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Top Articles to Read This Spring

Apr 20, 2021 | Hospital Solutions


As we approach the long-awaited spring season, you may be wanting to take a step outside to catch a glimpse of the blooming tulips and hear the birds chirp. Our team pulled together five valuable articles to read while enjoying all that the warm weather has to offer.

1. Four Telehealth Tips for Hospitals and Health Systems [Healthcare IT Today]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technology consumption has grown significantly for both consumers and providers. The ability to market virtual visits is critical, but the patient’s experience during the virtual visit is also something to keep in mind. Here are four ways hospitals/health systems can set patients up for virtual success.

  • Identify which appointments warrant a telehealth visit
  • Understand that telehealth presents access challenges for certain patient groups 
  • Provide telehealth tips ahead of time
  • Incorporate telehealth into your long-term strategy 

2. How Renown, Beaumont & UCHealth Let Patients Know Their Data is Safe [Becker’s]

In 2020, more than 21 million patients from 527 different healthcare organizations were affected by data breaches. Patients are becoming more aware of their information and security risks that they may face, while health systems work tirelessly to ensure patient information is in good hands.

  • Renown Health: Communicates with patients their Privacy & Protection Pledge consistently via their website, during practice, blogs, and articles. They also safeguard personal genetics information through The Healthy Nevada Project - population health research study with informed consent by de-identification.
  • Beaumont Health: Considers being a custodian of patient data at the forefront of their responsibilities. They require all caregivers to attend annual security awareness training, incorporate role-based access, regular cybersecurity testing/updates, employ privacy monitoring, and use a secure patient portal.
  • UCHealth: How they use and protect patient data is available through multiple points. They constantly promote privacy policies that are easy to understand and access.

3. COVID-19 is Exacerbating Physician Retention and Burnout [Fiercehealthcare]

The pandemic will have a lasting effect on front-line healthcare workers for years to come, but it has already affected physician career goals. According to a recent survey, a larger percentage of physicians are considering leaving the practice of medicine entirely, planning to retire early, or leaving to work for another employer. The majority of the physicians surveyed indicated that their employer had no physician retention program in place. A few tips that you can employ in addressing physician turnover and long-term retention:

  • Physician retention begins at the time of recruitment 
  • One in three physicians receive no formal orientation 
  • Compensation and work-life balance are top benefits to retain doctors
  • Address physician engagement

4. Two Major Telehealth Orgs Team Up to Expand Virtual Care Training [Healthcare IT News]

The American Telemedicine Association and the American Board of Telehealth have announced a partnership to expand training access and virtual care education. With this collaboration, ATA members will receive discounted admission to ABT’s CORE concepts in Telehealth certificate program. Patients have largely expressed their satisfaction with Telehealth, and even though it may not be financially viable on a long-term basis, some states are taking steps to keep it alive for certain specialties.

5. How to Stay Optimistic (When Everything Is Awful) [Harvard Business Review]

Within the past year, the pandemic has weakened the internal optimist inside all of us. Stay-at-home orders, job growth lows, and high-stress levels have not aided our ability to hope. But now, it’s time for our optimistic sides to come back to life. Bill Taylor shares four pieces of advice to help keep you and your coworkers optimistic during these continued trying times:

  • Insist on crisp executions, but make room for “organizational foolishness”
  • Invite everyone to become a problem-solver, then give them space to fix things 
  • Don’t just champion new ideas; strengthen personal  relationships
  • To counter so much bad news, share every piece of good news