Automation and Convenience: It’s Not Just for Consumers
Do you know where your checkbook is?
How about the spiral bound atlas that used to reside in the seat pocket of your car?
Over the past ten to twenty years our lives have gone completely digital. The consumer experience has been simplified by the snap of a QR code or download of an app on your personal device. Healthcare, however, continues to lag behind other industries in this regard. Many patients and families still find themselves rifling through an old, tattered booklet on their medical condition, or reviewing a paper menu before ordering their nightly dinner.
The impact of this digital hesitation in healthcare is hard to ignore when you start to look at clinical workflows and our overstressed workforce of clinicians. According to the 2021 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, since 2016 the average hospital has turned over about 90%of its workforce—an alarming 83% was RN staff. In 2020, the turnover rate for staff RNs was at 18.7%, a 2.8 percentage point increase from 2019. The shortage means hospitals are facing between $3.6 – $6.5 million per year in turnover costs. While the stress of the pandemic forced many out of the field, the manual and even antiquated processes that exist today are impacting staff satisfaction and retention.
