Remote Healthcare - Goal Manager

It is now just over 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and it is clear that the nature of delivering and receiving healthcare has changed forever. Across the UK and the globe services are busy reconfiguring to incorporate hybrid models that arguably offer the best of both worlds. Using virtual appointments to increase accessibility to those who struggle to access appointments physically, or indeed who do not necessarily need to attend appointment in person, alongside in person appointments for those who have a clinical need either due to access issues or the nature of their concern. It makes sense that if we are seeing more people remotely this is freeing up waiting times for in person appointments.

One challenge to this hybrid model in future is that many have seen the situation as temporary and have quickly implemented systems to meet the challenge of COVID-19 without necessarily having a strategic direction about how technology can be best used within their service to enhance patient care. What we have seen in our service and those services that are utilising Goal Manager has been a seamless transition to meeting the challenges of the pandemic and having the infrastructure to continue to provide remote services into the future. Remote meetings are often more efficient and focussed and they allow the opportunity for multiple documents to be viewed and shared via the team ensuring that everyone has access to the same information at the same time. Working through a cloud-based system has brought everyone together at a time when the situation of the world was pulling us apart and through this close and tight knit collaboration, we have ensured that our patients have continued to receive the very best care.

Going forward I think it is universally agreed that some degree of remote clinical work is here to stay and indeed there is plenty of emerging evidence to say that many services can be delivered not only as efficiently but, in some instances, far better. Whereas for the past 18 months it has perhaps been acceptable to patch together temporary solutions to manage the infrastructure in response to the pandemic, teams ultimately need to look at longevity and integrating systems that allow them to meet their core missions in the most efficient way possible and retaining the many positives that have been borne out of hybrid/remote working over the pandemic. Healthcare services were long overdue a big step-up into the digital world and here at Goal Manager we are supporting many teams as they make this transition.

Sadly, there is no shortage of distress and demand on healthcare services, particularly within mental health services where the demand has never been higher. There are only so many hours in the day. Ultimately for many of us the only way to meet the challenge of providing a service that the world needs is to find new and innovative ways to better leverage our time in order to free up vital clinical time for those most important activities, i.e., actually seeing patients whether virtually or face to face.