Hospital - Kivo Daily

Explore the potential for new technologies

The healthcare industry is constantly adapting and evolving, and with the emergence of new technologies, there is an opportunity to greatly improve patient outcomes while also reducing costs. Such technology that has the potential to revolutionize your hospital is cloud-based clinical decision support solutions. Thanks to these solutions, medical professionals can access real-time patient data and improve their decision-making abilities, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes, a reduction in healthcare costs, and time savings for medical staff.

With the ability to streamline workflows and improve communication between healthcare providers, cloud-based clinical decision support solutions show immense promise in transforming the healthcare industry for the better.

Identify current challenges

As the world continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals are facing a plethora of modern-day challenges that are putting a strain on already limited resources and staff, including shortages in nurses, physicians, and other medical professionals. This heightens the workload and stress for the existing medical personnel while threatening the quality of care provided to patients. Additionally, patients in dire need of medical attention may face long wait times due to a lack of medical staff. Hospitals must continually adapt to these challenges and employ innovative strategies to ensure that patients receive the best possible care.

Highlight current support needs for hospitals

In addition to dealing with an overwhelming influx of patients, healthcare workers are grappling with a dire shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). This has not only put their own health and safety at risk but also that of their patients. To tackle this issue, hospitals urgently require increased access to PPE such as masks, gloves, and gowns. The community must come together and provide the necessary support to help these facilities better equip themselves to fight this pandemic.

How to extend hospital capacity and streamline operations

In the face of growing healthcare demands, hospitals are constantly seeking innovative ways to extend their capacity and streamline their internal operations. A practical approach is investing in financial resources that can support the expansion of their facilities and the implementation of advanced technologies. Indeed, financial resources can be utilized to purchase new medical equipment, build more patient rooms, improve data management systems, and enhance employee training programs.

Such investments increase the hospital’s capacity and automate and integrate multiple administrative processes, which leads to greater efficiency and cost savings in the long run. This way, hospitals can deliver higher-quality care and remain competitive in an ever-evolving healthcare landscape.

Identify best practices for providing emotional support

Hospitals are places where people expect healing and recovery. However, there are times when patients, family members, and staff may experience emotional upheavals during their stay. It is crucial to have best practices in place to provide effective emotional support during these difficult times. A compassionate and empathetic approach from healthcare providers can make a world of difference to the emotional well-being of those involved.

Effective communication, active listening, and creating a safe space are all crucial components of providing emotional support. With the right strategies in place, hospitals can ensure that emotional support is an integral part of their patient-centered care approach.

Discuss how digital platforms can facilitate communication

With the rise of technological advancements, various digital tools like telemedicine, messaging apps, and online consultation services have emerged, offering an accessible and convenient way for patients to connect with their healthcare providers from the comfort of their own homes. These platforms facilitate real-time communication and allow patients to receive medical advice, refill prescriptions, and even schedule appointments with their healthcare providers.

These digital platforms save patients time and money and empower them by providing them with more independence and control over their healthcare needs. Above all, digital communication between healthcare providers and patients gives people the opportunity to receive high-quality healthcare services without stepping out of their homes.

Hospitals face many challenges in the current climate. But with our tips in mind, we can help them overcome these issues and have a positive impact on their patients’ lives. By investing in new technologies, exploring best practices for providing emotional support, and utilizing digital platforms to facilitate communication, hospitals can become better equipped to take on an ever-growing demand for their vital services.

Children have high chance of contracting more diseases if they test positive for Covid and respiratory virus

Jeah Lorraine Adams on January 24, 2023

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Children: Since the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, the deadly virus’ spread has decreased, but there is still much to discover about Covid.

The research objective is still to grasp the virus better.

Recent studies have shown that children under five who test positive for another respiratory virus are often likely to get worse.

Additionally, they catch more illnesses.

According to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics, children hospitalized under the age of five who test positive for Covid and other respiratory viruses have a doubled risk of developing severe respiratory diseases.

The study

Studies were conducted when respiratory infections, including RSV, flu, Covid-19, and others, flooded children’s hospitals.

The results demonstrate the impact these illnesses have on children’s hospitals.

It also demonstrates how continuing to track Covid-19 and other viruses may aid in predicting future spikes in hospitalization.

Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as from other institutions and health agencies around the USA, conducted the study.

Firsthand account

Throughout the pandemic, Jenevieve Silva noted that it might be challenging to care for children with multiple respiratory diseases.

Living in San Jose, California, Silva is a mother of eight children.

Since her twin boys’ preschool enrollment in May 2021 as toddlers, she has had to cope with several illnesses.

“The height of the illness was from September through mid-November, when our household just could not catch a break,” she said.

Her twins tested positive for Covid-19 in October 2022.

Their doctor eventually gave them a diagnosis for what they later learned to be another respiratory ailment, likely brought on by the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

“Based on what the pediatrician told us, she said, ‘I highly believe that they had these overlapping viruses,'” said Silva.

She also went through the following warning signs and symptoms with the boys:

Shortness of breath
Cough
Fatigue
Fever

In addition, one twin had a temperature of 105 degrees for four days in a row.

Jenevieve Silva admitted that it was tough to watch her boys go through this, even though warm baths and applying Vicks VaporRub to their backs and chests helped them manage the discomfort.

“They had just looked so frail – they looked sick, like something deeper than back-to-back viruses,” noted Silva.

“It was hell. I mean, it was really bad.”

Aftermath

The illnesses that Jenevieve Silva’s boys had were ultimately treated.

Even though they are doing well today and have put on a lot of weight, she is still anxious that their fevers may have caused them to get asthma.

Silva said the doctor noted that since October, when the twins’ illnesses overlapped, it seemed to have potentially induced asthma.

When they get a cold, the children may develop asthma symptoms, such as coughing and vomiting.

“I can’t be the only mom dealing with virus after virus,” Silva said.

“Be patient. Listen to your doctor.”

Data

Four thousand three hundred seventy-two kids hospitalized with Covid-19 are included in the most recent study’s data.

In 21% of individuals with additional respiratory viruses analyzed, a codetection—the presence of many other viruses—was discovered.

Researchers stated that rather than coinfection, they were concentrating on codetection.

Even though both viruses tested positive, it’s plausible that the kids weren’t genuinely ill.

The study found minimal respiratory virus detections in the first year of the pandemic.

Few instances of influenza were reported during the first two years of the pandemic, but RSV and rhinovirus (or enterovirus) infections surged during the Delta-predominant phase.

The majority of kids with codetections, according to data, were under five years old.

Additionally, they were more likely to need additional oxygen support and admission to intensive care units.

Young infants that test positive for RSV frequently develop life-threatening illnesses with Covid.

Pandemic lessons

The children, who were diagnosed with Covid-19 and other viral codetections, typically needed critical care and oxygen support, according to Dr. Ascuncion Mejias, an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

“Covid is a very proinflammatory virus, so it really weakens your immune response,” said Mejias.

“And when you haven’t recovered yet, and you get a second hit, in this case, RSV or rhinovirus, you develop a more severe disease.”

The findings of this study, in the opinion of Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Division of Infectious Disease, highlight the need to make sure that children get their vaccines on schedule.

Mejias shared her perspective and underlined the need for safe procedures to minimize the spread of illnesses to infants too young to get vaccinations.

“The pandemic taught us how contagious these viruses are,” said Mejias. “If somebody is sick, try to avoid contact.”

“These viruses are not only transmitted by saliva and secretions, but by hands. It can survive in your hands for more than 30 minutes.”

“So if you touch your mouth and then touch a little baby, the baby can self inoculate the virus and become infected.”

“So washing hands and all these measures are very important.”

Reference:

When young children test positive for Covid-19 and another respiratory virus, their illness may be much more severe, a new study suggests

Tag: Hospital

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