Insufficient communication strategies are perhaps the underlying reason for patient safety errors leading to malpractice litigation, severe injuries and even deaths. Healthcare experts must ask the bigger question here, why are organizations relying on EHR tools with communication as an afterthought in healthcare?
EHRs: Not Designed for Clinical Communication
EHRs are firmly grounded for documentation purposes, and are not purpose-built for clinical workflow communication. In fact, there is slight mention of communication (in “information exchange”) in the 15 Core Objectives that CMS required for the Meaningful Use incentive that moved most healthcare organizations onto EHRs in the last decade. EHRs are mainly documentation systems which clinicians use to store information, but that information still needs to be communicated across the right clinicians for the right care. More often than not, medical malpractice is a result of poor communication and can lead to serious patient harm. The exchange of information is key to patient diagnosis, and that requires patient information to be securely exchanged among medical professionals. If communication is unreliable, providers will struggle to stay updated on changing patient needs, thereby increasing patient harm and chances of medical errors.
Communication failures in post-acute care settings are particularly problematic, and their consequences can be fatal to the patient’s health. The majority of these problems stem from inefficient health information exchange. This results in gaps in information received by the entire provider team, and lack of communication with patients. Such discrepancies in the care settings, where providers fail to share patient information securely among each other cause patient harm, and can lead to millions of dollars in financial losses. General medical practitioners are more likely than others to call out communication gaps between providers with poor EHR documentation procedures. Often provider to provider communication consists of inaccurate and delayed documentation of clinical findings. What may seem insignificant might actually be a matter of life and death, e.g a nurse being able to directly communicate information with the physician and getting them the help they need right away.
The Solution We Need
Communication systems that allow care providers to communicate with each other streamline their internal communication efforts, avoid delays in the exchange of patient information and make providers and nurses less vulnerable to malpractice allegations. The solution: healthcare providers should invest in care coordination communication platforms and EHR documentation improvement programs that promote patient-centered communication, initiate open dialogue between providers, and reduce patient errors in the process. One recent survey from healthcare professionals shows that the majority (70%) agreed that inefficient tools for communication with patients and team members wastes a lot of their time. Delays in patient information being communicated in the right channels, and not being able to contact the necessary provider on time is indeed problematic. At the same time, the industry is still struggling to move past outdated means of communication, and shift to modern-day HIPAA compliant communication apps.
In the world of healthcare, strong means of communication drive quality patient outcomes. While EHRs play a key role in healthcare systems, the issue arises primarily due to communication being treated as an afterthought. Timely communication is central to the workings of post-acute care, and that demands choosing a solution whose sole focus is on seamless communication and information exchange.
Hucu.ai’s Vision to Transform Care Communication
Hucu.ai is a secure, patient-centric messaging solution that is accelerating communication and care coordination between medical professionals within and across organizations, and with patients and their families. Post-Acute Care is a key element in improving patient outcomes; but like every other healthcare service, and perhaps even to a greater degree, it demands clear communication across parties involved in rendering these services to patients. Since patients must transition from the acute care setting to the post acute care setting, and ultimately home, there is a strong need for communication with the parties involved. With Hucu.ai, providers are better able to timely address patient needs, share information with the relevant providers in one place and get instant feedback.
Hucu.ai’s advanced care technology supports post-acute care teams as they coordinate care and help patients throughout their care journey. With clear communication, both the discharge team and the intake team have greater confidence in providing higher quality of care. When effective communication is absent, there will be misunderstandings, inaccurate communication, delays and potential risks during the patient’s transfer from acute to post-acute care. Such situations point out the need for a communication-focused approach in healthcare technology. Why then would anyone settle for something less when you have advanced technology such as Hucu.ai, that prioritizes healthcare communication above all else? Hucu.ai offers the medical community much more than this:
- Seamless Care Coordination: Hucu.ai was built for healthcare professionals and to facilitate them with real-time communication with their teams (nurses, physicians, therapists and other caregivers). This increases care coordination, reduces patient risk and improves patient outcomes.
- Greater Security and Privacy: Hucu.ai is a HIPAA compliant messaging app, that ensures patient confidentiality and forges greater trust between providers and patients.
- Smooth Transition of Care: Hucu.ai enables timely and accurate exchange of sensitive patient information between medical professionals, and reduces the risk in patients transitioning from acute to post-acute care.
Hucu.ai is no ordinary messaging tool, as it seeks to improve communication processes and places the patient at the center of everything while doing so. If you are seeking seamless, patient-centered communication, then Hucu.ai is right up your alley! Communication is central to post-acute care, and so it is prudent for healthcare providers to not settle for tools that don’t prioritize communication above all else. Taking the next step and revolutionizing care coordination in your post-acute care facility? Become part of something greater and join in the benefits Hucu.ai is offering to care teams with a patient-centered approach to messaging. Schedule a demo today to learn how Hucu.ai can be a valuable resource to your growing practice!
Sources
EHRs Contribute to Patient Safety Risks, Communication Errors
Poor communication tech negatively affects population health management
Manage Expectations Seamlessly with Post-Acute Communication Technology
