Why is National Health IT Week important?

By Wanda Kelsey-Mendez, Communications Manager at Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care

Each year Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care celebrates National Health IT Week. We take time to thank the dedicated staff who work around the clock to keep us on running. 

Why is this so important?

Much of the care we provide is in private homes, assisted living or skilled nursing facilities. That takes our doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains and other team members out on the road most of the day. Being able to communicate easily with each other and with the families we serve is critical to our mission of providing expert and compassionate care. 

1. Improves communication – having quick access via phone or computer let’s staff coordinate with each other no matter where they are in the city.
2. Improves quality of care – quicker access to vital information that our staff need to provide the best care.
3. Gives people more choices – connecting our field staff by laptop and iPad helps them focus on care instead of tracking paperwork. That gives them more time to be out with people. As a result, people can receive care in their homes or wherever they want to live.
4. Provides better access to care – a mobile care team improves both access to care and family satisfaction. There’s less for the family to coordinate and less sitting in waiting rooms.
5. Makes transitions easier – if you transfer from palliative home care to hospice or Kansas City Hospice House™ or NorthCare Hospice House, your records are all in the same place. Or if you move from home to a nursing facility or a family member’s home, it’s seamless.
6. Easy on the environment – having an electronic medical records system eliminates lots of paper!

[ebs_frame bgcolor=” #00add8″ fgcolor=” #ffffff” shadow=”ebs_shadow shadow raised-box”]National Health IT Week is September 23-29![/ebs_frame]

Please join us in saying “thank you” to those on our staff who work so hard each day to keep our IT running smoothly. We couldn’t fulfill our mission without them! Plus, thanks to all of the IT professionals in our community for helping keep Kansas City connected!