Using Gaps Within Health Systems to Help Drive New Innovations

^{By Julie Gould}

John Elms, chief product officer at TigerConnect, breaks down current gaps that exist within both hospitals and health systems and how these gaps help drive innovations, and highlights how a new acquisition will help streamline workflows and correspondence among health care workers.

Can you talk about some gaps that currently exist within health systems and hospitals? How do these gaps help drive innovations—especially as health systems continue to reach capacity due to the pandemic?

There is a huge communication gap within hospitals and health care systems - regardless of whether it’s a small community hospital or a large health care system. This is certainly not a new problem, but it has continued to plague health care facilities everywhere. Poor communication also impedes care team collaboration. Both of these issues directly affect the quality of patient care as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of caregivers. With technology, specifically the CC&C and middleware platforms TigerConnect offers, outcomes can be significantly improved. Frontline health care workers have always had to contend with immense pressure and burnout, but since the pandemic began, it has risen to a level never seen before. Utilizing an end-to-end solution will enable true full-spectrum care collaboration and the streamlined communication so desperately needed in hospitals.

What is contextualized communication and how is it used in health care? What is the importance of it?

Contextualized communication contains vital patient information enabling caregivers to have situational awareness and provide personalized, targeted care to their patients. This enhances patient experience ultimately increasing HCAHPS scores.

Talk a little about TigerConnect’s acquisition of Critical Alert. How will this new acquisition help streamline workflows and correspondence among health care workers? How will it help address burnout while also enhancing patient care?

TigerConnect’s acquisition of Critical Alert and the integration of its FDA-cleared middleware platform enables comprehensive communication and care collaboration by providing a premier end-to-end offering. Actionable patient alarms and alerts are intelligently routed to caregivers on their mobile devices via TigerConnect’s app. By substantially decreasing the number of nuisance alarms and clinical interruptions, patient safety, care and experience is significantly improved while simultaneously reducing burnout and enhancing staff satisfaction.

Where do you see the future of care going? What tips do you have for other organizations in order to improve their workflows and address staffing burnout? Should executives of health systems consider restructuring their workflows to better address innovation gaps?

With the onset of the pandemic, telehealth and streamlined communication have never been more important. By utilizing available technology, such as the solutions TigerConnect offers, hospitals and clinical staff can realize improved workflows, communication and collaboration across the care continuum, even beyond the four walls of the hospital. This will significantly reduce staff burnout. I think it’s crucial for health system executives to evaluate their innovation gaps and turn to vendors such as TigerConnect whose seasoned team can partner with them and guide them on how to address the gaps to solve the issues their facility is facing.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

COVID-19 has forced many health systems and hospital executives to acknowledge the urgent need to prioritize streamlining communication and improving care team collaboration. It can no longer be put on the back burner. With help from vendors like TigerConnect, hospitals can implement the needed technology to address these pervasive issues and improve the poor communication and care collaboration that affects everyone –the patients, caregivers, staff, and patient families.

About Mr Elms

John Elms is currently the Chief Product Officer at TigerConnect. He has been an executive leader in the high-tech industry for over 25 years. It was during his tenure at SpectraLink when he began working in health care, back in 1999. He is passionate about health care and contributing to improving how it is delivered.