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Healthcare providers are working tirelessly to care for patients during the COVID-19 crisis. Many are isolated from their families so they can take care of our families. Supporting them are countless non-clinical professionals working to keep their organizations operating and create plans for how to successfully transition out of this crisis when the time comes. […]

In a situation report released on March 11th 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the quickly spreading novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic.¹ With the number of COVID-19 cases rising by the day and concern over whether the outbreak could overwhelm the U.S. healthcare system, it is important to be proactive in the way that patients […]

Throughout the twentieth century and into the present day, there have been periodic nursing shortages. Shortages of these crucial clinical team members pose pressing challenges for healthcare organizations. But is there a nursing shortage now? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this profession is growing at a rate of around 12%—significantly faster than most […]

When treating certain health conditions, physicians are faced with the challenge of motivating patients to change their behaviors. Successful management of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes, hinges on a patient’s willingness and ability to alter their day-to-day actions, including diet, exercise, smoking, and drinking—but what happens when there are […]

The phrase “low-value care” is frequently tossed around in discussions of healthcare spending, and there are whole initiatives dedicated to reducing the use of low-value services in clinical settings. However, a comprehensive understanding of low-value care and its impact on health outcomes is essential to identifying and ultimately reducing its occurrence in healthcare. What is […]

One key measure of hospital care quality is the facility’s readmission rates, or the percentage of patients who experience unplanned readmission after a previous stay. Readmissions are expensive—more than $14,000 per readmission in costs to the hospital, on average, according to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Even though hospitals may end up making a […]

The term patient-reported outcomes (PROs) refers to a health outcome directly based on patient self-reporting. PROs are a key aspect of clinical trials and treatments, and in modern health care settings, many organizations are transitioning away from pen-and-paper data collection methods and moving to electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs). Analog vs. Digital Research has shown there […]

Numerous studies have shown correlations between patient satisfaction and outcomes—two key performance indicators for medical organizations. Due to these trends, as well as an increasing recognition of person-centeredness as one of the key domains of high-quality care, it’s essential that healthcare providers prioritize person-centered care. What Is Person-Centered Care? Person-centered care, also referred to as […]

Nursing staff, including registered nurses, nursing aid, and nursing managers and directors, play an integral role in a patient’s experience within any health care setting. As such, these care providers are often instrumental in improving overall patient satisfaction, and are often the first to ask, “How can nurses improve patient satisfaction?” 4 Nursing Strategies to […]

Today’s healthcare organizations are saddled with the challenging task of balancing medical outcomes, budget constraints, and patient satisfaction. While certain factors affecting patient satisfaction will require ample time and resources to resolve, there are a number of small, inexpensive ways to improve patient satisfaction within various healthcare facilities. The Importance of Patient Experience In hospitals, […]

Social determinants of health (SDOH) is a term used to describe the conditions where people live, learn, work, play, and age that directly affect their health outcomes and risks. While the ability to influence these factors has traditionally been viewed as something outside the role of clinical care, government initiatives are placing increasing responsibility for […]

Nurse fatigue and disengagement can pose serious problems for healthcare organizations, and a recent survey from Kronos found 63% of nurses say their job has caused burnout. The survey also found that more than 4 out of 5 nurses think hospitals today are losing good staff because other employers offer a better work/life balance. When […]