By Derek Jones, VP Enterprise Strategy, Americas, Deputy
Twitter: @deputyapp
Healthcare workers out in the field need good and dependable support from their office to carry out their given tasks. They need quick information, tools, updates and feedback as they go about their operations.
While you are at the office, you also need fast updates on the location of each member of the team and the status of the given tasks for accountability.
With the coming of the pandemic, there’s a greater need for hospitals to find solutions that ease work, speed up processes and allow for growth. One such solution is mobile workforce management: it allows you to keep track of your healthcare workers while they are in the field. It also simplifies processes and enables you to provide them with instant access to the information they need – no matter where they are at the time. It ensures the team has everything they need to get the job done well and on time, and that leads to increased productivity and higher patient satisfaction.
So how exactly does mobile workforce management support your frontline healthcare workers?
Workforce empowerment
Instead of having team members reach the patient’s place and start asking for necessities or updates, information is prepped before to ensure a quick and productive service. In return, the needs of your healthcare workers in the field are put first by providing them with the tools and information needed to do the tasks. They can begin work right away, perform without issues and complete their task on time, resulting in a better work quality and happier patients.
Preventing and overcoming scheduling issues
Scheduling a mobile workforce can sometimes get complicated.
A task can take longer than expected. This leads to a delay in beginning the next task elsewhere, as there is no backup available on short notice. A scheduled call or visit can end up placed on a wrong day or even completely forgotten altogether. The worker assigned may fall ill or become otherwise unavailable.
This is why you need to ensure that you plan for the work, as well as all outside factors which could affect it. Create a backup schedule by finding out which members of your team can work on any given day – this ensures that the work can continue even if the assigned team member is unavailable for whatever reason.
Ensuring each person gets the right job
Imagine the relief on a patient’s face when your healthcare worker finally arrives, only for the worker to be unable to help the patient. That would be a huge stain on you and your team’s reputation. Word could spread, painting your organization as incompetent. To avoid this, you always need to ensure that the person assigned has the required skills for the task at hand.
Also, leave room for human error: on any given day, you or your human resource manager could give a member of the team a task beyond their abilities. For this reason, it is better to use a software system that can match your team with the roles or responsibilities that fit their skills. This increases worker productivity, because staff only train for and work in a specific role.
Real-time updates and communication
Frontline healthcare workers need real-time information and updates when they’re in the field. Situations change from time to time, and workers being out of office may delay getting that new information. This affects the ability of the healthcare workers to carry out the tasks, as their work depends on the last communication received.
Frontline healthcare workers also need feedback from time to time, depending on the task they are doing in the field. They may need permission to branch away from doing things the usual way. This information is usually needed as soon as possible – because lives depend on it. Therefore, you must provide a platform that provides timely communication, feedback and updates to enable good care for the patients.
Tracking worker location and performance
Mobile workforce management can also help you keep an eye on the location and performance of your healthcare workers in the field: details such as the time of arrival, duration of the task, time of departure for the next task, as well as their current location.
These can help you get a clearer picture of the status of the work done, as well as the competence and dedication of your workforce. It enables you to rest well if all is going well, or to act in advance to prevent any issues with scheduled patient care.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that a well-scripted team is paramount to the success of the health service provider in a community. Both field and office workers play an important role in this process, and good coordination between them is the final and most important piece of the puzzle.