Clinics are part of the frontlines in the battle against the pandemic. However, because of the increasing number of infected, running a clinic has become more hectic than ever, but you don’t have to feel dismayed. There are ways to efficiently run your clinic this year and survive the surge of patients visiting.
Many medical professionals expected that we would have decreased the number of infections this year. Still, because of the newly identified delta variant, which is more transmissible, infections have been resurgent all over the US. This is alarming for many, but what does it mean for your clinic?
For one, you’re going to have a surge of patients approaching your clinic on top of your other patients. Aside from that, you’re going to need to implement quarantine protocols if you want to stay safe from the virus. All of this sounds like it will create a backlog of work, which is certainly true. But by having a medical scribe ready, you can reduce the work you have to do every day.
Medical Scribes
We all need someone to keep an eye out for our patients, and we can’t do this ourselves, especially if we are busy with administrative and executive work. One way medical professionals are reducing the need for this is by hiring medical scribes.
Medical scribes are employees that record and inspect the current conditions of patients in real-time. They also take notes about medication and schedule operations. Most hospitals have dedicated scribes working for them, but as a clinic, you might need to outsource your medical scribe duties to an independent company. Again, this is to save money because you’re only going to need a few to work in your clinic.
Once you’ve got a couple of scribes working in your clinic, you’ll see a stark increase in performance. It will also remove some workload from you and help you concentrate on more crucial tasks. But this won’t be enough to increase your efficiency. To improve your clinic’s efficiency, we recommend you start a community partnership, where you can get a steady number of volunteers.
Community Partnership
Community partnerships are fairly common during times of crisis. It’s a way to get a steady supply of manpower if you’re lacking, and the best part of it all is that it’s free unless your community negotiates for a price.
Many hospitals have implemented community partnerships within their state, asking and hiring volunteers to do tasks they can’t afford to do because of the increased workload. It has also helped increased the beds they have in their hospital by putting some patients in quarantine in closed hotels. All of this can be available to your clinic.
Starting a community partnership is all about communication. First, talk to the leaders involved in controlling the virus in your state, and tell them the problems you’ve encountered. After this, negotiate what resources can be given to you to help fight off the virus.
However, regardless of the number of new pairs of hands you can get out of the partnership, no one can ever replace your job of diagnosing patients. But AI can certainly help streamline your approach.
Invest in AI
Investing in AI will not only give you a new pair of hands but also a new set of brains that can help you reduce the amount of time you need to spend with each patient.
There are now various programs capable of diagnosing illnesses as accurately as a medical professional on the job. The best part is that these programs aren’t affected by strenuous variables such as exhaustion, stress, and emotional attachment. However, these programs are still required to observe before they can roll out in the healthcare industries—however, certain software such as IBM Watson Health is now available for purchase.
AI isn’t limited to just diagnosing patients. Some AI jobs include administrative tasks, scheduling, and reminders. It can also help set up appointments if you have a website. Investing in AI can be one of the best decisions you’ll make for your clinic during this pandemic. It significantly reduces the amount of time your employees have to work so that they can that much-deserved sleep. It’s good for both morale and productivity.
You don’t have to do this fight alone. Through these key strategies, you can increase the efficiency of your clinic during this pandemic. Once you’ve implemented at least one of these strategies, you’ll see an increase in efficiency.
