In any workplace, organisation and communication are key players in ensuring work gets completed efficiently, and to a high standard. The medical world is no different.
The importance of ensuring patients churn in and out of hospitals and clinics in good time to catch scary symptoms is paramount. That said, this never-ending scourge of patients, especially with COVID-19 adding pressure to hospital staff, means mistakes occur.
One of the biggest issues our medics and patients face these days is delayed diagnosis. Cancer diagnoses are being pushed back, chronic pain issues are being ignored, and even those with life-threatening infections are being pushed to the back of the line. With or without COVID-19, this is having a major impact on our system, so how can we put a stop to this? Find out, here…
Why Can a Lack of Communication Cause a Delayed Diagnosis?
More than ever, hospital staff are under huge amounts of pressure to perform at their best. But, with the huge influx of patients during COVID-19, this puts other illnesses on the backburner.
Without the processes in place to deal with this change, delays in diagnosis are inevitable. This can occur for a number of reasons, including:
- Overworked staff missing important signs.
- Online consultations mean GPs don’t get the whole picture.
- Patients feeling like a cog in a machine, so avoiding the GP altogether.
- Lack of patient knowledge, meaning they can’t divulge the full range of their symptoms.
- Lack of communication, meaning information about patient conditions becomes lost.
The Importance of Communication in the Workplace
Promoting collaboration and communication in any workplace is all about providing the tools and knowledge for teams to work together effectively. Be it through intelligent databases and software, or effective communication lines, all of this helps to build a more collaborative workforce.
Especially in a digital world, where information is available at the click of a button, we have so many new ways to promote our products and services. Although this can sometimes get confusing, there are ways we can harness this technology to improve our businesses.
At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter how good your products or services are. If the team isn’t completely integrated and on board, you’re truly limiting the scope of what you can do. Ultimately, with the effective use of new technologies and software, any organisation is sure to thrive better than ever before.
Types of Communication Technology Hospitals Should Invest In
Many people have this idea that medical technology is all about exciting breakthroughs. This is certainly the case, in some ways. That said, the most basic technologies can also be used on the ground level to ensure the hospital system is as effective as possible to avoid delays in diagnosis.
Not only does communication through technology help people to get the information they need when they need it, it ensures systems can be put in place to keep work data organised. So, in what ways should hospitals use technology to boost their communication, both within their system and with patients? Some ideas include:
- Systems for the correct communication of symptoms, for example detailed questionnaires online.
- Hospital databases in place to communicate patient symptoms throughout the healthcare system.
- Automated telephone communication systems to get patients heard and seen by the correct people.
- Effective data transfers between pharmacies and hospitals to make sure the correct medication is provided.
- The use of AI and other technology to save doctors time, so they are less stressed and overworked, and can take the time to engage in the communication processes already in place.
Why Communication Technology Can Help Avoid Delayed Diagnoses
You’re probably wondering about the specifics of how exactly communication through the use of technology can help you. So, what benefits will this sort of improvement have on your patient’s diagnosis? Let’s take a look…
Keeping People Connected
The effective use of technology and software can help staff to communicate no matter where they are. In the medical world, this is extremely important; without this, key doctors, surgeons and information will not be where it needs to be at certain times.
For example, say a patient comes in with unexplained symptoms. In these cases, multiple departments and doctors must handle patient charts, and this can cause information to get mixed up and lost along the way, much like Chinese Whispers.
Without the correct processes in place to deal with this, it may cause problems for the diagnosis of the patient. Pieces of important information may become lost and, therefore, time will be lost in the process.
Improved Productivity
With the correct systems and technologies in place, accessing data will be much easier, and communicating information will be too. With everything streamlined in such a way, the productivity of NHS staff will be higher.
With this will come a knock-on effect on diagnosis speed. After all, if patient information is stored in a way that staff can access easily and collaborate on together, it’s unlikely that important information will be missed. Thus, delays in diagnosis may become less common.
Patient Experiences will Improve
One of the biggest challenges the medical world faces is the reluctance of people to head to the GP when experiencing strange symptoms. Our NHS staff are usually overworked, and have to see patient after patient each day, almost like a production line. Because of this, patients start to feel as though they’re just a cog in a machine, meaning they may avoid the GP altogether!
This is, of course, something we should all be avoiding. We should feel as though we’re welcome in the hospital to voice our health concerns without feeling dismissed. But, this all comes with creating a process that is efficient, but also patient-focused.
Improving communication and collaboration in the workforce will help with this. Then, when patients come to the GP, they’re more likely to feel safer and more taken care of. Thus, when they experience worrying symptoms, they will be more likely to come forward as soon as possible, without delaying their visit.
Securing Information
These days, our personal data is always at risk of being harvested by malicious individuals. The medical world is no stranger to this, and COVID-19 has meant we’re even more at risk.
Avoiding data breaches should be a key aim in the medical world, as this can have a knock-on effect on customer and patient trust. Without this trust, patients are less likely to head to the doctors for their needs. As we’ve previously seen, this can cause delays in diagnosis too.
Through using the correct and safest technologies, hospital staff can ensure to keep patient data safe. By promoting trust and loyalty in this way, it’s likely that medical staff will become less pressured. After all, if patients feel like they can visit the GP as soon as symptoms begin, they’re less likely to visit later on down the line when the symptoms become more serious.
Staff Wellbeing is Boosted
As we’ve mentioned previously, NHS staff are often over-worked, leaving them tired, grumpy, and more likely to make mistakes. Perhaps they miss an important indicator of something serious in a scan? Or maybe they brush symptoms aside as something less serious than they are?
Whatever it may be, communicating through technology will help to avoid this. Better communication and organisation will help keep staff engaged. It’ll also improve productivity, saving staff time and boosting work satisfaction. This will, in turn, create a better work/life balance.
By keeping medical staff engaged and excited to work, whilst giving them the time to breathe here and there, over-working is much less likely. This extra energy and enthusiasm will then help avoid mistakes, and thus improve the speed of diagnosis along the way.
Better Working Environments in Medical Research Facilities
In the world of medical research, which has a knock-on effect on how patients are diagnosed, we have similar benefits. The use of correct processes is sure to boost communication and productivity, and keep researchers engaged and happy. Ultimately, the benefits of this can’t be overstated; the better their experience, the more likely they’ll be to make medical breakthroughs!
Improved Services
Ultimately, all of the above reasons, including improved communication and productivity, loyalty and trust, staff retention, and work/life balance, build this bigger picture. This picture is the improved services which will, in turn, decrease the chances of a late diagnosis. With less of these occurring, hospitals can reduce costs, limit the back-up of patients, and provide a more well-rounded service overall.
Let’s Get Communicating!
As you can see, using technology in the medical world isn’t just about exciting new breakthroughs and research. It’s about using the simplest technologies effectively, on the ground level, to communicate properly between staff and patients.
In doing so, patients will feel as though they can put their trust in doctors to hear their symptoms and make the best decisions for them. It then ensures that all the correct information is passed along the chain, to the correct people. Ultimately, this helps to avoid delays in diagnosis, which will have a positive effect on everyone involved.
Saving time, saving money, and saving lives is the ultimate goal. The effective use of communication technology could just be the saviour.
