Digital Is Here to Stay, Doc! Here’s What to Expect

While reports on the move to the new normal have begun to resurface due to the downhill trends in cases related to the coronavirus, we continue to be clouded with uncertainty that perhaps a new crisis or calamity will take over. In the midst of the inevitable, what we can say for certain is that the digital work experience in the past 2 years has deeply impacted us. As we usher into more hybrid set-ups, there may be some practices and principles that we can adopt moving forward. Let’s check out some things to expect as we start traversing the future of work post-pandemic.

Flexible work arrangements

In the past year, we’ve observed various set-ups being tested and implemented by companies for their workforce, whether it be fully remote, hybrid, batching for on-site work, or fully physical. This type of flexibility will remain popular as we go through the next few months or even years due to the varied preferences of workers. Forbes reports that 2 in 3 employees hope and expect to work in a hybrid set-up even when the pandemic subsides. This leaves us with one-third that prefers the polar opposites - either fully online or fully remote. In considering the different arrangements that would work best for each employee and their individual productivity, flexibility will continue to prevail.

Likewise, our patients may not always prefer going onsite for simple concerns or advice. We have various platforms at our perusal such as text messaging, social media, and in-house systems to communicate with our patients and resolve their concerns without the need to go to our clinics. With this, it is important for us to cater to all the varying needs of our patients, being our thrust as healthcare practitioners.

Engagement with co-workers

As with the varying work environments, we may encounter difficulties in interacting and collaborating with our co-workers. We all can agree that real-time, face-to-face interactions with peers and colleagues are still preferred. We can’t always have such engagements given that we work from different locations. As such, we are forced to go to virtual rooms to have meetings and activities with others online, which may not be the most ideal but is deemed the safest given our circumstances. Engagement with colleagues can be a hit-or-miss post-pandemic depending on how comprehensive the protocols are to ensure effective interactions.

Consolidation of information

Given that we are working both online and on-site, it is inevitable to have discrepancies in the data and information we see and take note of, and while this is something that we need to prevent as a healthcare institution, it takes lots of effort and time to do so. This is especially important for medical records, as these details are both sensitive and life-dependent, thus having any errors or inconsistencies could result in grave effects for the patient, doctor, and the institution. Having trusted and robust systems that minimize such errors and work on whatever platforms and circumstances is vital in the continued flexible operations at present.

Adapting to trends

In the end, we would need to adapt to whatever circumstance that is brought into our light, whether it be on the micro or macro levels. We’ve seen at the onset of the pandemic, many industries had struggled with adjusting to the “new normal” conditions but has since remained adept and prompt in taking action whatever new conditions are posed. Moving forward, it is important for us to have a similar mindset as we continue to operate under our dynamic situation: being adaptable to serve our patients despite the challenges. While this is a hard task to sustain, there are always individuals and resources that can help us better adapt to the trends, especially online management systems.

Curious about how your clinic can adapt to the latest trends in healthcare and technology? Care the extra mile now with MYCURE, your most complete healthcare management system. Learn more at mycure.md.

References

Robinson, B. (2021, May 2). Future of work: what the post-pandemic workplace holds for remote workers’ careers. Retrieved from Forbes.