As we kick off 2017, we're constantly looking ahead at how the world is going to shift and what changes may be coming. STAT is doing the same, and they looked at five medical practices that will soon be outdated. Numbers four and five on their list are ones that we've already covered. Both relate to the ways hospitals communicate.
As we talked about late in 2016, hospitals are losing billions of dollars because of poor communication practices. Today, technologies are constantly evolving to make jobs and processes easier, but the world of healthcare has been slow to adapt.
Other than the outdated ways hospitals communicate STAT believes that topics relating apologies, labeling and hand washing will shift in the coming years. Below is an excerpt from their story.
Just a few decades ago, hospital candy stripers sold cigarettes to patients in bed. Today, culture has changed so much that at many of the same hospitals, you can’t smoke anywhere on the entire campus. “It’s absolutely absurd to think there was a time when we actually smoked at the nurses station, sold cigarettes to patients, or bummed a smoke off of patients,” said Dana Siegal, a former nurse who is now director of patient safety for CRICO Strategies, which analyzes medical errors and malpractice risk.
Click here to read more from STAT on the topic.
