Midmark’s new brand identity – which includes a new website, logo, tagline and more – signals the continuing transformation of the company from an equipment manufacturer into a clinical environmental design company. It is an extension of the company’s Midmark Clinical Solutions program, launched in 2012, which emphasizes how room design, equipment and electronics can improve the patient experience and the provider’s efficiency.
A new tagline – “Designing better care ” – underscores Midmark’s strengthening role in the care experience through advanced technologies, acquisitions, new markets and expanded service offerings, says Vice President of Marketing Jon Wells. “It elevates the importance of design in the customer’s mind, helping them understand it’s not just about the space, but also how it is used and the people interacting within it.”
It is often the “momentum of past decisions” that stands in the way of the harmonization of clinical space, technology, products and workflow, says Wells. “No longer can a provider buy an exam chair and place it in a room without understanding how it may impact the total workflow,” he says. That’s especially important given today’s payment systems, such as MACRA, which emphasize patient satisfaction and the provider’s level of engagement with the patient.
The need for patient comfort and safety remains unchanged, says Wells. But today’s healthcare environment also calls for a standardization of processes. Room design and flow can help.
“We are talking about error-proofing rooms, so that exams and procedures can be easily repeated, without the staff thinking about 40 different things,” he says. “All of these elements together – the people, the technology, the space – free up caregivers to think about the most important piece of all, that is, connecting with the patient, rather than how to get the patient to the scale, or how to get data into the EMR.”
Standardizing processes, including room turnover, also leads to greater efficiency on the part of the physician practice. “A room is an asset,” says Wells. “You want to make the most efficient use of it. That doesn’t mean pushing patients through as quickly as possible. But it does mean optimizing all the processes that surround caring for the patient.”
Distributors can play a vital role in “Designing better care,” says Wells.
Each component in a practice – including equipment, devices, software, storage, instrument processing – is complex on its own, “For us to make all those things work together – that’s where our distributor partners are key,” he says.
With an understanding of MACRA and the pressures facing providers today, distributors can help their customers move ahead, says Wells. “We’re no longer just talking about supplies, equipment and getting contracts, but how to address the things that truly are keeping our mutual customers up at night.”