Embracing Remote Work In Healthcare Organizations
When you consider the traditional doctor-patient relationship, you probably first think of the prototypical in-person doctor visit where the patient visits a healthcare facility, consults a physician and follows the prescribed course of action to (hopefully) resolve their symptoms and improve their health. But in recent years, healthcare has shown it can exist — and thrive! — outside this Norman Rockwell-esque model. Telemedicine, in which the traditional doctor’s visit is completed over a video call, is covered in many of today’s major health plans. The military has even found impressive uses for virtual and augmented reality as both a training and treatment tool for battlefield injuries.
So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that when the Covid-19 pandemic forced private companies to reimagine in-person work, the healthcare industry adapted in kind. But while the need and demand for more flexible working arrangements are there, how can a healthcare organization actually implement working from home successfully?
Why Healthcare Companies Should Implement Working From Home
Many organizations have seen the productivity benefits of working virtually, even well in advance of the pandemic. Utilizing the best talent available, where geography is no longer an issue, has resulted in several advantages.
It allows people to be productive in shorter time frames.Working at home can allow some employees to work how they work best, letting them complete a burst of work, take a break and come back when it’s more convenient. It also makes it easier for employees to achieve a more equitable work/life balance and even eases healthcare burnout.
It broadens the pool of potential resources. Healthcare organizations are no longer reliant on whatever talent happens to live within driving distance of their facilities. Whether it’s a medical consultation or more cost-effective billing services, embracing remote work creates more professional and financial flexibility.
It can give people access to expertise they otherwise wouldn’t have. Especially in rural communities, healthcare facilities are often hamstrung by limited resources and professionals with needed expertise. Remote consults from medical experts can allow for quicker diagnoses, faster treatment and improved patient outcomes.
Making It Work
While there are many benefits to be gained by working from home, it can be hard to know where to start. The specifics might vary from organization to organization, but successful working-from-home arrangements in healthcare tend to share certain attributes.
They identified work that is suitable to be completed remotely. There are many healthcare workers that support patients without treating them directly. For example, functions like patient intake coordination, utilization and claims management, medical records management, community relations and marketing can be done remotely. In March 2020 (registration required), AltaMed transitioned 1,000+ call center, medical management, HR, IT and compliance employees to a work-from-home model, and their “flexible walls” strategy is even enabling physicians and nurses today to work from anywhere.
They laid out ground rules. Staff who spent their careers commuting to an office might not understand the appropriate policies and etiquette for working from home. Spell out all the requirements and expectations, and make sure people stick to them.
They maintain appropriate security and privacy policies and technologies. Perhaps more than any other field, healthcare deals in confidential personal data whose security must be maintained. Assess any security or HIPAA privacy threats and address them proactively. Virtual private networks (VPN) and encryption with multifactorial authentication are a good start, but technology isn’t the only answer. Evaluate each process involving the access or transfer of confidential information, and reassess it in a work-from-home paradigm.
Even when we reach a point where the pandemic is better controlled, it seems unlikely businesses, including healthcare, will even move back to an all-onsite workforce. If anything, the workforce trends and economics would likely push for more and more remote flexibility. Implementing a work-from-home policy thoughtfully, with employees and patient care firmly in mind, can reap benefits for healthcare organizations for years to come.
Previously published on Forbes.