplies, portable ultrasound machines, infusion pumps and many other items.
Anytime that transport of inventory or critical equipment is involved, the possibility of losing something goes up. Having visibility into the condition and location of inventory and equipment must be continuously accessible to run pop-up clinic operations with accuracy and efficiency. The inventory used at pop-up clinics likely can also be used back at the central healthcare organization. Tracking and managing its travel, sanitation and proper lifecycle is essential.
Condition data is also critical for maintaining quality, especially for medications, samples and vaccines. It’s impossible to offer a high level of treatment without condition monitoring. Temperature, humidity and gas levels are more likely to fluctuate during transport, and supporting their stability is necessary for maintaining the efficacy of medications and vaccines.
The Trend Toward In-Home Care
The world is more interconnected than ever before. During the Covid-19 pandemic, an acceleration in technology and consumer behavior rapidly brought the delivery of goods and services to the home. Coupled with that shift is the continued rising cost of healthcare in the U.S.
Moving forward, technology will be a key part of the strategy in reducing the cost of healthcare, and part of that strategy will be facilitating more and more of the delivery of care in the home.
This trend of in-home delivery has already started with $265 billion worth of Medicare services projected to shift to the home by 2025. Plus, there are indications that patients recover faster in their own space due to lower risks of infection and injury, better mental response, scheduled care and social interaction and support.
Healthcare delivery needs many advancements—digital transformation, simplified cost structures, closing gaps in access and outcomes for minorities—and the trend toward in-home care will be a critical component in realizing those improvement goals.
Learning Lessons From Rural Primary Care
Although not the same application or environment as rural primary care delivery, pop-up clinics share similar challenges:
• Added costs associated with sending supplies to a remote location.
• Potential inability of the care recipients being able to easily travel to an alternative location to receive care, especially when weather conditions prohibit speedy travel.
• Less long-term infrastructure or high-cost equipment available to care providers.
• Limitations in staffing, professional expertise and ability to attract top talent.
To mitigate the issues associated with these challenges, both rural and pop-up clinics should:
• Implement strategies and tools to determine proper demand forecasting about medications, vaccines and everyday supplies.
• Invest in processes, technology and training that maximize quality and resilience so patients can be treated at the right time without having to take on the burdens and costs associated with traveling for care.
• Identify equipment that can take advantage of predictive, preventative maintenance instead of only relying on scheduled checkups.
• Empower medical professionals and support staff with digital workflows, automated monitoring and prescriptive guidance to prevent burnout and ensure that employees have the time and resources to focus on delivering exceptional patient care.
Conclusion
Improving access to healthcare is a complex and multi-faceted endeavor, but organizations can’t afford to wait for the perfect solution while there are critical improvements that are attainable today.
Pop-up clinics and other innovative venues for healthcare delivery will continue to make healthcare more accessible by meeting patients where they are. The speed and agility of healthcare organizations will improve and the key to maintaining patient satisfaction will be an unwavering commitment to maintaining high levels of safety and quality no matter where the care is delivered.
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