Becker's Hospital Review

74 Executive Briefing "What happens at home is different from what happens in an ambulance, emergency room, or in the primary care physician's office," Mr. Reddy said. "Yet EMR systems force everyone to use one system. Providers are often unsure whether they are missing a critical piece of clinical or background information." Fortunately, today it's possible to leverage modern technology fluidly across discrete settings. This enables healthcare organizations to focus on the needs of the patient and each care setting, while simultaneously optimizing for both efficiency and effectiveness. True patient-centric care means handing off data seamlessly from one care setting to another via apps and solutions that work interoperably. Although different tools exist for different providers, they are all connected from a patient-centricity standpoint. "Patient outcomes and quality are improved, and you also see systemic savings because costs are reduced," Mr. Reddy said. "Everyone is a winner, but you can't achieve this goal without paying attention to both patient-centricity and the needs of different care settings." On top of new technologies, it's also beneficial to apply systems thinking to the challenge of patient-centric care. Traditionally, systems thinking has been applied to complex systems composed of interdependent elements, such as airplanes. Every element works in its own silo, but they also work collaboratively with one another. Feedback loops support the system overall. "There's no question that healthcare is complex, with payers, policymakers, providers and patients," Mr. Reddy said. "In aviation, the outcome of systems thinking is a safe journey and reaching a destination on time. In the healthcare context, the goal of systems thinking is to get patients back home and to support their complete recovery." COVID-19 may accelerate the evolution to patient-centric care The COVID-19 pandemic has opened the nation's eyes to health equity issues, and it has also opened the door for healthcare innovation. "Prior to COVID-19, public health and patient care were seen as two different things," Mr. Reddy said. "Now, the lines have blurred, and they've become one and the same, as it should have been all along." At the same time, healthcare stakeholders have recognized that greater flexibility is one way to address barriers to care. Payers, including government agencies like CMS, have loosened restrictions on the use of telehealth. In response, provider adoption of telehealth solutions has increased. "COVID-19 has created a platform for healthcare transformation and the realization of value-based care," Mr. Reddy said. "There is increased awareness on the part of policymakers and payers, better provider receptivity and greater involvement from patients and family members. New technologies and solutions will make patient-centric care a reality. In COVID-19 era, the systems thinking once again proved that sociology concept of individual empowerment and trusting technology with built-in feedback loops would perform much better in complex environment such as healthcare. Further, it allows new knowledge creation among all stakeholders, which is a paramount for continually innovating and improving the healthcare delivery. For example, when a paramedic receives a feedback from surgeon after dropping off a stroke patient, the paramedic not only comforts him/her but also learns on the fly and may create a new knowledge in the field for even more better patient care next time." Patient-centric care eliminates silos in favor of empowerment Traditional healthcare silos are a poor foundation for a patient- centric care continuum. Instead, healthcare organizations must break down these silos by focusing simultaneously on patient-centricity and the needs of the different provider participants in the care continuum. Thanks to the fluidity of modern technology, it's now possible to design solutions for each care setting with the proper data interoperability and seamless integration. With this approach, every stakeholder is empowered, including patients, family members and different care providers ranging from physicians to specialists to nurses to paramedics. They have total information at their fingertips when needed, which leads to more effective decision making and more efficient communication in the patient- centered way. "As we think about healthcare from a value-based care perspective, we want to improve patient outcomes from onset of symptoms to complete recovery, and even prevent problems before they arise," Mr. Reddy said. "When coordination across the care continuum happens efficiently and thoughtfully, it empowers people and lets everyone play their role with total transparency." n ALLM is shaping healthcare by proven next-generation digital technology platform that works along care- continuum in patient-centric way with features of clinical communication/coordination/collaboration and decision support for paramedics, hospitals, physicians and specialists, and post-discharge follow-up with patients. Our mHealth solutions enhance patient safety and treatment outcomes, cuts systemic costs and silos, creates new revenue streams and feedback loops, reduces clinician burnout and liability, and improve patient experience. They follow Systems Thinking approach loved by sociologists and proven to be right in COVID19 era! Our Join, JoinTriage, MySOS apps are HIPAA compliant and they empower patients, providers and staff in varied care settings along the care pathways across regional/community networks for effectively delivering emergency, acute and chronic care with improved time, precision, efficiency and satisfaction. Join app is also FDA cleared. Our clients get dedicated administrative portal with dashboard, analytics, reports and telehealth audit-trail, and facilitation of quality improvement and research initiatives.

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