Healthcare Technology Featured Article

April 16, 2019

Healthcare Facilities: What You Need to Maintain a Safe and Healthy Environment




Running a healthcare institution, or any type of medical facility where you provide care to patients or clients, requires a high level of performance, cleanliness and safety. The good news is that there are steps you can take to ensure that you meet these goals.

Safety

When it comes to the environment, safety is of the utmost importance. Luckily there are measures you can put in place to improve and create a place that promotes safety. For instance, the staff attire should fit properly and nursing shoes can provide maximum comfort due to the length of time these professionals spend on their feet. The shoes should also offer protection from sharp objects and from slips and falls. The waiting areas and exam rooms should have no sharp edges or objects that personnel or patients can come into contact with and you should have a clear and open space for walking freely from one room to another.

Sanitary Environment

Along with safety is the need for a sanitary environment. Because you work with people who have illnesses that can spread, killing germs after each patient's visit is critical. All medical facilities must have hazardous waste containers to store used supplies such as needles for pickup weekly by an outside company that specializes in the proper disposal of this type of waste. Having janitorial services either on staff or farmed in to wipe down the tables, counters and maintain the floors is also essential.

Efficient Programs

Keeping your paperwork organized and having access to records of your patients and clients at your disposal is very important to the process of diagnosing patients and referrals. Luckily, today there are many advanced programs available like ERP software that not only allows you to provide information faster but also helps your employees work more efficiently, creating a smoothly run operation.

Separate Locations for Patients

Many times when you enter a medical facility, multiple patients occupy the same space. This is a potentially dangerous practice that can produce undesirable results. A good way to avoid the spread of a virus or airborne disease is to keep sick patients separate from those simply seeking a regular checkup or who come in for a follow-up visit.

Qualified Staff

The healthcare industry places a lot of demands on doctors and nurses. And, because of this, the turnover tends to be higher than other industries. When you lose a professional with years of experience, you lose a part of your practice. Patients like familiarity; they get comfortable and extend trust. When someone leaves after years of service to seek another job, the regular patients can suffer. There's no longer connectivity between the staff and patients, and the patient’s level of comfort can deteriorate quickly to skepticism.

A good way to reduce the turnover rate in your practice is to keep your employees happy. This means offering not only a good salary but also proper treatment of personnel on the job and benefits that extend beyond what they would find elsewhere.

Healthcare facilities are important places where you receive high volumes of patients or clients daily. Taking the necessary steps to ensure that you promote a safe and healthy environment will allow you to keep the focus on helping your patients with their illness or treatments.



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