The pandemic has placed enormous strain on existing healthcare infrastructure and resources. Overcoming resource and capacity constraints.Expensive and time-consuming hygiene protocols can also be reduced or eliminated. The danger of infection from a virus is an obvious example but other risks can also be minimized, for example the risks associated with exposure to radiation during cardiovascular treatments. Whether an employee is working from an adjacent room or from an off-site location, risks and dangers can be significantly reduced. The most direct benefit of remote work is enhanced safety. Remote work offers three crucial advantages – advantages that are vital during times of crisis such as the current pandemic, but that are also longer lasting: Many healthcare functions such as monitoring, diagnosis or therapy can be performed at such a distance, with new technologies playing an important supporting role. In the current circumstances, this type of remote work is of particular relevance in order to protect staff. But remote work options can be equally valuable over short distances of even just a few meters. Remote solutions can bridge distances of many kilometers, for example an employee working from home or a surgeon operating robotic equipment while physically located elsewhere. Remote work should be understood as a broad and flexible concept. Confronted with soaring caseloads, a lethal new virus, and crushing business challenges, exploring remote work options is no longer an exercise in creative brainstorming but an essential business priority. We believe that flexible and creative remote work solutions can help to address each of these challenges. Optimistic business projections have been shelved instead, survival has become the goal. In addition, there are very real business challenges: for countless hospitals and providers, revenue has been slashed largely as the result of elective procedures being canceled or postponed. Pressure on resources and infrastructure has often been overwhelming, while physical risks to employees, other patients and visitors are alarming. The business and operational challenges faced by healthcare providers were, and remain, immense. While many organizations had the option of shutting down or reducing their services, healthcare providers had no choice: they had to keep working and providing critical services. The staggering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is obvious to all of us. The paper Remote work for healthcare professionals: from a stop-gap measure to a lasting transformation explores this issue in detail and offers practical suggestions on how healthcare providers can manage the transition to increased remote work. Siemens Healthineers has analyzed this issue and argues that healthcare providers can and should integrate remote work solutions into their operations – not just as a short-term response to Covid-19 but as part of their long-term strategy. The transition to more flexible working arrangements has been gaining momentum for several decades, yet the healthcare sector has been slow to embrace this growing trend. The idea of “remote work,” with all its benefits, is not new.
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