We are delighted to feature this guest article on enhanced software application, written by Cloe Matheson, a freelance writer who hails from New Zealand.

Delivering a positive patient experience should be the first priority of any medical practice.

After all, it’s the patient experience that boosts patient retention and keeps your practice going.

There are a few factors that contribute to a good patient experience. Quality medical care, strong patient engagement and an efficient workflow are crucial. To achieve any of these things, it’s important for your practice to have high-quality medical software.

We’re living in the digital age where medical practices are relying on technology to exchange medical information. The more efficient your software is, the more efficiently your practice will run. Here’s how enhanced software application can benefit the patient experience for all:

New Levels of Efficiency

Workflow efficiency is crucial to the success of any medical practice. A medical practice that is efficient and productive leaves a positive impression on patients. It also helps to boost job satisfaction amongst employees, which improves employee retention.

Using enhanced software application will improve workplace efficiency in many ways. We all know that managing a medical practice is not an easy job. Providers are faced with an array of patient responsibilities and administrative tasks on a daily basis.

Providers can use healthcare software to exchange patient information in a more organised and efficient manner. This allows you to update patient details and schedules, and follow up with patients accordingly.

Improve efficiency in the workplace by using medical software with voice-recognition features. This allows you to insert data quickly on your device. You can transcribe your medical report on your device and minimise your paperwork dramatically. With less administrative tasks to deal with, you’ll have more time to focus on patient care.

Consider opting for platforms that have specialty-specific templates to suit each provider’s preferences. This makes it much easier to select lab orders and medications when you need to. This will make your workplace more organised as a whole, which your patients will appreciate. With better time management thanks to advanced technology, you can see more patients in less time.

However, before investing in new software, it’s important to sort out any technical issues. A speedy internet connection is essential to your workflow efficiency. With faster internet, you can further ensure everything runs smoothly.

Better Patient Engagement

When patients visit your practice, they want to feel confident that they are getting the best possible care. Your level of engagement with patients makes all the difference to your reputation.

Multi-site enabled medical software enables you to engage with patients anywhere in the world. This means providers can support patients both during and after discharge. With this support, patients will feel more engaged with their providers throughout the process. This will help to build their trust, and make them more loyal towards your practice. If a patient has a positive experience with your practice, they are more likely to recommend you to other people.

All of these factors will help to boost your reputation and attract more people to your practice. This provides you with the opportunity to improve medical care further.

If you want your medical practice to grow, you have to find effective ways to improve the patient experience. Investing in better software will improve patient engagement, and make your workplace more efficient as a whole.

Cloe Matheson is a freelance writer who hails from New Zealand. She has penned articles for numerous local sites. When she’s not writing, Cloe likes to browse through business articles. Read more of her published works on Tumblr.

The opinions expressed by the guest writer are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ORCHA or its employees. ORCHA is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information given by guest writers.

Established to evaluate Digital Health products and services, the Digital Assessment Questionnaire (DAQ) has evolved over time, first setting standards too low, then too high. But after years of development and significant NHS investment, the DAQ became a global digital exemplar – one of the world’s most rigorous digital health assessment models, yet capable of processing an evaluation within a matter of days. A standard that adapted requirements and thresholds based on need in its broad-based sector.

Any standard intended to replace the DAQ must offer a leap in benefits to the NHS, patients and developers. As such, the initiative by NHSX to design a new standard offers a huge opportunity. After working with national bodies worldwide, helping to develop the NICE standards, and recently, as an approved assessor, applying the DAQ for the past 18 months, we are excited by what can be achieved.

As the consultation on the new NHS Digital Health Technology Standard closes, our call to NHSX will be to ensure that the new standard:

1. Uses lessons learned: In the development of the DAQ, there were many approaches tested and removed because they were unsuccessful. A close understanding of lessons will ensure that time and resources are not wasted. For example, it is tempting to think that the tougher the standard, the more protection it offers. But set the standard too high and no solutions designed to help patients can make it to the market. Regulation needs to measure the right things and set the bar at an appropriate level, giving consideration to the risks that it is designed to mitigate.
2. Does not collate but adapts: Simply collating all appropriate standards into a single assessment process does not work. For example, the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) security standard is required in the proposed new NHS Technology Standard, yet the ability to demonstrate compliance with its principles is a hugely complex task, which has, to date, proved impossible. We would encourage the approach taken by the DAQ for the DCB0129 Clinical Risk Management information standard. Here, the assessment process was refined to accommodate the standard’s requirements. This involved developing a granular interpretation of which solutions the standard was or was not applicable to, as well as a refined and more detailed breakdown to evaluate compliance. This step should also seek to remove duplication in checks made by standards.
3. Leverages international programmes: If the new NHS Technology Standard is to utilise international best practice, a good starting point would be the EU sponsored project team behind the crafting of a CEN/ISO Technical Standard for Digital Health and Wellbeing solutions. ORCHA has been supporting this work and can recommend this initiative. The CEN/ISO standard is a significant programme that consolidates an array of the most applicable standards in the Digital Health space into one overarching model. This is a great starting point for any national standard and represents a solid foundation for assessment. The new NHS standard does reference the new CEN/ISO Draft Technical Standard, but with a view to adding it to a list of requirements, rather than using it as an opportunity to consolidate the list of standards required for developers and the process to follow.
4. Is designed with process in mind: The creation of a standard is just the starting point. A process is needed to implement the standard, which can take between 9 to 12 months to develop.  Considering how a standard will be applied throughout development will ease this development stage. Development with process in mind may also help the programme to consider a closed-loop system. For instance, ORCHA works with national bodies across EMEA, providing a review process, national app library and local app libraries which correspond to the national platform. This means the whole process and offer is connected, ensuring a 360° view and management. For example, every time an app is updated in an app store, our system triggers a re-review and the app libraries notify users that the review does not include the latest update.
5. Incorporates AI and other emerging technologies:It will be important for any future standard to build suitable assessment elements around technologies such as AI. With experts in the field, ORCHA has already developed an assessment module for AI and would be happy to support the NHS team in this area. The issue of data interoperability is another essential consideration in terms of future technologies.

We call for these areas to be considered, but most importantly, we ask for clarity around the goal for the programme. There are some fantastic principles and concepts in the draft standard, but it would be good to understand the specific step change in outcomes wanted. Only once we know what the problem and target is, will ORCHA and the digital health ecosystem be able to help the NHS to shape the future of Digital Assessment and the New NHS Technology Standard.

We are delighted to feature this guest article on long-distance caregiving, written by Claire Wentz from Caring From Afar

Being a caregiver for a senior loved one is not for the faint of heart. It can be physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing, and it can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Even more challenging is when you’re a long-distance caregiver. Whether your loved one lives 30 minutes away or on the other side of the country, the responsibility for their health and well-being can weigh heavily when you can’t be there for them at a moment’s notice.

Fortunately, there are ways to relieve some of the stress and burden of long-distance caregiving and help you fulfill your role as effectively as possible.

Keep in touch with your loved one.

First things first: You want to stay connected to your loved one. That way, you will always be in the loop and won’t have to guess as much about how your loved one is doing. Schedule a time of day to speak with them each day, and if they fail to call you, be sure to try calling them. Having an established call time will help reduce your worry on a daily basis.

One way to help you and your loved one stay in touch is to get them a cell phone, along with a plan designed specifically for seniors. Mobile providers like Verizon have special wireless plans for seniors that come with unlimited calls, text, and data.

Stay up-to-date with the healthcare team

Also, be sure to keep in touch with your loved one’s team of healthcare professionals. For instance, speaking regularly with their doctors and/or assisted living/nursing home staff will keep you in the loop of their progress and let you know if there are certain steps you can take to help your loved one improve their health and well-being.

Plan out your visits.

Keeping in touch through calling and texting is important when you’re a long-distance caregiver, but it’s also important to see them face-to-face. Plan to visit them as much as you can. That way, you can see for yourself how your loved one is doing, which is more valuable than simply hearing it over the phone.

Don’t just make your visits about your loved one’s health. Try to schedule activities that will be fun and relaxing. For example, you could plan a dinner-and-movie night, go shopping, take a short road trip, or do anything else that helps both of you unwind and enjoy time together. These types of activities allow for memories to be made and for bonds to be strengthened.

Talk to neighbors or friends nearby.

Along with staying in touch with your loved one’s healthcare team, try to find friends or other family members that live near them. This can help you get the most realistic sense of how your loved one is doing because, though they mean well, they might sometimes exaggerate how great or terrible they are feeling. And if a friend or family member finds that there’s an issue, they can contact you immediately.

Get them any necessary devices.

Your loved one will need a cell phone, but there are other devices that can prove useful. For instance, consider getting a medical alert system so that emergency services can be contacted in the event of an emergency. Also, look into smart speakers like the Amazon Echo, which can act as a personal assistant with a variety of tasks (e.g., medication reminders, making phone calls, getting weather updates).

It’s not easy being a long-distance caregiver, but these tips can help you fulfill your role while relieving you of some of the stress. Be sure to stay in touch with your loved one and their healthcare team, schedule regular visits, see if there are other people close by that could keep an eye on your loved one, and look into devices that could help. Most importantly, stay open to other ways that you can help your loved one live their best life.

Image via Unsplash

Here at ORCHA, we’re continuously testing and questioning apps, on the lookout for apps which are safe, secure, easy to use and, most importantly, deliver real health outcomes. We now look at 226 elements, to help give health professionals and consumers an informed choice on which health apps to choose.

To help app developers produce the best apps, we’re sharing tips from across the 226 important aspects, which together may help to set your app apart from the rest!

Tip #4: How to personalise an app experience with privacy settings: