Heart to Heart Hospice Redefines Care with Innovative Medication Management Tool

Revolutionizing Medication Management in Hospice Care

Heart to Heart Hospice, a private provider with locations across Texas, Michigan, and Indiana, has recently made significant strides in medication management by implementing innovative technology. Their approach focuses on streamlining both documentation and care planning, leading to reduced burden on healthcare providers and improved patient interactions.

Tackling Documentation Overload

Before adopting this technology, Heart to Heart Hospice faced an uphill battle with extensive documentation demands. Clinicians were spending over an hour during patient admissions solely to manage medication documentation, which detracted from the time spent with patients. This inefficiency often resulted in frustration among staff, contributing to burnout. Patrick McPherson, Senior VP of EMR Operations, emphasized that this heavy documentation load was not just a logistical issue; it was impeding the quality of care patients received.

Innovative Solution: Customized Medication Kits

In response to these challenges, the hospice provider decided to utilize the medication kit functionality within their existing electronic health record (EHR) system, Homecare Homebase. This tool allows for the creation of customizable medication kits that are tailored to each clinician's needs, based on historical prescribing and symptom-based care. By standardizing medication documentation processes, they aim for consistency across their multi-state operations, ensuring that patient care remains the focus amid administrative demands.

Resulting Benefits: Consistency and Efficiency

The implementation of this system has yielded impressive results, achieving three of Heart to Heart’s primary objectives: reducing documentation time by nearly 30 minutes per visit, enhancing care planning capabilities, and establishing a more consistent approach to medication management. These improvements not only lighten the workload for staff but also enhance the overall patient experience by allowing clinicians to spend more quality time with patients.

Looking Ahead: Future of Hospice Care

As Heart to Heart Hospice continues to refine their use of technology in medication management, the potential for other providers to learn from their experience is immense. This case highlights not only the importance of effective administrative processes but also how technology can set the stage for a more compassionate and patient-centric healthcare environment. Other organizations in the hospice sector may consider investing in similar tools to not only ease clinician workload—but ultimately improve patient outcomes.