How We’re Helping Providers Prioritize Employee & Patient Safety During COVID-19
It’s been nearly a year since COVID-19 emerged as a global health threat. In that time, the world has been turned on its head in many ways. For instance, social gatherings have been canceled and wearing a mask outside of your home is essential. The novel coronavirus has changed nearly every facet of daily life, from the way we socialize to the way we work and more. And few industries have been more impacted than healthcare, where prioritizing employee and patient safety during COVID-19 has led to a dramatic change in the way we operate.
Although healthcare facilities are aware of COVID-19 best practices, providers still experience numerous operational challenges. Providing the care that your community needs while keeping patients and employees safe is a delicate balance, and it’s not always clear how to do so.
At Quality Reviews®, we deeply understand the challenges healthcare organizations are facing today. Our expertise in healthcare spans well beyond software, as many members of our staff have years of clinical experience. Fortunately, we’ve been able to draw upon that firsthand experience to build software that helps healthcare providers.
Our products offer a number of different features that make them a great asset for providers navigating this new world. Here are a few ways you can use our solutions to save time and stay safe.
Share COVID-19 Guidelines & Protocols
As we’ve learned more about the virus and transmission, a new set of COVID-19 best practices for healthcare facilities have emerged. Here are some popular procedures:
- Requiring patients to wear masks in the office
- Screening patients for symptoms before entering the facility
- Confirming in writing that they have not been in direct contact with anyone who tested COVID-positive in the weeks prior
Many healthcare organizations rely on their administrative staff to reach out to patients to share this information. Unfortunately, that creates an additional task for employees who are already overwhelmed. What’s more, patients end up not seeing this info, since it gets buried in their inbox.
Our patient flow management and notification system, Q-Notify, automates the process of notifying patients about COVID-19 guidelines and protocols by sending the information in the form of an SMS text message. You can detail these policies in the text message, including a link to a dedicated COVID-19 information page, or through a hotline number that patients can call. Given that 90% of people read text messages within 90 seconds of receipt, you’ve probably grabbed their attention. This also frees up your staff to spend more time on what really matters.
Pre-Screen Patients for Symptoms
Since COVID-19 testing is not always widely accessible or affordable, it’s not terribly uncommon for people to contract the virus without realizing it. Reaching out to patients to confirm they haven’t experienced some of the most common symptoms is another step you can take to reduce risk of exposure at your facility. Our survey tool, Q-Reviews®, allows providers to screen patients for symptoms without taking up their staff’s time. Q-Reviews® sends a text message with a HIPAA-secure link to a customizable survey, which you can tailor to serve as a COVID-19 symptom screener.
You might add: “Are you or a close contact experiencing a fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat?”
Patients would then respond with “Yes” or “No.” If a patient answers “Yes,” their response will be flagged in the Q-Reviews® dashboard to highlight an urgent need for follow-up. This way, you can prevent those with COVID-19 symptoms from entering the facility and putting others’ health at risk.
Create Remote Waiting Rooms
At this point, we know that grouping people indoors in close proximity is a recipe for COVID-19 transmission. This poses a special problem when it comes to waiting rooms. Patients must be notified when their provider is ready to see them, but sitting in a waiting room can create a breeding ground. Q-Notify resolves this challenge by creating a “remote waiting room.”
After checking in, patients receive a text message letting them know that they are in a remote queue. They can wait safely offsite while they wait for their appointment to begin. Once their provider is ready for them, Q-Notify sends another text message to alert patients.
Q-Notify offers a similar service for family members and caregivers of patients undergoing a day procedure. Once a patient has checked in, Q-Notify will send designated caregivers text message status updates from pre-op to discharge. In line with COVID-19 best practices for healthcare facilities, this decreases the number of visitors indoors, whether sitting at a patient’s bedside or in a reception area awaiting updates. This makes Q-Notify a particularly useful solution for emergency departments and ambulatory surgery centers.
Our Commitment to You
At this critical time, we want you to know that we’re here for you, your employees, and your patients. If you’d like to make use of any of the services mentioned above, or learn more about how you can leverage the Q-Reviews® platform to maintain patient safety during COVID-19, please reach out to us. We know that patient communication is more important now than ever, and we want to help you in any way that we can. Feel free to contact me ([email protected]) or [email protected] with any questions.
In good health,
Ed
Edward Shin, MD
CEO, Quality Reviews®, Inc.
(646) 418-3015
[email protected]
