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A group of healthcare individuals discussing patient care.
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Medical & Healthcare News

4 Ways For Hospitals to Anticipate Medical Needs of Older Adults

In a post-pandemic era where hospitals already feel the strain of staffing and other issues, how are they dealing with challenges that come from a growing aging population? This is a topic that doesn’t go unnoticed and is demanding the attention of hospitals daily. 

The aging population is ever increasing in the United States and this trend is still looking up. An estimated twenty percent of Americans will be sixty-five or older by 2030. With this significant number of older individuals comes more and more need to ensure proper healthcare and procedures for this generation. Individuals falling in this age range have a wide variety of medical needs. Stereotypes of older adults often portray frail and dependent individuals. However, a grand part of this cohort is completely independent, healthy, and self-sufficient. Regardless of an individual’s condition at this point in life, more regular health checkups and needs arise, creating a larger dependency on hospitals and medical centers among this age group. 

Technological advances and strides in the medical field have provided an outlet of extraordinary care for this group. However, the need for staff, empowerment, and ensuring engagement in health care knowledge among these older adults is apparent. Here are some factors hospitals and medical centers will need to consider in order to best serve this generation…

Prepared and Full Workforce

Creative education and training approaches surrounding geriatrics for all healthcare professionals, not just those preparing to work in geriatric care, should be a priority in the field of medical schools and training centers. Conditions such as dementia, falls, and mental health are just a few examples of what should be included in models of care for the aging population. The “4Ms” framework (what matters, mentation, medication, and mobility) is one approach that has been proven to result in improved care across the board. Frameworks and approaches such as these can be used in education and training for all healthcare professionals to improve the care and the health experience for providers and patients alike. A continued eye for innovation in designing training programs and education is essential when anticipating care for an aging generation.

Approaches to Care Delivery

The growth of telehealth, virtual healthcare services, and technology has created incredible strides in new care delivery approaches. Given that an individual in the aging population has access to these technologies, it can dramatically increase the frequency and quality of care received. Telehealth makes keeping regular check-in and consultation appointments far more convenient for providers and patients alike. The logistical factors of transportation and clinic space are taken out of the equation with the use of virtual visits. The continued increase of technology use in care delivery will help anticipate the needs and address challenges in best serving and caring for the aging population.

Of course, the benefits coming from virtual care services are only helpful when older adults have the access and technological knowledge required. Since this must be taken into consideration, hospitals and care centers should anticipate the fact that these adults may not always have access to technology or knowledge to operate the programs and applications being used. Therefore, education and accessibility to these technologies is an important factor when it comes to caring for this specific population.

Resources for Long Term Services and End of Life Care

Serious illnesses do arise and disproportionately affect older adults. While an unfortunate and undesirable thought to have, the planning of these illnesses is imperative when anticipating care for the aging population. Going back to a prepared workforce, caregivers should be trained in communication and symptom management surrounding these illnesses and end-of-life care. Designing facilities and staff training specifically in this concentration is one way hospitals can meet these challenges head-on. 

Proper Transportation Programs

NEMT (non-emergency medical transportation) is an essential factor when it comes to caring for older adults. Those who may not be able to drive or need transport assistance to appointments rely on NEMT to access the care that they require. Medi-Ops provides NEMT services with efficiency and professionalism. These services range from wheelchair, ambulatory, stretcher, or even rideshare transport. Whether it’s office visits or hospital discharges, proper and safe transportation for individuals is an essential component of care. When medical service centers and hospitals have a variety of transportation options and partners, they are better able to serve the medical and financial needs of patients. 

Clearly, many of these issues and needs could be taken to a higher level in policy and government aid, however, there is plenty that hospitals, healthcare facilities, and medical partners can be doing and looking towards when it comes to taking care of the aging population. Preparation and anticipation of needs are key in this case, and there are very possible ways to better care for and protect this valuable population of individuals.

Communication with patients is enabled by technology.
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Medical & Healthcare News

Healthcare Communication: From Paper to Pixels

Since news and information move so quickly in the healthcare industry, effective and established communication channels are imperative to maintaining successful operations. Communication in this sector has developed and improved over time to carry information effectively across all levels of the industry – patients, medical personnel, facilities, etc. Since this industry is so technologically focused, communication and the methods of going about it are constantly changing and developing. 

History of Communication in Healthcare

Digital technology and digitized communication have done wonders for the healthcare industry. However, even today there is a mix of traditional and digital communication channels to make up one efficient system. The first digital systems were integrated into the healthcare industry in the 1960s when EHRs (electronic health records) came into play. By the 1980s, digitized records were widely used and instilled, creating easier record access for patients and facilities alike. Around this time, business technology such as faxing also became widely available and used in healthcare facilities. Computer use was still limited, but growing more popular in this decade.

The 1990s brought the wonderful invention of the internet and this significantly increased digital communication use. Recording, transferring, and sharing patient records, prescription history, and medical information alike became much more feasible. 

Since the 2000s, we have seen technological communication skyrocket, not only with records and patient communication, but also with emergency transportation and communication, telemedicine, computing and research, AI, data analytics, and so much more. 

Importance of Communication in the Healthcare Industry

Before digital communication methods entered the industry, patient records on paper weren’t as accurate or accessible and made for longer delays in patient care. EHRs and digital technologies have streamlined administrative processes as well as improved patient engagement, care, and accuracy in diagnosis and analytics. 

Effective and efficient communication can save lives and precious time in both administrative processes and patient care. Research and clinical processes benefit from these communication channels as well. 

Besides digital and internal communication,  healthcare facilities, companies, and organizations that consistently provide clear and constant communication with clients, patients, and providers have a wealth of trust and reliability which translates to greater success in the industry. Not to mention, higher rates of satisfaction and productivity. The consumer experience is made or broken by effective and positive communication experiences. Therefore, communication strategies and channels shouldn’t be overlooked by any individual or organization involved in this industry.

Communication Challenges

Technology always has its glitches and issues, so digital communication by no means solves all communication challenges. Organizations, facilities, and healthcare professionals alike still need to be proactive in personal communication measures – engaging with patients and clients in person and in meaningful ways. While digital communication can be an easy answer for many healthcare encounters, the personal touch that in-person or person-to-person communication provides should never be underestimated. Those involved in the healthcare industry should still be aware of the importance of connections and patient-focused care. The way that digital communication has transformed the healthcare industry solves many challenges and streamlines processes, but can also lose the patient-focused, personal touch that other methods of communication provide. Because of this, looking for healthcare partners that have patient-focused missions and actions while also utilizing efficient and current means of communication is vital.

3 New Methods of Digital Communication

  1. Telemedicine is already a new digital communication method that has transformed the healthcare industry (read more about it here!) 
  2. Mobile health provides apps and portals where patients can have more autonomy over their care through monitoring vitals, communicating with providers, keeping track of medications, and more.
  3. Interactive content comes in the form of personalized videos, mini-sites, and an interactive way to communicate with providers and keep track of your progress and care.

Medi-Ops and Transportation Communication

Medi-Ops itself has a seamless method of combining innovative and future technologies with personalized and patient-centered focuses when it comes to communication. As we were founded on taking the hassle out of medical transportation and providing visibility for clients and patients, the concepts of communication and connection go hand in hand. With our dispatch center, operators, and custom software, we make the medical transportation process the easiest possible for you. Our dispatch center is open 24/7, 365 days a year in order to have effective and efficient communication that is always available to the client.

All in all, communication in the healthcare industry has evolved from being strictly paper-based to an innovative, complicated, and efficient flow of digital technologies and traditional communication alike. The importance of efficient communication is paramount. There is also a significant need to keep the personalized touch that traditional and face-to-face communication holds. The ebb and flow of digital and traditional communication channels is an important balance to hold in any context of healthcare facilities and organizations. The flow of efficient communication can save lives, improve organizations, and boost the integrity and reliability of companies and organizations.

Drug discovery is complex and can take a long time.
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Medical & Healthcare News

The Journey of a Drug: Idea to FDA Approval

Drug development is an essential process in the healthcare and medical industry. So much goes into creating safe and effective drugs to better treat different conditions and serve patients better. 

According to the FDA, here are the steps for drug development…

Step One: Discovery and Development

In this step, the need for a new drug has been identified, and research begins in a laboratory. Researchers typically find new drugs when insights into a disease are found, existing treatments produce unanticipated effects, or technological advances create new avenues for development. The trial and error process begins in research to find compounds that are viable options for further research. When compounds are found promising, researchers continue to conduct experiments and gather information on the compound itself as well as how to produce it most effectively in drug form. The effectiveness and interactions with other drugs and compounds are also studied and observed at this stage.

Step Two: Preclinical Research

Testing involving people is taken seriously and can not be conducted until researchers are sure that the drug is safe. That is why in preclinical research, good laboratory practices (GLP) are used. These consist of rules to ensure ethical safety and requirements for quality testing and procedures. The results from testing at this stage determine if the product is safe to move on to clinical studies and patient testing.

This step answers the majority of questions about the realities of the drug and how it interacts with the human body. Even so, before public production and distribution can even be discussed, the research team moves on to the next step of clinical research.

Step Three: Clinical Research

As one of the most lengthy aspects of the drug development process, clinical research goes on for years. This step involves the testing of the drug with people. Developers design the studies around Clinical Research Phases and the Investigational New Drug Process (IND). These processes must be completed before human testers are involved. The IND application must be submitted to the FDA before clinical trials can start. All of the preclinical research and data, as well as information about the investigator and developers, must be included. The FDA will respond to the application and either approve clinical trials or place a clinical hold if requirements aren’t met.

There is a specific protocol and plan developed by researchers and manufacturers for clinical trials. This includes confirming participant numbers, groupings, and qualifications, drug dosage and administration, and data collection and analysis.

Clinical Trial Phases

Phase 1: The first phase involves a small number of qualified participants with the condition being treated. This stage lasts several months, and if the results prove successful, the drug moves on to phase two. 70% of drugs move on to the next phase.

Phase 2: This phase utilizes a larger group of people (sometimes several hundred) and will be carried out anywhere from a few months to over 2 years. The timing of this stage is dependent on the drug and determines the efficacy and side effects of the drug. As this phase is more in-depth and informative on how the drug will perform commercially, only 33% of drugs continue.

Phase 3: Anywhere from 300 to 3,000 people with the condition participate in this phase over one to four years to monitor efficacy and reactions. 25-30% of drugs continue to phase 4.

Phase 4: Several thousand volunteers with the condition are involved in this final phase to ensure the safety and efficacy of the product.

Step Four: FDA Review

Once the drug developer determines from all research that the drug is safe and effective, they will file an application to market the drug, which will be reviewed by the FDA review team. The New Drug Application (NDA) will include all of the data gathered from each step of the process up until this point as well as directions for use, labeling, patent information, safety updates, data from other studies, and drug abuse information. The review team is made up of individuals from different fields of medicine who will review all of the data, conduct clinical study site inspections, and assemble all reviews and reports as a record for FDA review.

When determining a safe and effective drug, the FDA will work with the applicant on narrowing down prescribing information (the “labeling” process). If the FDA requires more information or additional studies, they will address that with the applicant.

Step Five: FDA Post-Market Safety Monitoring

Continued monitoring of the drug and its safety will be in effect once public availability is established. This is conducted through supplemental applications, INDs for marked drugs, manufacturer inspections, drug advertising, active surveillance, generic drug manufacturing, and reporting.

As you can see, this process is extensive and lengthy. Between 30 and 50 drugs get approved each year on average. While this process takes a long time, it is important to ensure the safety of drugs and have total knowledge of side effects and how the drug interacts with the human body, environment, and other substances. All in all, drug design, testing, and implementation are essential in the healthcare industry as a whole and should be held with high respect and importance.

Time is important and is shown in this picture by an hourglass.
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Medical & Healthcare News

Timing is Everything

In the healthcare community and industry, timing is crucial for day-to-day operations and successful patient care. Without proper preparation and time budgeting, patient’s lives are in danger, and the efficiency of the industry is at risk. The importance of time not only goes into patient transport and care but also in blood and organ transport. Medi-Ops prides itself on fast and efficient transportation in any scenario – whether that be patients or medical product. Taking a look at each aspect of timing and its importance, we can begin to see that time may be the most vital aspect of the healthcare industry.

Timing In Blood Transport

Blood has a strict shelf and requirements for transportation in order to maintain the integrity of the product for medical use. Temperature-controlled transportation is essential in blood transport as blood and plasma have different temperature requirements. While blood can have a shelf life of up to 35 days if stored well, products should never have a transportation time of over 24 hours. 

Transportation requirements go further than just timing in blood transport, however, the time aspect, along with the container requirements, go hand in hand to bring the best transportation situation for patients, clinical trials, and other medical needs. A note with blood transportation is also that while the blood product itself has the capability of being in transport for a few hours, sometimes the patient requiring the blood doesn’t have that kind of time. In these cases, emergent transportation is a necessity and the importance of timing increases greatly.

Timing In Organ Transport

Similar to blood and its timing and transportation requirements, organ transportation has its fair share of rules and regulations to ensure proper maintenance and transport of all products. From organ removal to transplant, the process is complex and time-sensitive. Temperature and containers are still a huge aspect of this process. The timing of transporting organs between facilities can’t be overlooked. Depending on the organ, different timing constraints are in place. For example, kidneys can maintain integrity up to 24 hours, while organs like the heart and lungs only have 3-6 hours of viability. 

With the high demand of organ donors and recipients waiting for organs to become available for transplant, ensuring organs don’t go to waste on account of a timing mistake is of utmost importance! These are patients’ lives on the line and not a process or situation that can be taken lightly.

Not to mention, other medical products such as vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and other products have their own sets of time and transportation requirements.

Timing With Patient Transport

Patient transportation – whether in the form of emergency or non-emergency transportation, relies on schedules and timing to cater to patient needs. Emergency transportation obviously has a huge emphasis on timing as getting patients from the place of emergency to a medical care facility when in distress is vital. This is definitely a moving-as-fast-as-possible situation while maintaining the safety of the patient.

Emergent situations require the utilization and coordination of different services to cater to the specific situation and patient needs. Ambulatory transport, as well as air medical services, are considered and booked in these cases depending on the patient. Emergencies, unfortunately, come up quickly and unexpectedly, creating a great need for impeccable logistics and transport services that are on the ready to help any patient that should need it. 

Even in NEMT cases, patients need to get to medical appointments and facilities on time, creating an emphasis on communication and coordination in the transportation industry so that patients utilizing these services have the best experiences possible.

Medi-Ops and Timing

A wealth of services are vital in order to be able to cater to any situation that should arise. That’s why Medi-Ops offers patient transport in forms of both ground (lights and sirens, STAT, scheduled, and four transport) and air (next flight out, onboard courier, and aircraft charter) transport as well as emergent and NEMT transportation (stretchers, wheelchairs, or rideshares). In addition, ground and air courier transportation services are available to approach medical product transport needs from any angle necessary. When lives are on the line, a mistake by just a few minutes can be detrimental. That’s why the ability to stick to strict time constraints and requirements shouldn’t be just anyone’s responsibility. Medi-Ops continues to provide the highest quality transportation services in which timing is one of the highest priorities.

Medi-Ops works hard on implementing high-quality and innovative medical logistics for any situation. With our innovative and future-thinking mindset, we are constantly looking ahead on how to continuously tweak and change logistics in order to provide the most efficient transportation (for patients and medical products alike) possible. Another service offered is that of medical consulting so that we can meet everyone where they are at and improve the medical transportation industry one step at a time!

Medical logistics are already benefiting from the use of electric vehicles.
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Courier Services

Electric Vehicles and Sustainability

As the topics of sustainability and climate change sweep the world and continue to grow exceedingly important, all areas of medical logistics need to be evaluated in order to promote better environmental practices for all parties involved. This includes looking for solutions in vehicles – both ground and air – as well as evaluating other aspects of transportation. Autonomous vehicles are one way to promote sustainability, but electric and green vehicles can’t be overlooked when it comes to transportation and sustainability.

Climate Change and Its Importance

The importance of climate change can’t be underestimated, and the impact of vehicles is no joke. Highway vehicles release around 1.5 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year. In addition, the carbon pollution from gasoline and emissions is paramount. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons which contribute to the Earth’s atmosphere warming and changes to the climate that we see daily. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation amount to 29 percent of the total emissions in the US. While 29 percent might not seem like that large of a number, transportation emissions are the leading contributor to GHG emissions. 

Taking care of the environment and looking after our planet is extraordinarily important. The field of transportation is one that everyone – individuals, companies, and organizations alike – can look towards to find solutions and promote more sustainable practices. While making these choices on a personal level can be easier than on a worldwide level, every choice counts and is paramount for the future of our planet.

What are Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Options?

Electric Vehicles are a great option here due to the fact that they use an electric motor that emits no exhaust and doesn’t require liquid fuel. There are hybrid electric or plug-in hybrid options here that can also contribute to a more environmentally friendly future.

Eco-friendly vehicles are pretty broad in that they run more efficiently and are said to be environmentally friendly, however as with any sustainability initiatives and products, these terms can mean a lot of different things.

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars are powered by hydrogen as opposed to batteries and are another green option in terms of vehicles and transportation. Hydrogen cars can typically offer a longer driving range than electric, making them a more reliable option for long-distance travel. The only downside here is that electric cars can offer a more responsive driving experience through better acceleration and torque.

Vehicular Solutions to Climate Change

Medical transportation and logistics rely heavily on vehicles and their operators. Both emergency and non-emergency transportation require reliable, efficient vehicles to transport patients, medical equipment, and products alike. Medical transportation needs to retain its reliability and efficiency while looking for ways to take strides toward a more sustainable future. 

As environmentally-friendly, green vehicles become more reliable and continue their technological development, medical transportation companies such as Medi-Ops can begin to invest in green solutions and vehicles without compromising their reliability. 

The vehicles above are great options for ground transportation, but what about air transportation? The aviation industry is a large contributor to GHG emissions. Electric planes and aircraft may point towards a sustainable future. Producing zero direct emissions and operating quietly means electric planes are reducing their carbon footprint and reducing noise pollution. The difficulty here is that there is limited energy storage capacity of batteries, which significantly restricts aircraft range and payload capability. 

The challenges that appear in creating electric and green vehicles with the same capability as traditional vehicles are apparent. However, the future of these developments is incredibly promising. This industry is rapidly growing and many new prototypes and developments present as viable options for overcoming some of these challenges and hurdles in the future. 

What This Means for Medi-Ops

Good medical logistics means less error and unnecessary trips as well as more efficiency. Medi-Ops is able to expand on efficiency of logistics for this reason. Looking ahead, as technology develops and electric vehicles in both ground and air transportation become more viable, medical transportation can begin to switch out gas vehicles for electric options. As the primary concern in transportation surrounding healthcare is patient safety, these changes can only be made when there are guarantees that green vehicles can do their jobs to the level of efficiency and speed as current transportation options.

An exciting future lies ahead when it comes to sustainable transportation in terms of the healthcare and medical fields. At Medi-Ops, the use and implementation of green vehicles is an exciting prospect and component of the future of medical transportation. Since we work in both ground and air transportation, a keen eye on the advancements in green vehicles and air technology is a top priority. The technological advances in this field are thrilling and hold much promise for a future of fighting climate change and pursuing environmentally friendly practices.

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