Signs Your Hospital Is Inefficient & How To Fix Them
Course correcting an inefficient hospital involves learning what’s causing issues during routine work tasks. To begin making the right changes, you must identify the key factors in your work environment influencing efficiency. Learn the signs your hospital is inefficient and how to fix them to determine whether you’re making the most of your team and facility.
Team Members Must Travel Long Distances To Complete Tasks
You should always analyze the distance employees must travel for specific tasks. For example, a doctor may need to access their computer for data entry and complete tasks elsewhere in the hospital. In this case, is there a way to make those two points closer together?
If so, you can maximize the time they have to actually complete work throughout the day. Medical facilities can utilize mobile workstations that create a system in which medical staff members can maintain records on the go instead of traveling to and from the computer to complete notes.
You Don’t Use Hot-Swappable Batteries
Efficiency is one of the top benefits of hot-swappable batteries for medical carts, so you should always have your mobile workstation equipped with them. But how does a battery impact a doctor or nurse’s ability to move around the hospital quicker?
When doctors use regular power supplies, they have to power down workstations to swap out the batteries. However, hot-swappable batteries are swappable on the go; you don’t need to power down the equipment to switch them. Hospital staff can get fresh batteries and return to work instead of completing lengthy maintenance procedures. This can boost productivity and decrease the time it takes for staff to travel from patient to patient.
Your Meetings Should Be Emails
Meetings can impact efficiency in a positive way because they open the door to great communication and clarity for all medical staff involved. That said, some meetings may not be as productive as others. When it comes to meetings in your hospital, you should look at your regular schedule and consider if you can carefully boil down any meetings into emails that you can send to the staff instead.
Moreover, consider why the meeting must be in person. For instance, not every department update requires everyone to gather in a room. A quick glance at a concise email before returning to work keeps hospital staff productive and informed.
You Don’t Actively Ask for Feedback
Listing the signs your hospital is inefficient and how to fix them calls for asking your medical staff for feedback. Routinely opening the floor to feedback during meetings and sending out anonymous surveys on certain tasks can help you learn how effective your workplace is and where improvements should happen. Doctors and nurses see firsthand how efficient the equipment or practices are—everyone’s perspective on such issues can be invaluably informative.
If you’re using an inefficient record-keeping system, your nurses may have great ideas for improving its efficiency. It’s not about turning to your employees and asking, “Hey, what should I do?” Instead, it’s about allowing your team to present their perspectives in a way that can substantially improve the employee experience. Start welcoming new changes in the workplace today by assessing the factors above and taking action.
