Four senior healthcare leaders discuss their organizations' concerns and expectations for their EDs over the next three years.
The ED, often the first point of contact between a patient and hospital, is often where expectations are set. Organizations aiming to increase efficiency face a variety of challenges.
An engaged staff is one area where healthcare leaders are focusing their attention. "We're trying to determine strategies to retain staff, including retention bonuses and other efforts to try to keep staff on board once they get here, but it often feels like they leave as soon as we hire them," says Pamela J. Stoyanoff, executive VP and COO of Methodist Health System in Dallas, TX. "Often, it feels like a "churn-and-burn" scenario."
Other organizations are focusing on technology. "Developments in telemedicine have been immense for us," says David User, CFO of Coteau des Prairies Health System in Sisseton, SD. "Telemedicine links us with major trauma centers and allows us to move forward with telepsychology, telepsychiatry, remote substance abuse counseling, and other important issues we run into here that we're just not equipped to cope with."
Lena J. Weiner is an associate editor at HealthLeaders Media.