By Pete Mercer
There is nothing more routine than getting your vital signs checked in a physician’s office. Whether it’s blood pressure, respiration rate, oxygen saturation, pulse or temperature, every patient who steps into a primary care office expects to get their vital signs checked. While it’s a routine process, we may not necessarily consider how important that procedural step is to our overall health and well-being.
In a recent podcast, host and Repertoire Publisher Scott Adams sat down with Kylie Gilberg, the marketing manager for the Midmark digital diagnostic product category, to discuss the importance of accurate vital signs checks and ECG testing in primary care.
Gilberg said, “There are a lot of different areas of clinical care that we can take into consideration, but when focusing on the primary care clinic and office space, 60% of the time is spent in this environment1 compared to all other sites of care. With the majority of the office space visits being made for the primary care physician, it’s likely that they are the healthcare provider patients are seeing the most frequently.”
There are two key areas to consider when evaluating the benefits of the primary care setting, according to Gilberg. Checking vital signs at every health visit helps physicians make important decisions about preventative treatment for emerging health issues, as well as managing those health issues before they become so serious that they require hospitalization or emergency services.
How sales reps can help primary care customers
According to Gilberg, there are three major areas where sales reps can lend their insight and expertise to assist customers through some of the common challenges in acquiring and documenting vital signs in the primary care setting:
1. Workflow: There are plenty of different ways to set up a workflow within a primary care office, but many of these could be impacting productivity and efficiency. By utilizing an all-in-one automated vital signs device with an integrated and standardized workflow at the point of care, it can ultimately save the customers time and money, while also improving patient outcomes. Caregivers can reduce the margin for error with an automated device, helping to ensure that patient vital signs are measured the exact same way every time.
2. EMR connectivity: Human variability within the primary care setting is unavoidable, and it can result in mistakes. Gilberg said, “Studies have shown that manual transcription of vital signs data can produce a 17% error rate2. Using blood pressure as an example, it can significantly impact the diagnosis and care of a patient.” Additionally, using EMR connectivity will help ensure that the collected data is documented accurately.
3. Staff training: Finally, ensuring that the primary care staff are up to date on all training will empower them to better understand how to use the equipment and take care of their patients. By providing primary care staff with the proper training and education on the products, manufacturers can elevate the customer relationship. Discussing staff training, Gilberg said, “New technologies and workflow are only effective if we use them correctly.”
1 Impact of Change®, 2020; HCUP National Inpatient Sample (NIS). Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) 2016. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD; Proprietary Sg2 All-Payer Claims Data Set, 2018; The following 2018 CMS Limited Data Sets (LDS): Carrier, Denominator, Home Health Agency, Hospice, Outpatient, Skilled Nursing Facility, Claritas Pop-Facts®, 2020; Sg2 Analysis, 2020. Confidential and Proprietary © 2020 Sg2
2www.applied/science.com/sites/default/files/downloads/data_entry_automation_improves_cost_quality_performance_and_job_satisfaction_in_a_hospital_nursing_unit.pdf