The growing trend toward outpatient care helps hospitals to manage costs by freeing up hospital beds, reducing the incidence of hospital acquired infections and providing personnel to manage post-treatment care. Many studies show that patients heal faster with fewer complications when they are allowed to recover at home. In addition, the growth of home health care agencies allow hospitals to focus their efforts and expenses on treating more serious illnesses, thereby reducing the overall cost load.
A Focus on Wellness
The medical community is becoming increasingly cognizant of the value of wellness care for patients and its ability to help contain costs. Wellness care allows medical personnel to engage in health education of patients. It also engages the patient in self-monitoring, so that small health problems can be caught early. This measure prevents the advent of more serious illnesses, which quickly become more expensive to treat. Good wellness training helps to prevent re-admissions after surgery or treatment and helps the hospital to contain the cost of each medical incident.
Integrated Therapies
The value of alternative therapies is being recognized as a useful adjunct not only for effective treatment, but also for effective cost containment. For example, anesthesiologists note that they use a smaller amount of anesthesia for patients who get a pre-op massage than those who do not get the massage. The massage helps to reduce anxiety so that less medication is needed. Therapies such as massage and meditation can help to reduce the need for pain medication after surgery, as well. These methods can reduce overall costs for the hospital and provide a better experience for patients.
Efficient Use of Data Technologies
Management of medical data has become one of the biggest challenges for hospitals, yet it offers a world of information that can be utilized for better care. This data can provide information on effective outcomes and be shared between physicians instantly, allowing them to implement better treatments with fewer complications and shorter hospital stays. These improvements can have significant effects on hospital costs over time.
Supply Chain Improvements
A careful look at how and when medical items are used can reveal gross inefficiencies in supply chain management. Bloated inventories tend more to mismanagement and waste than cost containment. Mass production of sterile instruments, like modern catheter shaft welding, allows medical tools to be ordered in smaller batches instead of huge shipments and labor-intensive inventory control measures. Streamlining these systems can help to contain costs and ensure that the hospital can deliver value to patients at a reasonable cost.
Hospitals are continually strategizing on new ways to manage health care costs in order to provide better treatments and improved outcomes. New technologies offer many opportunities to accomplish all these tasks to create a more efficient health care system.
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