health news Archives - Page 4 of 7

Learning to Walk

The tale of the man who is learning to walk again thanks to an implant of regenerative nasal cells has hit the headlines in a big way. Remarkable in itself, the successful treatment carried out by a team of British and Polish doctors holds out hope for the millions of people across the world who have been paralysed by a form of spinal injury.

Of course, as with any medical breakthrough the story comes with a caveat. The man’s injuries were caused by a clean stab wound, helping the possibility of regeneration and just as one swallow doesn’t a summer make, one success story doesn’t automatically lead to universal success.

But stories of this type do show the way in which pioneering work is continually going on under the radar, with dedicated teams working across the world to create lasting solutions for problems which affect millions of us. In fact, a Thomson Reuters white paper earlier this year predicted that 10 inventions which would change the world by 2025 included:

Greater understanding of the human genome leading to improved detection and prevention rates for degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s
Advances in RNA-guided genome engineering which would lead to the eradication of conditions such as Type 1 Diabetes
Advances in antibody production and targeting which will make cancer treatments more individual and less toxic
Improved management of disease thanks to DNA mapping at birth

Whilst important work of this nature continues, for the health profession generally there is a continuing drive to do more with less. Every breakthrough comes at a cost and with an aging population the strain on resources is ever upward. So when hip and knee joint degeneration means that the patient is unable to walk properly; the strain on the rest of the body can lead to multiple complications. For example a lack of exercise, and even something as simple as a regular walk can apply here, can lead to cardiovascular disease, poor circulation, and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

An increasingly elderly population combined with the demand from the population at large to come up with solutions puts ongoing pressure on health services. Health practices including physiotherapists, osteopaths and podiatrists are not only looking for medical breakthroughs but are also taking advantage of the way in which technology can help to provide greater efficiency on a daily basis. Areas such as the use of virtual assistants, electronic filing of records, on-line appointment and diary management and electronic payments are all under scrutiny in a drive to do more with less. And the more that the routine is automated, the greater the time available for research and patient care.

IT-related savings may not have the headline grabbing glamour of advancements in cancer care or mobility but nevertheless efficiency savings are the backbone of a drive to improve patient care. For not only do they save time and money, they also free up valuable clinical time, helping to increase the time which health professionals are actually spending with patients and that can only help everyone in the long run.

Staying active, boosting health

The adage that sitting at a desk for hours on end can be counter-productive has been given a further boost by a study carried out in America. It has long been claimed that being active, even simply by taking a break and walking around can help to reduce incidents of a range of health problems including diabetes and some forms of cancer.

This fresh study looked at the effects that sitting for long periods had on the femoral artery. The study observed that the way in which the femoral artery widened in response to blood flow deteriorated through long periods of sitting but that light walking breaks every hour significantly improved recovery of the artery.

This study, although limited in size, adds further weight to the argument for regular amounts of light exercise as opposed to sitting still all day and then hitting the gym. Whether the ‘standing desks’ which are growing in popularity are the answer is a debate for another time but from an employer, as well as a health practitioner point of view, the growing body of evidence would suggest that a sedentary work and home lifestyle is not a sensible course of action.

Of course, for the majority of health practitioners the opposite is true. The NHS Choices 10,000 steps a day challenge is scarcely a problem when someone is on their feet providing physiotherapy, osteopathy or other health treatments to patients. For them finding five minutes to sit down is the challenge and generally those five minutes are taken up in a rush to complete paperwork before the next patient knocks at the door.

If a sedentary lifestyle is not good for health, neither is one which is so packed with tasks that there is no time to rest. There is being active and being Active and if all of our activity is packed into continuous rushing around in response to must do tasks then being active can be counter productive. We all need time just to ‘stop and stare’, to rest our minds and bodies, to shake off what has gone before and prepare ourselves for the next activity. If we don’t give ourselves time then, rather like a student kitchen, the dirty cups of life pile up until it is difficult to see any clear way forward.

And when health practitioners naturally priorities patient treatment time, it is almost inevitable that administration creeps into leisure time. Taking simple steps to reduce the administrative burden can make a difference to stress levels. Tasks such as electronic filing of patient notes or sending out appointment reminders can easily be devolved to a virtual assistant service, as can dealing with routine phone calls and diary management.

Utilising the services of a virtual assistant not only removes the routine leaving the health practitioner free to concentrate on patient treatments, it also reduces the stress levels which can rise when a day is overfilled. Perhaps health practitioners need not worry about whether they are benefiting from regular exercise but in the interests of a balanced lifestyle, they also need some time to ‘sit and stare’.

Everything in moderation

Saturated fats, salt, alcohol, exercise, diet; the list of potential causes and prevention methods for cancer, heart problems and other life-threatening conditions changes on a daily basis. For every report which boldly proclaims that x is bad for you, another is sure to follow with a counter argument.

Even the idea of healthy exercise is under threat as a recent report reveals that working out at the gym may not help us to lose weight. With all of this contradictory advice it’s hardly surprising that some choose to ignore it completely whilst others present themselves at the osteopath or chiropractor with injuries from having jumped from one fad into another.

Calmer minds accept that the solution is to adopt the mantra ‘everything in moderation.’ Ignoring the fads and balancing a healthy diet with moderate exercise is arguably the best advice which anyone can have. Similarly, when it comes to a busy lifestyle, rather than flying from one extreme solution to another, the best advice is to take a good look at the schedule and find ways to reduce the overall workload.

When we encounter overload in our daily lives it is tempting to cut out some elements entirely. For example, a busy physiotherapy practice may take the decision to stop taking on new patients. Of course the danger in this is that we lurch from one crisis to another, cresting more problems with every ‘solution’ until we fall into some kind of stasis: just about managing but unable to grow or enjoy our work.

But one of the benefits of the internet age is that there are other options available which can take the strain without needing to resort to drastic measures. Services such as diary management, phone answering and even electronic filing of patient records can all be handled by a virtual assistant service. And with today’s telephony systems enabling callers to be pre-announced, a virtual assistant service can answer calls in the name of the health practice even if they are looking after a number of practices at the same time.

Add in an on-line booking service allied to secure card processing and at a stroke the day to day administration workload of a busy health practice can be switched from overload to manageable. Not only that, by taking card details at the time of booking, clients are far more likely to attend appointments; helping to maximise treatment times and ensuring that the physiotherapist or other health practitioner is spending their time productively rather than chasing no-shows.

With administration time cut, the health practitioner is freer to concentrate on what they do best; helping those who are in need of some form of therapeutic intervention. Best of all, the virtual assistant service is flexible and can be switched on and off as required. So if ‘pinch points’ only occur at certain times of the day, week or month, the virtual assistant can step in then, leaving practices free to self-manage at other times.

Everything in moderation? With a virtual receptionist service on standby, health practices can smooth out some of life’s pressure points and that can only be good for the health practitioners and for their patients.

Mustn’t Grumble

In a survey to mark Dementia Awareness Week (18-24 May) the Alzheimer’s Society revealed that 54% of people had waited for six months or more before seeking professional help for signs of dementia. The time delay appears to be fairly similar in respect of all health conditions with a separate YouGov poll reporting that 57% of adults who had had a health problem in the past year had put off asking for help.

Reasons given for the delay include a reluctance to make a fuss (47%), the fear of having a serious health problem (23%) and embarrassment (22%). Delays in reporting in particular relate to dementia, heart and digestive problems.

Commenting on the survey, Alzheimer’s Society Chief Executive, Jeremy Hughes acknowledged the difficulty which people have when confronting diseases such as dementia but went on to say that “the sooner you know what you are dealing with, the sooner you can feel in control again and get on with your life.” But the delay factor doesn’t just affect those with potentially serious illness. For every patient who seems to live in the surgery, another will hold off reporting even persistent complaints.

This can lead to minor strains or injuries being exacerbated up to the point at which they become debilitating. When patients do finally pick up the phone, if they don’t receive an instant answer, they may drop the idea of further help. This means that prompt telephone answering is not just vital for health professionals such as doctors and dentists; other professionals such as chiropractors, podiatrists and physiotherapists all have a responsibility to ensure phones are answered as swiftly as possible.

For smaller practices this isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Curtailing a treatment to answer the phone is not only unprofessional, it can in some cases result in further damage occurring. And whilst some patients may be prepared to leave their details on an answerphone, many will be reluctant to do so. This is particularly the case when someone has delayed asking for help; the unanswered call acting as a trigger to retreat away from the decision to seek help and back towards trying to manage the condition without outside intervention.

The solution is to link up with a virtual receptionist service. Virtual receptionists can answer the phone and make appointments on behalf of the health practice, leaving the practitioner free to concentrate on what they do best, helping people to recover from illness or injury. Not only does this help to ensure that treatment plans are carried out smoothly and without interruption, it can also free up vital time which can be used in treating additional patients.

One in three people over the age of 65 will develop dementia and it’s a fair bet that almost 100% of people within the same age bracket will develop strains, foot problems or other similar treatable problems at some time or other. Taking steps now to help them to contact a health professional easily and swiftly may just help to prolong their overall health in times to come.

Improving patient outcomes

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know

Donald Rumsfeld’s comments on the presence, or otherwise, of weapons of mass destruction may have passed into folklore but they do encapsulate the dilemma facing anyone who seeks to move away from the tendrils of speculation and into a position of certainty. Particularly so in the field of research where some studies result in ground breaking initiatives whilst others merely confirm unproven but seemingly obvious theories.

For example, a Europe-wide study into nursing practices has shown that a combination of nurse education levels and patient/nurse ratios can have an impact on patient outcomes. Whilst the initial reaction to this report may be to dismiss it as stating the obvious, an already known known; studies such as these are invaluable in both proving the theory and in quantifying the extent of the problem.

So whilst we may have thought that we knew increasing the workload of nurses may lead to poorer patient care, a study which concludes that increasing a nurse’s workload by one patient is associated with a 7% increase in patient deaths can only serve to sharply focus the attention. The report also concludes that in return for a 10% increase in nurses with degrees the risk of patient deaths falls by 7%; something which will be of comfort in the UK where with effect from 2013 all new nurses have to be educated to degree level.

Those working within the healthcare profession have always “known” that the more patients presenting for treatment equals the less time available for each patient and consequently the more likely that symptoms may be missed and care not be provided to the standards expected. But studies such as this one highlight the effect of time and patient pressure. For some the solution will be to educate further, to take on more staff; but when budgets are tight that is not always possible. Finding ways to work smarter, to automate, to outsource the routine, to free up time for patients is the way forward.

Before this study we knew that time and education equalled improved outcomes but we didn’t know to what extent. Now this part of the health service puzzle has moved from a known unknown into a known known and that has planning implications for all who practice healthcare and want to maximise patient outcomes.

A ‘Wellcome’ cure

The Wellcome Library has opened up its archives of historical memorabilia for general use. According to the library the collection encompasses ‘manuscripts, paintings, etchings, early photography and advertisements’ and amounts to some 100,000 images.

Releasing the images under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence means that they can be used free of charge by anyone for personal or commercial purposes, provided that the image is accompanied by an acknowledgement as to source. So whether you are treating your patients for gout or for sprained limbs, for persistent pain or for an aching tooth there may well be a suitable image which you can use to amuse or to inform your patients.

In opening up the archive the Head of the Wellcome Library, Simon Chaplin, said “Together the collection amounts to a dizzying visual record of centuries of human culture, and our attempts to understand our bodies, minds and health through art and observation. As a strong supporter of open access, we want to make sure these images can be used and enjoyed by anyone without restriction.” The earliest image in the collection is a fragment of an Egyptian herbal, inscribed on papyrus. From that early beginning the collection encompasses medieval manuscripts, Victorian cartoons and some early photographs exploring the movement of the human body.

Providing effective patient treatments can be challenging at times and those working in the health profession know that keeping the tone light and adding touches of humour can help to alleviate patient anxiety. Access to an archive such as this can help to make the difference; although whether some of the images such as the Gilray cartoons portraying gout sufferers drinking port will teach us anything is a matter for debate.

But to be truly effective light heartedness needs to be tempered with professionalism and this is not always easy to achieve in a busy health practice. Answering the phone, finding or filing patient notes, sending out invoices and other administration tasks can all disrupt patient treatments. Outsourcing some of this work to a virtual assistant service can help to smooth over the working day and maximise time taken on treating patients. Virtual Assistant services can be taken on a permanent or ‘as required’ basis. This means that health practitioners can concentrate on what they do best, treating and reassuring patients, whilst being reassured themselves that behind the scenes day to day administration tasks such as phone answering, appointment reminders and invoicing are not being neglected.

Whole person care

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has issued a report examining the measures required should England’s health and care system move towards the provision of ‘whole person care.’ With the benefit of making the connections between physical health, mental health and social care needs, and supporting people to remain in their own homes as long as they wish, whole person care provides joined up responses to individual needs.

Success is dependent on a number of factors including a long-term investment mindset, aligned incentives, effective use of technology and a flexible workforce. The report concludes that there is clear potential to deliver better outcomes if care services are more coordinated.

Commenting on the report Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) professional adviser, Eve Jenner, said that “physiotherapists were well placed to support whole person care” adding:

“They can act as single point of contact, care coordinators or as part of a team of health and social care professionals providing holistic assessment and treatment to people with long-term conditions.Key success points for whole person care include peer support, tapping into the expertise of others with the same condition, and personalised care plans. For professionals, the ability to share online access to personal health and care records is also vital. This last point echoes moves already being made within the health profession to share records. Not only does this lead to streamlined care, it also saves time and costs and helps to speed up effective treatments.

Simple measures such as electronic storage of patient records are a key step towards this goal. But not only does electronic storage facilitate the sharing of records, it also streamlines processes. When patient records are available at the touch of a button there is no wasted time in searching for mis-filed records, no wondering if the record shown is the latest one and no time spent on gathering evidence in preparation for each client appointment.

For health professionals such as physiotherapists and osteopaths, the electronic storing of patient records helps to save administration time which can better be spent on patient treatments. For health and care professionals as a whole, the move towards whole person care will help them to cost effectively provide the best treatment pathway available for the individual. The IPPR has identified many issues which are critical for the success of whole person care and they will be looking at these in more depth over the next 12 months. We’ll keep an eye out for these follow-ups and report as appropriate.

Securing payment

Christmas may be the season to be merry but it is also the season when credit cards tend to receive a hammering. To help shoppers the credit reference agency Experian has put together seven tips on managing cards wisely. These include making payments on time, never withdrawing cash on credit cards and keeping an eye on the total amount of credit which you have across all of your cards.

But credit cards are not just for Christmas and used wisely they can be an important tool in financial management, both for purchaser and for provider. Whether spreading the cost of purchase or securing payment, credit cards can be mutually beneficial.

That is one reason why Clinic Appointments are now pleased to be able to offer a secure card processing service for offsite payments. The service accepts both credit and debit cards and can be used as a means of helping to ensure that payment will be collected from clients who book an appointment either online or via a call to one of our receptionists. At the time of booking we reserve a payment amount on the client’s card, with the payment either being taken in full once the appointment has taken place, or in the event of a no-show an amount being debited in accordance with a health practice’s stated cancellation policy. Should the client choose to pay by other means the reserved payment can simply be released.

Just by being asked to provide card details up front, clients are far more likely to attend their appointments; benefitting both the health practice and the patient. And as you’d expect from a Clinic Appointments service, the Card Processing Service is secure. So when your patients cancel their appointments with a flimsy excuse, simply don’t show up for appointments or promise that ‘the cheque is in the post’ you may want to consider secure card processing. It will help you to maximise cash flow potential but more importantly, especially if run alongside our appointment reminder service, you will be helping to ensure that your patients turn up for treatment; benefitting them and their health in the long term.

We continue to look for ways in which Clinic Appointments can help our health practitioner clients to streamline their businesses and maximise patient treatment times. In the meantime may we take this opportunity to wish all of our Clinic Appointment clients a Happy Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.

Booking time

The dawn of the ‘internet revolution’ may by now be lost in the mists of the past but it seems as though at last the benefits of internet connectivity have moved into mainstream living. This Christmas more than one third of all shopping will take place on line with features such as click and collect proving popular.

As we toast the end of the year with internet tills ringing we are also shortly to be waving goodbye to another British institution. The Government has announced that the paper car tax disc is to be phased out. With authorities relying on purely electronic records the move will save time and resources.

In fact way back in the early days of the internet the benefits to be gained from the saving of time and resources were widely predicted but in the intervening period it has sometimes seemed as though all that the internet has done is bring more work. In the early days ‘dial up’ was so slow that many people could get in their cars and drive to the shops faster than they could order goods online. Now thanks to improved internet speeds allied with programmes designed with ease of use and speed in mind, the internet has at last come into its own.

One benefit of this improvement is the way in which health service providers are able to manage their diaries. For the health practitioner the time spent in booking appointments is effectively ‘dead time’; time which is spent away from treatment and time which potentially impinges on another patient’s treatment. That is why practitioners turn to services such as those provided by virtual assistants who can take calls and manage bookings on behalf of the health practitioner.

Now there is a new service available from Callagenix which not only saves the health practitioner from taking calls, it also saves the client from having to telephone. Online booking enables clients to browse and book an appointment at a time to suit them. This quick and simple appointment service perfectly ties in with the general move towards using the internet as the first port of call. The service is flexible and practitioners can choose whether to accept new or existing clients via the online service as well as restrict online booking to certain treatments or to certain times of the day or week. Time saving, easy to use and flexible; online bookings are a perfect example of the way in which the internet can make life better for all.

Telephone reminders

We’ve written before about the way in which telephone reminders can help to cut down the number of no-shows but it is always a pleasure to be able to report on a practical example. Earlier this year the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust introduced a reminder service for those with outpatient appointments.

Since the reminder service started the trust reports that no-shows have reduced by a third and the trust is therefore expanding the service to its physiotherapy departments. Using a mixture of texts and automated calls the trust decided to adopt the appointment reminder service as a way of cutting down on the 39,871 appointments missed in 2012.

In announcing the extension of the service the trust’s deputy general manager responsible for outpatients told the Wiltshire Times: “The reminders seem to making a real difference. I hope that patients find the service helpful and it makes it easier to cancel or rearrange. If we know a patient won’t be attending, we can offer the appointment to someone else. By making sure all of our appointments are used, we can see more patients and patients will be seen sooner.”

Patients who fail to show up for appointments are not just a problem for NHS trusts. Health practitioners everywhere from osteopaths to physiotherapists and from beauticians to specialised health clinicians all need to run with as full a schedule as possible if they are to remain competitive. Not only can missed appointments lead to delays in treatment times for the patients concerned and others, for those who rely on the appointment to generate income, every gap is a loss. The Wiltshire trust estimated that for them each missed appointment cost some £108 and the opportunity cost charge can easily be higher for those in private practice.

It is hardly surprising therefore that telephone appointment reminders are increasingly becoming a necessary feature of health practice. This writer has received reminders within the past few months from their optician, dentist and doctor, all of whom have adopted versions of the reminder system. Set alongside a virtual assistant service which can also take calls and arrange bookings, even the smallest of health practices can move towards a fuller diary with fewer no-shows. This in turn means that health practitioners can keep their prices competitive whilst maximising both their income and patient treatment times.

0800 0789333 info@clinicappointments.com

Book your free demo today! Call us on 0800 0789333 or book online

Tag: health news