When a new year is upon us, we all scramble to our list of resolutions and future goals, hoping to finally achieve those tasks we’ve been putting off for a while. For many, new years is a time of celebration and reflection, a potential fresh start to reorganize our lives. But for the healthcare industry, it’s a period to seriously consider establishing benchmarks and confronting a challenging incoming year.
We talked about predicted trends in the world of healthcare for 2023. Now, it’s time to establish resolutions and hit meaningful milestones with the help of Dragon Medical One.
What’s in a resolution?
Before anything, it’s wise to create a foundational plan your practice can achieve. Often, a resolution for new years is lofty and ambitious, making it that much harder to accomplish. There’s no need for that because every story of real success is paved with climbing a ladder of achieved goals. High risk, high chance to crash. So, as you scribble down ideas for your healthcare org, remember to keep them in a framework that works best for you.
Resolutions and Goals
With that said, what resolutions should you actually look to achieve? It’s a challenging answer, as no practice or hospital is the same. Each has its own set of systems and needs, so what works for one may not for another. However, there are reasonable expectations and goals to have, even for general purposes. And, with powerful dictation software at your disposal, you’ll be entering the new year with a time-saving advantage.
Goals for New Year
Addressing burnout and stress
Unfortunately, stress and burnout are crippling problems in the healthcare industry for a wide range of reasons. We’ve talked about it before, and burnout in healthcare shows no signs of slowing. Therefore, it’s not unreasonable that a resolution and goal moving into the next year directly address the causes of extreme stress.
Said reasons can vary, but they’re commonly rooted in lack of staff, insufficient resources, lagging effects caused by the COVID pandemic, increased demand for documentation, and limited time. Doing so in any capacity can greatly improve your treatment models and time efficiency.
Integrating Reliable Staff
There’s a staff shortage taking root in the medical industry, primarily for demanding hours and lower than expected wages. This avalanches into other problems too. For example, medicine relies on trusted minds with years of expertise in their field, those that build a good relationship with their providers. And, when shortages occur, it creeps into everything else – it’s harder to keep new hires because of shortages since those shortages lead to long hours and burnout.
You won’t get very far if your organization becomes a revolving door for new faces.
Consider Telehealth Options
The incoming years for medicine promise to be interesting indeed, but whether that’s good or bad we’ve yet to tell. What is clear, though, is the expansion of virtual care and telemedicine. Resulting from pressures created by COVID, remote care is a fast-growing characteristic of modern medicine. Larger faces like Amazon and Walmart are set to take a bigger chunk out of retail care with convenient remote options as well, so it’s a shrinking space for smaller practices.
There’s great convenience offered on both ends as well. Doctors can assist patients from virtually anywhere in shorter timeframes, and patients avoid factors like scheduling issues, physical limitations, and cost concerns. If nothing else, your practice should at least be looking at what telehealth can do for you.
Take advantage of healthcare tools
There’s no doubt, challenges and difficulties await US healthcare in general. It’s a system long overdue for overhaul and meaningful change, but signs point to that being a long way off. In the meantime, hospitals and medical practices should aim to take advantage of every resource possible.
A resolution you should seek to aim for is anything that addresses the problems we’ve discussed. Burnout, shortages, faster care, improved access to information – these are worthy causes. Dragon Medical One, for example, is a tool that compliments each. More time for patients, better record-keeping, error reduction, and seamless integration with telehealth are just a handful of characteristics to seek in your toolbox.
Creating a Plan
Reaching meaningful acquisition of resources and hitting the new years milestones you set for your healthcare org is all about planning. How you get there, of course, is largely up to the organization. We can’t tell you or give you an exact roadmap of what to do, but we can offer insights and suggestions. Follow the fundamentals, as they say, and even the loftiest goals are possible for your medical practice.
- Identify the critical needs of your hospital/medical practice
- Establish a budget for expenses, and also set emergency criteria for unforeseen complications
- Consider investing in a stronger online presence for both telehealth and patient trust reasons
- Stay updated on any new regulatory bodies involving patient data
- Use all effective tools when possible
There’s no “one-size-fits-all,” but there are things you can do to hit those new years milestones. And, as always, Dragon Medical One is ready to help with dictation and saving time.
For more information, you can reach out to us today.
