All businesses have had to adjust this year as the coronavirus pandemic has overcome us, and none more so than the healthcare industry. Other companies have been able to close down for extended periods, offer takeaway only services, or work from home most of the time. If your business is in the health care sector, this might not have been possible.
Health care providers have been more essential than ever as we’ve battled a whole new virus while trying to provide continuing care for patients. There’s no option to close the doors or to work from home.
Many health care providers have been forced to adapt to this fast-moving and ever-changing environment. The coronavirus continues developing new variants and governments respond by imposing community and work restrictions, thus changing the way healthcare workers provide their services. Fortunately, healthcare providers are adapting as fast as the virus, with the help of good home care management software, boosting hiring practices, and a better understanding of how the virus spreads. This has allowed our health care workers to fight the virus head-on.
Here are some ideas to maintain good patient care while keeping both staff and customers safe:
Get Back to Basics
To be able to provide excellent patient care at this time, it’s essential that you can offer them whatever they need. Patient Management is crucial, and having effective supply chains in place, to keep stock levels high is more important than ever.
Communicate Online
In-person appointments might be minimal, but that certainly doesn’t mean that you can’t communicate with your patients. Communicate with everyone via social media and send one-on-one emails and direct messages to check in regularly. Through one on one communication, you could offer advice and even assess symptoms online, and you give patients an easy chance to raise any concerns they may have without coming into the surgery.
Evaluate Individual Circumstances
At this time, when patients are far less likely to call the surgery or make an appointment even if they are worried about symptoms, it’s more important than ever that you treat patients as individuals. Make sure you listen to their concerns and assess their symptoms one-on-one, offering them the follow up they need, whether it’s an in-person appointment or a video call.
Close Your Waiting Areas
Waiting areas are a big part of surgery life. But, at the moment, they aren’t safe. Close your waiting area as much as possible, asking people to only come in at their appointment time and to waiting in their cars until you call them in if possible. If you need to use the waiting area, make sure there are hand sanitizer and social distancing.
Use Appropriate PPE
Ensure you’ve got plenty of PPE for all staff and a reliable supplier to make sure you never run out of anything you need.
Maintain Awareness of the Situation
The situation is changing all of the time. Make sure you know what infection rates are like in your area, as well as any restrictions that are in place and any changes that you should expect. Keep your patients updated using your social media feeds and website.
COVID-19 has brought many challenges, and while we have, to an extent, got used to things, life is far from normal. As in-patient treatment becomes more widely available, you may need to reassess policies and make further changes.