Digital patient pathways reduce endoscopy patient wait times and deliver standardised care across a multi-site public health service
| Sunday, May 21, 2023 |
| 11:40 AM - 11:50 AM |
| Meeting Rooms 1, 2 & 3 |
Overview
Michelle Warnes
Speaker
Michelle Warnes
Personify Care
Digital patient pathways reduce endoscopy patient wait times and deliver standardised care across a multi-site public health service
Abstract
Introduction
In 2021, the Endoscopy Unit at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) implemented digital patient pathways to support their Direct Access (DAC) program, by automating the clinical screening of high volumes of patients.
This was in response to increased demand for elective gastro procedures at TQEH, which had placed overwhelming pressures on clinical and administrative teams.
The large call volume to triage patients referred for DAC, coupled with the time it took screening patients, led to increasing wait times for procedure bookings, resulting in underutilization of theatre slots.
Within the first 3 months, TQEH achieved 82% patient adoption rate and 71% decrease in wait times. Personify Care's digital patient pathways have since been extended across all units for elective surgery and to the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Endoscopy Unit.
Method
Upon referral, patients are sent a mobile notification inviting them onto their digital patient pathway, requesting they complete their pre-clinical health assessment.
Patients are automatically clinically screened via a real-time “dashboard”. Clinical staff have immediate visibility to patients’ risk status via clinical alerts, quickly identifying high-risk patients based on DAC clinical guidelines.
Patients that meet DAC guidelines are automatically flagged as “green” and are eligible for direct access procedure. They are automatically provided with personalised bowel preparation instructions via their digital pathway, without consuming nursing resources, and sent a digital confirmation with their procedure booking details.
Results
Across both sites, since the implementation of digital pathways:
• 4,672 patients registered;
• 91% patient response rate;
• 44% of patients automatically screened and provided with preoperative preparation instructions via digital pathway without the need for nursing support;
• Standardised DAC model of care across the RAH and TQEH.
Conclusion
With growing demand for elective procedures, longer surgical waitlists and increased pressures on clinical workforces, digital patient pathways provide a sustainable approach to simultaneously improving patient access whilst ensuring clinical staff can operate at the top of their scope.
Digital patient pathways have also enabled the RAH and TQEH to standardise their model of care across sites and reduce variation. The pathways have also been extended to support both flexible and non-flexible sigmoidoscopy. This now allows for opportunities to provide access to patients across both sites and further improve patient experience.
These improvements in clinical practice have been achieved by converting the DAC model of care into a digital patient pathway, allowing staff to focus their limited time on high value care.
In 2021, the Endoscopy Unit at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) implemented digital patient pathways to support their Direct Access (DAC) program, by automating the clinical screening of high volumes of patients.
This was in response to increased demand for elective gastro procedures at TQEH, which had placed overwhelming pressures on clinical and administrative teams.
The large call volume to triage patients referred for DAC, coupled with the time it took screening patients, led to increasing wait times for procedure bookings, resulting in underutilization of theatre slots.
Within the first 3 months, TQEH achieved 82% patient adoption rate and 71% decrease in wait times. Personify Care's digital patient pathways have since been extended across all units for elective surgery and to the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Endoscopy Unit.
Method
Upon referral, patients are sent a mobile notification inviting them onto their digital patient pathway, requesting they complete their pre-clinical health assessment.
Patients are automatically clinically screened via a real-time “dashboard”. Clinical staff have immediate visibility to patients’ risk status via clinical alerts, quickly identifying high-risk patients based on DAC clinical guidelines.
Patients that meet DAC guidelines are automatically flagged as “green” and are eligible for direct access procedure. They are automatically provided with personalised bowel preparation instructions via their digital pathway, without consuming nursing resources, and sent a digital confirmation with their procedure booking details.
Results
Across both sites, since the implementation of digital pathways:
• 4,672 patients registered;
• 91% patient response rate;
• 44% of patients automatically screened and provided with preoperative preparation instructions via digital pathway without the need for nursing support;
• Standardised DAC model of care across the RAH and TQEH.
Conclusion
With growing demand for elective procedures, longer surgical waitlists and increased pressures on clinical workforces, digital patient pathways provide a sustainable approach to simultaneously improving patient access whilst ensuring clinical staff can operate at the top of their scope.
Digital patient pathways have also enabled the RAH and TQEH to standardise their model of care across sites and reduce variation. The pathways have also been extended to support both flexible and non-flexible sigmoidoscopy. This now allows for opportunities to provide access to patients across both sites and further improve patient experience.
These improvements in clinical practice have been achieved by converting the DAC model of care into a digital patient pathway, allowing staff to focus their limited time on high value care.
Biography
Michelle is the Accounts Director at Personify Care. She has an extensive background as a Registered Nurse across public and private hospitals, most recently over the past 10 years as a Clinical Nurse Manager coordinating the perioperative suite of a private day surgery hospital. Michelle has achieved a Bachelor of Nursing from Flinders University and during breaks in her nursing career she has had involvement in clinical software sales, education and training.
