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Community hospitals are consistently faced with the burden of discovering new ways to improve patient care and clinical performance while getting the most from their limited resources.

One simple strategy for maximizing their staff’s output with minimal strain on personnel and budgets is role-based eLearning over their healthcare IT platforms and tools.

By giving healthcare workers the ability to engage in flexible, self-guided learning via a digital space, community healthcare facilities can improve their quality of service and sustainability. In parallel, they can then create more opportunities to drive operational and clinical efficiencies.

The most effective eLearning platforms for healthcare IT and other end-user solutions:

A Look at eLearning in Your Facility

A report from ECRI states that at least two out of the top ten healthcare technology hazards are related to knowledge gaps in EHR utilization.

For example, if patient data processes are not understood by a clinician, they create inefficiencies in care delivery that can negatively impact the entire care continuum. Education on the proper and optimal use of an EHR platform or any other end-user system is essential to avoiding those situations while creating more opportunities for growth and improvement.

Other difficulties simply come down to time and resource management.

It can be cumbersome for community hospital clinicians to dedicate large portions of their days to classroom training. eLearning delivered in small, focused lessons helps improve this time management challenge by allowing completion of training at the learner’s own pace.

Most community hospitals have limited time to acclimate employees to new technology and processes, plus face an additional challenge of high employee turnover rates. A role-specific eLearning curriculum offers an added element of interactivity that enables a consistent learning experience and makes on-boarding new employees less time-consuming and more efficient.

The ease and speed eLearning adds to training makes it a valuable, resource-saving solution.

Healthcare IT eLearning Ultimately Means Better Care Delivery

In healthcare IT, technology changes rapidly, often driven by regulations that can marginalize smaller providers. All this volatility furthers the healthcare IT learning and education gap, especially in already struggling community hospitals.

By blending the flexible and intuitive capabilities of an eLearning platform with other instructional methods, community hospitals can improve efficiency on EHR adoption, support positive clinical outcomes, and increased patient satisfaction

At MEDHOST our eLearning solution, MEDHOST® Learning Essentials, creates an effective online learning environment to create a strong foundation of MEDHOST product knowledge.

For more information about how our MEDHOST® Learning Essentials’ role-specific, interactive, and self-paced eLearning experience can help support your hospital’s training and education goals, please contact us at inquiries@medhost.com or call 1.800.383.6278

At MEDHOST, we provide exceptional solutions and services with a goal of continually educating our customers so they can achieve their optimal clinical and operational outcomes. Our Education team consists of highly experienced instructors, eLearning developers, and instructional designers who provide you with world-class training and resources.

Learn from experts with decades of healthcare experience and rise to the top of your department. Learn more about MEDHOST Education offerings.

 

The National Rural Health Association (NRHA)’s annual Critical Access Conference (CAH) is going virtual September 22-25 to adapt to the pandemic.

During these challenging times, the seamless operations of electronic healthcare records (EHRs) are even more critical to support the hectic workflow of healthcare facilities. As a result of the fast-paced nature of healthcare business operating in an industry slow to adopt technological advancements, EHRs that are not properly set up can create gaps in care. For example, the underutilization of the EHR and lack of proper training for the hospital’s end users could affect the adoption of it.  In fact, 20 percent of EHR system installations could be considered a failure. Fortunately, many of the challenges that can cause hiccups in the hospital’s operations can be prevented with the proper setup and implementation of the EHR.  

Brush up on best practices implementations during our industry insider webinar at this year’s CAH conference with Doug Allen, Senior Vice President of Implementation Services at MEDHOST. As HIT professional, Doug has extensive experience handling the set-up and implementation of a variety of IT infrastructures across a wide spectrum of healthcare facilities and clinics. A keen observer and listener, Doug and his team work together with providers behind-the-scenes, to orchestrate the least disruptive implementation for MEDHOST solutions, while avoiding interference of daily operations and ongoing patient care 

Tune in to the webinar Wednesday, September 23that 4:00 p.m. CST for more insider and expert advice on how to drive your implementation success. 

Check back here next week for our exclusive interview with President of NRHA, Pat Schou, as she discusses her role in NRHA’s initiatives during the pandemic and what to expect at the conference. 

For more information on how we can help, email us at inquiries@medhost.com or call 1.800.383.6278 to speak with a MEDHOST specialist. 

The Texas based health system has extended its partnership to include its new behavioral health facility

FRANKLIN, Tenn., August 25, 2020 – A Texas-based health system, Carrus Health, and MEDHOST, a leading EHR (electronic health record) and healthcare IT solutions provider, recently completed the implementation of MEDHOST solutions at Carrus Health’s new behavioral hospital. The MEDHOST solutions are intended to boost the hospital’s clinical and financial performance and provide stability to the facility’s IT environment. Carrus Health System will utilize MEDHOST’s cloud-platform Enterprise EHR and Revenue Cycle Solutions at Carrus Behavioral Hospital, the latest addition to its group of hospitals.

MEDHOST partnered with Carrus Rehabilitation Hospital and Carrus Specialty Hospital (LTAC) prior to this recent implementation. Carrus attributes their ongoing partnership with MEDHSOST to its quality solutions, dedication to customer excellence, and exceptional service.

“I am very blessed with the opportunity to lead an amazing team which serves three hospitals located on our beautiful Sherman, Texas campus,” said Brad Sidlo, Hospital Administrator at Carrus Health. "All three of our Sherman hospitals utilize MEDHOST solutions and services. Having confidence in all aspects of your EHR solution is invaluable for us and critical to our ongoing success. From billing, to clinical care to reporting, MEDHOST helped guide us in a very organized manner from project kick off to completion. Beyond offering an optimal solution, it is evident MEDHOST wanted to exceed our expectations which we really respect and appreciate.”

“Despite a multitude of unforeseeable challenges during implementation, including construction delays and the COVID-19 pandemic, our collective teams at MEDHOST and Carrus Health were resilient, highly collaborative, and effectively communicative in a timely manner,” Brad Sidlo added. “We all had to be very flexible, but I think that says a lot about both of our organizations’ sincere mission to put patients first.”

“At MEDHOST, it is all about how we support hospitals with the solutions and services that enable them to fully focus on what they do best — provide excellent patient care even during these unprecedented times” said Bill Anderson, Chairman and CEO at MEDHOST. “Working with dedicated and focused health systems like Carrus Health is a privilege, and we look forward to our expanded partnership with Carrus Health as we continue to support their commitment to excellence.”

About MEDHOST

MEDHOST has been providing products and services to healthcare facilities of all types and sizes for over 35 years. Today, more than 1,000 healthcare facilities are partnering with MEDHOST and enhancing their patient care and operational excellence with its clinical and financial solutions, which include an integrated EHR solution. MEDHOST also offers a comprehensive emergency department information system with business and reporting tools. Additionally, its unparalleled support and cloud platform solutions make it easy to focus on what’s important for healthcare facilities: their patients and business. Connect with MEDHOST on TwitterFacebook and LinkedIn.

Contact:
Samra Khan
Sr. Enterprise Brand Manager
615-761-1000, ext. 2119
Samra.khan@medhost.com

The uniqueness of each hospital or healthcare system present individual challenges that deserve their own solutions. MEDHOST’ Managed Services  Toolkit Administration is a new subscription service that caters to EDIS customers looking to customize solutions without the need for time-intensive upgrades or coding changes. Let MEDHOST customize your toolkit for you!

Click here to download the infographic about MEDHOST’s Toolkit Administration.

To learn more about how Toolkit Administration can streamline the workflow in your hospital’s emergency department, email us at inquiries@medhost.com or call 1.800.383.6278 to speak with one of our specialists.

Subscribe to keep up-to-date with the latest happenings in healthcare IT news! Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, subscribe to our blog, and check out our resource center.

Thanksgiving morning a daughter watched closely as her mother prepared the traditional family ham. After applying a sugary glaze, the mom cut off one inch at each end of the ham and tossed the scraps to the dog. She then set the ham in a roasting pan and placed it in the oven.

The young girl asked her mother, “Mom? Why did you cut off the ends?”

Her mother replied that she wasn’t sure, that was just the way her mom had always prepared the ham. Turns out that back then, grandmother never had a pan big enough to fit the entire ham, so she cut off the ends to make do.

Now imagine those ends are part of a delectable patient billing experience. How much quality service is sacrificed by trying to run a modern healthcare business office with outdated practices? Why print confusing statements and spend hours stuffing them into envelopes when there are cost-effective solutions designed to help providers trim waste, not quality of service?

If hospitals are being limited by “traditional” business office recipes, what else may be suffering?

The “Grandma’s Ham” story shows that simply asking why something has been done a certain way—rather than just accepting it—reveals that there can be more effective alternatives to the execution of a task.

Feast on an Efficient Business Office Workflow

The secret to a smooth financial experience for business office staff and hospital customers is right under your nose! Our accounts receivable chefs have perfected a recipe for maximizing a hospital's accounting and billing operations, especially during the busy holiday season. Serve your hospital a heaping spoonful of the following ingredients to get the most nutritious value from your business office workflow.

Ingredients for Delectable Patient Statements and Online Bill Pay Solutions

Statement Processing

For over a decade, MEDHOST has offered statement processing services that help hospital staff save time and reduce errors on the backend of the revenue cycle management process. A seemingly minor portion of the billing cycle, statements are often the source of many customer problems and hospital staff headaches. A patient statement riddled with confusing information is a massive inconvenience for discharged patients. If a hospital’s customers can’t understand their bill, an unhappy phone call is likely to follow, which takes time away from business office staff. Statement confusion can often result in more time lost reworking bills, which in turn, delays hospital payment.

From the start, statement processing services can help save staff time by taking on the tedium of printing, stuffing, and mailing envelopes. MEDHOST can also customize statements for healthcare organizations with branding unique to the provider. These customized statements can also include tailored messaging for a touch of personalization.

Processing is just the first ingredient. A heaping helping of digitization can help improve statement accuracy.

Electronic Statement Processing

Now more than ever patients expect the healthcare billing experience to match their everyday consumer experience. Part of delivering a consumer-focused financial experience means taking the hospital patient payment process online.

Built into MEDHOST Statement Processing Services is an electronic option that includes features like automatic posting, e-bills, and online bill pay. In addition to convenience, offering hospital customers access to online billing options can allow business offices to:

Check please! Most importantly, e-statements and electronic bill pay can help speed healthcare collections, take pressure off hospital billing staff, and provide customers with more financial flexibility.

Patient Accounting Communications

To top off this perfectly portioned serving of healthcare business offices services, MEDHOST can also help create customized patient accounting communications like:

Sweeten Your Old Business Office Services Recipe

Outsourcing statement tasks and offering features like online payments are simple ingredients to a recipe sure to help satisfy healthcare providers and their patients’ appetite for efficiency.

Start indulging in a better way to manage your business office and stop sacrificing key parts of the hospital billing and accounting workflow. Consistently serve up a better tasting recipe for patient billing success, satisfy customers, save resources, and get faster returns with MEDHOST Business Services.

Remember when Uncle Pete visited for Thanksgiving and insisted on helping prepare the family meal?

You’d love the help, but what you didn’t expect was a flood of time-consuming questions.

“Where do you keep your flour?”

How long did you say to bake this?”

“Where do you hide the mixing bowls?”

“What do you mean I can’t put foil in the microwave?”

Uncle Pete means well and is a whiz in his own kitchen, but without clearly documented instructions to help guide him in unfamiliar territory, he may not be as effective.

During Perioperative Nursing Week November 10th – 16th, we recognize the amazing work performed by these heroes of the surgical unit. Perioperative Nurses are tasked with a wide range of responsibilities all throughout the surgery patient’s journey. They play important roles before surgery, in the operating room (OR), and throughout recovery.

In some instances, during peak times and especially around the holidays, hospitals may ask perioperative nurses from outside their facility to lend a helping hand. None of these healthcare professionals placed in this position or otherwise are Uncle Pete, but often they come across the same challenge—spending too much time searching for information they need.

MEDHOST built an intuitive preference card system into its perioperative solution to support the perioperative workflow, help surgical units optimize their time, and accurately prepare clinicians for procedures.

Surgical Procedures Call for a Heaping Spoonful of Efficiency

Towards the end of the year as people rush to meet their deductibles, surgical units can become packed—which adds stress on clinicians in the OR. In addition to bringing on auxiliary staff, one of the best ways ORs can help ensure safe and efficient care is through the use of preference cards.

An article in General Surgery News (GSN) explains that building a culture focused on keeping preference cards up-to-date and relevant can help improve patient safety and lower costs. The preference card function built into MEDHOST Perioperative Experience is designed to help hospitals and surgical centers follow through on that same commitment to safe and cost-efficient care.

For example, Kali Harrell, Aspen Mountain Medical Center Surgical Manager says features like preference cards help her team become more efficient in surgeries. With instructions laid out days before a procedure, Aspen clinicians can more easily provide patient-centered care, pre- and post-operation.

“Rather than worrying how many clicks we are making in an EHR, we are able to work more nurse-to-patient instead of nurse-to-computer,” adds Harrell.

A Guideline for the Sous Chef of the OR

Preference cards are often referred to as surgical preference or physician cards, but they are a key tool for perioperative nurses as well. Easily accessible and updated OR “recipe cards” can help perioperative clinicians in one of their chief responsibilities as support personnel for surgeons.

Perioperative preference cards include a helpful “shopping list” of the surgical materials needed for operations and where they can be located in the OR. Perioperative Experience also includes a space to append special instructions for each surgery item to help clarify materials lists upfront and support patient billing for the business office.

Unlike a paper system—something more indicative of Uncle Pete’s recipe box—the MEDHOST preference card system is accessible online via the cloud. As a way to keep cards current, clinicians are notified to fill out or update preference cards once a case is scheduled. Upon notification, nurses can easily build out cards according to procedures and surgeon’s penchants. Completed cards can also be saved in a centralized location for easy retrieval.

A mistake in the OR can have serious ramifications. By implementing an online platform to easily manage preference cards hospitals can save time, reduce mistakes, and cut down on waste to provide a better surgical experience for both patients and clinicians.

For more information on our suite of clinical tools visit our website or call us at, 1.800.383.6278.

“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.”

In the context of an electronic health record (EHR) system, former American economist and Harvard Business School professor, Theodore Levitt’s quote illustrates the importance of hospital leadership considering what a new EHR platform or tool will do, rather than what it is. New healthcare technology is all well and good, but how effective will it be in supporting your hospital’s long-term goals?

With so much at stake and the sheer magnitude of responsibility carried by an EHR, implementation of an EHR system should be a primary concern. EHR optimization and implementation is a good indicator of the return on investment that a healthcare solution will provide. The same can be said of a bargain plug-and-play EHR solution. Hospitals that want to make sure they are getting the most from the technology designed to support care should consider more closely the benefits of customized implementation for their healthcare IT (HIT) systems.   

A Drill in Maximizing ROI of Healthcare Solutions

In the past decade, 99 percent of the nation’s hospitals have made some movement from paper to digital systems—electronic health records, electronic prescription for controlled substances (ePCS), or otherwise—returns on those investments are becoming more clear. If optimization to a hospital’s workflow is not a key element of the implementation process, ROI may not look so good.

A recent article from Healthcare IT News discussed the importance of EHR optimization during HIT implementations. It claims that hospitals need to start looking beyond purely Meaningful Use requirements when considering an implementation investment, and towards improved interoperability. Aspects like solving for interoperability that can help take excellent care delivery a step further can most likely be found in a custom HIT implementation.

Foundational Benefits of Custom HIT Implementation

MEDHOST believes that the implementation of any healthcare IT system should follow a similar path that goes beyond government incentives, beginning with a people-first focus and a constant eye towards sustainability.

While this comprehensive approach can require a greater financial commitment from the hospital side, the ROI of working with an HIT optimization and implementation specialist can be illustrated clearly by analyzing these three basic factors:

Cost – A one-size-fits-all implementation coupled with rushed training that focuses more on how to do things a certain way versus why we do things a certain way can result in down-the-road fixes and added costs. Custom HIT implementation and training helps sets caregivers and employees up for continued success that can reduce potential regressions and retraining. In this way, a more strategic approach to implementations up front can help avoid costs down the road.

Staff – A people-first philosophy guarantees hospital staff are part of the solution. In the end, time and money are both intrinsically tied to a hospital team’s ability to use the system. Knowing the minds of key stakeholders—executives to end-users—with an objective perspective is key for sustainability and long-term success.

Time – Things happen fast in an emergency room and time is a pricey commodity. A thoroughly implemented EDIS system that places a special focus on end-user customization may take more time to complete but is less likely to cause emergency care disruptions in the long-term. Consider how much time will nurses and physicians save because the EDIS is tailored to their workflows? The difference is between controlling time lost and being at its mercy.

In a changing consumer driven marketplace, implementing HIT technologies calls for insight and expertise useful in helping set hospitals up for continued success. Going back to optimize healthcare technology initially implemented to meet a minimum standard can end up costing hospitals more than what they would have spent ensuring optimization upfront.

A properly implemented system represents more than just value at the bottom line, it also represents the value in care delivery.

Watch Our EHR Demo

EHR demoSee how the MEDHOST EHR can help your hospital team deliver a superior patient experience and improve overall hospital operations.

Nurses Appreciation  Week (May 6 – 12)!

As a member of the healthcare community we celebrate this observance and want to build awareness around the critical role nurses play in keeping the population healthy.

Throughout healthcare’s many transitions nurses have often held dual roles as primary patient advocates and educators. In addition to providing compassionate care, nurses also encourage patients and their families to use their voices for healthcare empowerment. Nurses are successful at the difficult task of motivating patients to seek out the most effective treatments possible.

According to Registered Nurse and MEDHOST Senior Vice President of Customer Services Kim MacTavish, today’s nurses are critical to helping push forward the transition to value-based care at every stage of the care continuum.

Kim took some time out of her busy schedule to share with us her experience as a nurse, what it means to her, and what she believes are important issues facing nursing today.

MH:     Tell us about your background and how you became a nurse?

KM:     I have worked in the hospital as a Registered Nurse in various capacities, with a focus on the emergency department. After years in the hospital setting, I moved to the private business sector where I’ve held roles in healthcare IT (HIT), sales, operations and leadership. Growing up, I was led to have a servant’s heart and the nursing profession exemplifies this through serving others in need. I believe there is no more noble calling. Rooted in the morals and values I grew up with, becoming a nurse aligned with who I am.

MH:     What is one of your best memories of being a nurse?

KM:     I cannot say I have one best memory. Many of the great memories I carry are tied to positively impacting the lives of patients and their families and driving sound clinical outcomes in the care I had the opportunity to provide.

MH:     What does Nurses Appreciation Week mean to you?

KM:     Saluting nurses who are on the front line caring for those in need. It is a time to recognize those who make a difference by serving our patient population across their healthcare journey.

MH:     What are some things about the nursing profession people probably don’t realize and some of the biggest challenges nurses face today?

KM:     Nurses are often underestimated in the amount of intelligence, science, and skill it takes to be a nurse. People do not realize that nurses, just as physicians, create a plan of care for their patients, which includes physical, emotional, social, and spiritual attributes.  Nursing “care” is based on a body of science, research, and practice standards unique to the nursing profession.

The biggest challenge facing nurses today is the hospital staffing crisis, and it is intensifying as healthcare costs increase. Between the Affordable Care Act, and our aging population, the demand for healthcare services has grown rapidly. As a result, the number of patients seen in hospitals and clinics is increasing and the patient-to-nurse ratio poses risk in some instances. Given the problematic nursing shortage, it is challenging for HDOs (healthcare delivery organizations) to appropriately staff in order to deliver safe patient care.

MH:     What are your suggestions in solving or overcoming the nursing workforce shortage in healthcare?

KM:     As small hospitals are divested or closed, this natural attrition will address some of the nursing shortage in play today. However, it is a systemic problem and is not yet solved for. The situation now forces hospitals to become more strategic in their approach by instituting programs for retention. This means creating and promoting a positive work environment with solid onboarding and safe nurse-to-patient ratios, offering professional development and reward programs, and instituting other systems of support.

MH:     In what ways do you see new technologies contributing to and supporting the future of nursing? How does healthcare technology make the practice more sustainable?

KM:     Like most professions, technology has reshaped the way nurses do their jobs today. In many ways, technology has helped nurses become more accurate and efficient. Technology has also helped alleviate some of the job’s physical demands. As technology evolves, the profession of nursing will evolve. There is a direct correlation between the level of care provided to patients and the technology nurses have at their disposal. It is hopeful that these new evolving technologies will continue to provide efficiencies and allow nurses to focus more on the patient experience and value-based care model.

MH:     With a quality of care-technology dynamic, how should hospitals go about getting nurses to adapt to new technologies that require them to do things in new ways?

KM:     It starts by realizing and communicating how new healthcare data technologies have helped expand nursing knowledge and streamlined workflows. The electronic patient record has become an important aspect in the hospital infrastructure and by using information technology, results have shown improvements in patient outcome quality and operational efficiency.

Nurses typically adapt to new technologies fairly quick. Peer influence can help adoption of new technology as nurses place significantly more trust in what they hear from their peers than from IT consultants or hospital leadership. Having an ambassador or “super user” for newly introduced technology is imperative.

MH:     From a position of customer services leadership, you are somewhat of an internal ambassador. Talk about how your experience as a nurse plays into your current role at MEDHOST.

KM:     With my clinical background and experience in hospital operations and leadership, I have the opportunity to contribute in many facets of the business—from product strategy to sales, marketing and operations—in helping optimize the customer experience. I have a voice in influencing the impact our products have for the end user with a focus on how we can help improve overall hospital operations through our products and services.

MH:     What would you tell someone who is thinking of entering into the nursing profession? What do you wish someone had told you?

KM:     It takes compassion and grit to be successful in nursing. Possessing both of those attributes is unique to any individual. It really comes down to doing what you love and loving what you do.

When I entered nursing, I wish someone had told me that the sky is the limit. No matter what degree or professional background you have, you can carry nursing into many different aspects of your career. So, do what you love and love what you do.

We salute you Kim MacTavish! Thank you for all you do and for all the nurses out there helping elevate the quality of care for the communities they serve.

Share this post and spread the word on Nurse Appreciation week!

To learn how MEDHOST is making it easier for nurses to do what they love and love what they do, contact us at inquiries@medhost.com or call 1.800.383.6278 to speak with a clinical specialist.