Affirma Healthcare

AFFIRMA HEALTHCARE

AFFIRMA provides innovative products to healthcare organizations that are focused on the principles of Service, Security, and Strength. AFFIRMA couples inventiveness and imagination to seek out the right products for improved operations, safety, productivity, and revenue generation. Focused primarily on the information technology, AFFIRMA represents high quality companies with industry leading products and services for healthcare organizations.

Current healthcare products include; TotalAlert – Mass Notification System, Healthcare Internet Marketing products, and Aionex work flow based patient management tools.

Review the overviews of these industry leading products and schedule a demo or contact us today for more information:

TotalAlert – Originally designed for military purposes, is a mass notification system that allows an organization to immediately provide notification to any and all end users. Unlike other systems, this mass notification platform is designed to inform users that are on the internal network, smart phones, cell phones, regular phones, email, and other alarm devices. TotalAlert can be used in emergency situations (lockdown, safety alerts, weather alerts, news, etc.) or in day to day operations (group notices, meeting reminders, training notices, etc.) and can include content or links to content.

Healthcare Internet Marketing – Products and tools utilizing the internet to drive referrals to hospitals and/or physicians. Most hospitals do not utilize the full power of the internet even when the majority of the population looks to the internet for information on healthcare. The first product from HIM is focused on the Bariatric Surgery market and has been very successful. The process can be quickly and effectively implemented on a local level and can include a wide variety of consumer-driven service lines.

Aionex – This forward thinking company offers a healthcare software solution that is an overlay for any hospital information system. This workflow based system provides a healthcare organization with the ability to improve efficiencies and increase revenue. Many organizations are implementing a “transfer center” concept and Aionex provides a solution that allows the facility to streamline its referral/admission process. In addition, it provides decision support data regarding referral patterns and patient mix from a variety of sources. Central to this functionality is a workflow based bed board/resource management system that facilitates the communication associated with patient movement, bed control, and staffing levels. Additional modules available from Aionex include Patient Tracking, Staff Tracking, Surgical Flow, and Nurse Call.

For more information on how AFFIRMA solutions can meet your institutions needs Contact Us and schedule a Demo today!

Two useful options for saving money on your employees healthcare costs

In today’s business world employers all across the county are struggling with the decisions of how to operate as lean as possible without taking away anything from their employees. With regards to an employers retirees there are some options that organizations can use to help offset some of the costs. Two important and helpful programs that an employer should look into that help save money on healthcare costs are theRetiree Drug Subsidy Program (RDS) and the Early Retiree Reimbursement Program (ERRP)

In 2005 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) program. What the program does is reimburse municipalities, unions and private employers for a portion of their eligible expenses for retiree prescription drug benefits. Over the years employers have slowly but steadily cut back on their prescription drug coverage for retirees. CMS introduced this program with the goal of encouraging employers to continue providing high-quality prescription drug coverage to their retirees. The nice part about this program is that it is very straightforward and there is usually little to no benefit design changes to current coverage.

Another more recent, yet temporary program that is offered to employers to help with healthcare costs is the Early Retiree Reimbursement Program. The Program was established by the Affordable Care Act, which was a part of the Healthcare Reform Bill passed in early 2010. The program provides $5 billion in financial assistance to employers to help them maintain coverage for early retirees age 55 and older who are not yet eligible for Medicare. The program will reimburse employers 80 percent of all medical costs per retiree, which includes their spouses and dependents. The cost must however be between the $15,000-$90,000 worth of expenses. Employers can use the savings to either reduce their own health care costs, provide premium relief to their workers and families or a combination of both.

Figuring out how to operate efficiently and effectively without cutting into employee benefits is a real challenge. It is becoming even more important in this economy to continue to search out and explore any available option for your organization that keeps it competitive and keeps your employees happy. There are options out there that are meant to help employers save money, for answers to questions about these programs visit rdsservices.us.

Healthcare IT Solutions A Win-Win for All Stakeholders

Information technology (IT) has helped change the face of many industries. It is because of IT, that many organizations have had to face a strategic inflection point in their business cycle, for the better. Sure, the change was initially difficult but eventually IT has only proved to be an excellent solution to the many challenges that an organization faces.

When it comes to the field of healthcare, industry professionals are better off focusing on their core competency, rather than channel their energies to other functions of the organization in order to ensure completion of tasks. This is the reason why outsourcing of hospital IT infrastructure is taking place across the industry. There are immense benefits once this activity is outsourced, since the hospital administration can then dedicate its focus to the patient’s well being.

Healthcare IT solutions provide benefits like the application of industry best practices, control of operating costs, ease in coordination between various functions of the organization, eventually leading to superior customer service, etc. Healthcare IT provides valuable information on a real-time basis, and patient records can be viewed by the stakeholders with ease. Outsourcing of healthcare information technology will also help the organization have an effective IT strategy in place that is in alignment with organizational goals. Also, outsourcing of IT-related services makes a lot of business sense for the organization, since upfront investments in IT and the creation of IT infrastructure is an expensive undertaking.

Medical IT is beneficial for patients, too. Electronic Health Records, which is one of the technologies, ensures that patients can conveniently access their medical reports online, thus reducing paperwork. The same reports can be viewed by their doctor which helps them make quick decisions. This can come in handy, especially during emergency situations. In cases where a patient may have to see multiple specialists for a particular illness, each of them can view the same report, once they have access to view it.

Hence, the emergence of IT in healthcare is a boon for all the stakeholders and helps a healthcare organization achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry.

Healthcare Environmental Services Management Program Offers Practical Application On And Off Campus

Did you know that healthcare environmental services management is a combination of healthcare environmental service knowledge with business and human relations skills? As such, post-secondary institutions are challenged with seamlessly integrating both into their curriculums.

One school that does a great job of balancing both aspects in its healthcare management program is Centennial College. The program, Healthcare Environmental Services Management, takes two years to complete during which students study from Morningside Campus. Because this location houses School of Community and Health Studies programs, it is outfitted with large, well-equipped industry specific laboratories and computer labs with industry specific software. As such, students obtain plenty of hands-on practice with a realistic spin before heading on two field placements (one in second semester and one in fourth semester). These experiences allow students to apply what they have learned in their classes and gain knowledge of the role and tasks related to entry-level positions in the Healthcare Environmental Services Department, which will lead to better comprehension in how to manage these positions.

Here is a look at some of the standout courses within the offering that prepare students for both placement and their future careers.

Infection Control 1 & 2: The first of these two courses establishes principles and practices of infection prevention and control in the healthcare setting. Students learn to identify relevant industry and governmental regulations, standards and best practices with regards to infection control in healthcare as well as quality assurance methodology. The second course, meanwhile, sees students apply planning, implementation, management and evaluation practices of an infection prevention and control program, while learning to effect applicable quality assurance principles.

Communication and Interprofessional Collaboration for Environmental Services: Because implementing infection control measures is a collaborative process, students learn to communicate verbally and non-verbally with co-workers, supervisors and clients. Interprofessional and collaborative care models in healthcare are examined using practical examples.

Math Application for Environmental Services: It is not enough just to learn general math equations. Thats why all of Centennial Colleges math courses are specifically designed. This one, for example, covers mathematical concepts and methods used in healthcare environmental services management. Emphasis is placed on the application of methods, concepts, vocabulary and problem solving strategies used in the industry.

Purchasing and Materials Management: Managers in this field must know the process of purchasing cleaning, linen and related supplies. As such, students examine how to apply quality standards for various environmental services categories and understand central procedures used in healthcare environmental services operations.

After completing each healthcare management course, students are prepared for employment in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement homes, commercial buildings, schools and residential buildings. It is worth noting that the diploma students earn after they graduate reflects high standards of learning and offers them transferable skills.

An Outlook On The Colour Designed For Healthcare

Every industry is different from others and this difference is clearly visible in terms of business operations, turnovers, employees, target market segments, and different industrial scenarios. When it comes to use paint and colors for different industries, there are heavy difference in the types of paint and colors we use. For example, you cannot paint a commercial complex with a color suited for healthcare industry. Now you can easily determine what I am talking about. Paints are just meant to cover up the roughness of a wall but much more than that. Paints tend to bring life to walls of a room or a building. The paint you symbolize your life style and your sense of creativity.

Over the past few years, there has been tremendous improvement in the painting industry. Not only the quality of paints but the way we used to look at the paints has changed a lot. Now paints are considered as a strong medium to bring great change in the appearance of a place. This is why painting is considered as the cheapest and most effective way of bringing a succulent visual appeal to a building. If you want to give your business a head start, it is better to discover a new business avenue through painting.

Healthcare industry is one of the industries that play a crucial role in defining the growth of a nation. This is why there are specific colour designed for healthcare industry. You cannot use any color scheme for hospitals and medical institutes. A healthcare institute is a place where patients come for treatment and they can only be treated in a calm and lively environment. If you use dull colors in rooms, their mind will always remain in a despaired state. This is where a professional paint expert can help you come out of this riddle.

There are many paint manufacturing companies in the market that give new insights to healthcare industry by suggesting color schemes designed for healthcare industry. There are experts who guide other businesses at every step in painting work. For better output, seeking professional help is really helpful as then only you will be able to discover a new world for you. Internet has also emerged out as a major platform for individuals and companies looking out do something different with colors. Finding the right color scheme or colour manufacturer worldwide is not a big deal.