Wrapping up 2021

In 2021, we worked hard to ensure that we could continue to support healthcare facilities across the world in delivering quality patient care and accessing the latest health information. Here’s a summary of what happened last year.

Improving patient journey in the hospital with digital services

Over the last 18 months, COVID19 has rocked the nation and left the majority of us trying to adapt to a new ‘normal’. Healthcare facilities across the globe have had to come up with new ways to help support an overwhelmed system. As part of Elsevier’s ‘Future of Healthcare’ webinar series, Päivi Salo, IT & Marketing Director at Pohjola Hospital discussed the different ways digital services were helping to improve patient care.

During the webinar, Päivi discussed the role of digital tools within an Orthopaedic care path. These digital services helped throughout the entire journey of the patient including patient engagement, aftercare and treatment plans. The pandemic created the need for the Pohjola hospital to rethink the way they treated patients and implement new technology to ensure patients could still be treated appropriately. One way they did this was by increasing the volume of video consultations, helping to reduce the number of people travelling into the hospital.

In starting their digital transformation journey, the Pohjola Hospital prioritized two key measures that had direct influence on the return to work and the customer experience. Some key learnings to consider when pushing for digital services in the organization include

• Listen, observe, learn

• Break siloes and build bridges

• Choose your metrics, be consistent

• Don’t push technology, push better outcomes

Healthcare quality in our changed world

As we slowly begin to adapt to the ever-changing landscape COVID19 has created, it is vital for medical professionals to ensure the quality of patient care. In another Future of Healthcare webinar, Elsevier discussed the challenges the pandemic has caused in regards to treating and caring for patients with Dr Kathy Leonhardt, Principal Consultant at the Joint Commission International.

During the webinar, Kathy discussed the ways hospitals across the globe implemented new tools and skills to help manage the crisis and support an overwhelmed healthcare system. She spoke about the importance of identifying gaps in both staff and patient safety and ensuring in depth risk assessments take place regularly. Kathy highlighted how critical it was for healthcare professionals to draw on the lessons learned from the pandemic and use them to help improve emergency plans and protocols.

One way to do this, is to prioritise the training of staff including competency based training. Kathy relayed the importance of health workers understanding how to treat patients in ways that are safe for both patient and staff.

As we enter the recovery phase, we need to understand the purpose and learn from the response so that we can improve and be prepared for the next emergency. Recovery is a two-pronged approach. First, it is about restoring and returning systems and resources so that you can provide services. Secondly, it is about building and strengthening services. The four steps of the recovery phase include:

• Identify and prioritize the gaps

• Improve the process

• Update hospital protocols and emergency plans

• Train our staff

How healthcare can combat the COVID-19 infodemic

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an influx of potentially harmful information circling the media and instilling fear across the nation. In this article, Tim Morris highlights the responsibility healthcare providers have in dispelling the conspiracies and tackling misinformation.

How can we best prepare to manage COVID-19 in children?

In this article we discuss the things health care providers need to consider when managing COVID-19 in children.

Pandemic raises new alarms on mental health

Over the past year, millions of people have dealt with issues related to isolation and grief from losing loved ones. In this article, we provide information on how you can support your patients during this difficult time.

Democratizing knowledge to progress the nursing profession

To mark this year’s International Nurses Day, Elsevier hosted a panel session to discuss the true power of technology in supporting the nursing workforce.