Health sector under pressure: the data

In spite of the enormous progress achieved by medical science and technology, it is evident that health systems around the world often face difficulties inorganisation of workflows. In a global context where the number of people over 60 is set to double by 2050 (source: World Health Organisation), the pressure on facilities and health workers will only increase exponentially. However, there are numerous factors that threaten to make the situation even more complicated:

  • Increase in cases of dementiaWith a new case every 3 seconds worldwide, almost 10 million people a year are affected. In Italy alone there are more than one million patients with dementia, as reported by the Ministry of Health.
  • Staff shortages: "In the next decade, up to 40% of nurses in developed countries will leave their jobs in the health sector" this was the prediction of the WHO back in 2o13. Ten years later, on 23/03/23, Health Minister Orazio Schillaci stated that: "The shortage of doctors and nurses represents a real health personnel emergency". and for this they are planning measures to be taken by summer.
  • Globalised economyThe growth of the global market and international travel means that disease outbreaks spread extremely fast. As was the case with Covid-19, a localised epidemic can quickly turn into a pandemic, putting even the most advanced national systems in serious difficulty.
shortage-sanitary-personnel
Images of nurses and nurses engaged in the fight against Covid-19, symbolising a system in dire straits, went around the world.

How do these factors affect nurses' operations?

  • According to reports from 'The Permanente Journal", nurses pass less than one fifth of their time to take care of direct patient care.
  • A study published by the American scientific journal "Journal of Nursing Administration'. shows that a nurse or assistant travels an average of 6 km during each shift, for a grand total of 90 minutes. Many, if not most, of these trips are unnecessary and could be avoided by spending the time on more skilled work.
  • A study by theUniversity of Maryland found that in US hospitals $12 billion is wasted annually due to poor communication.
  • Literature data show that the 77% of operator interruptions depends on three factors: communication, waiting, searching for necessary supplies. Only 19% of the time is actually spent on patient care.

call-in nurses

The solution? Wireless nurse call systems

Wireless nurse call systems promote collaboration between staff through a communication aid based on roles, staff availability and efficient collaboration systems on patient care. In order to contribute to the creation of a more reliable and sustainable healthcare system, a intelligent and integrated workflow management. These types of solutions prove to be of great benefit to patients and healthcare personnel precisely because of the combination of the three elements mentioned above:
  1. Intelligent managementwireless communication systems must be intuitive and predictive. They must help staff in direct contact with patients to anticipate events and not
    only react to them. In addition, they must provide hospital administrators with the necessary data to optimise the productivity of staff and equipment.
  2. IntegrationBy uniting technologies, devices, processes, patients and personnel in integrated and scalable healthcare systems, it is possible to make the most of investments.
  3. WorkflowsFragmented workflows and numerous sources of information are serious problems for most hospitals. They hamper productivity, reduce caregiver and patient satisfaction and can have a negative impact on clinical outcomes. However, reducing the extent of these problems is not easy. It requires intelligent alarm management and communication systems as well as an understanding of the individual operational reality of each facility.

A guide to learn more

Obviously there are numerous solutions on the market, more or less reliable. However, there are numerous doubts that a facility might have when implementing a new nurse call system. For this Irbema produced a comprehensive guide on solutions to improve efficiency and safety standards in the healthcare sector while reducing costs.

The guide is free of charge and to download it just click the button below:

Download the guide

Would you like more information? ....... Find out here the most suitable device for your needs and contact one of our experts by writing to info@irbema.com.

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