isoft Queue Management

Transcription

1 isoft Queue Management

2 isoft Queue Management provides a variety of concepts to optimise patient flow management for outpatient and private clinics, accident & emergency and primary care departments. The process of patient care is recognised as highly complex. It often involves services from many departments and includes multiple steps, with patients having to deal with a range of different hospital resources, which can cause them to feel overwhelmed by the complexity. Improving healthcare logistics simplifies business workflow for hospital staff and improves the service for patients. All hospitals and clinics have well defined processes, but struggle to cut costs, reduce waiting times and improve the quality of service to patients. A best practice solution implemented at one hospital may not have the same impact at another hospital, due to unique process characteristics, size, patient population and culture. Solutions to improve healthcare logistics need to be flexible enough to cater for these differences. In every case the aim is to provide the best possible healthcare to as many patients as possible and healthcare managers have to ensure they are providing the right care at the right price.

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4 Benefits Benefits for Management Each care centre or hospital has unique challenges that managers are required to resolve, including processes, characteristics, size, patient population and culture. isoft Queue Management enables managers to organise staff and resources quickly and efficiently, while providing managed flow of healthcare to as many patients as possible. Benefits for Staff isoft Queue Management eases staff stress levels with easily accessible data, allows smooth planning with a work group calendar for appointments and scheduling, gives authorised staff complete access to patient information, and can pass information about waiting patients or excessive waiting times via staff pagers. Using the solution, staff can work with patients more quickly and efficiently, ultimately achieving a less stressful work life. Benefits for Patients Patients demand the best possible healthcare and are happier with instant access to information, such as waiting and appointment times. isoft Queue Management ensures these requirements are met by delivering personal service, easily accessible appointment data and entertaining Active Waiting. The solution gives patients autonomy at a time when they may be feeling vulnerable. New patients can identify themselves using an ID on their appointment letters or Patient Card, while existing patients receive a ticket with all necessary information and are immediately directed to the waiting lounge or the doctor. Patients without an appointment, or without an ID Card/Patient Card, are directed to reception, where either an appointment is made or an ID Card/ Patient Card is issued. isoft Queue Management isoft is partnering with Qmatic, a proven industry leader in queuing solutions, to provide logistic solutions for outpatient departments, private clinics, accident & emergency departments and primary care practices. The solution manages the flow of patients and their associated information from entry to check out, and furthermore its flexibility allows it to be tailored to the needs of individual healthcare organisations. These features facilitate process efficiency improvements that reduce clerical overhead and make the patient experience more streamlined and informative. isoft Queue Management enables streamlined management of reception procedures, including check-in, patient calling and appointment attendance. Additionally, integration with existing appointment booking systems and/ or hospital information systems is fully supported. The solution enables the calling up of a patient to a doctor, tracking of the patient s status and provision of information about the entire visit including treatment and waiting times. Vital data and management information can also be provided and staff and resource planning can be significantly improved. Cost Benefits Cost is the bottom line for all managers and with isoft Queue Management there is less administration as patients check themselves in and out of their appointment, which consequently cuts administrationstaffing budgets, reduces man-hours and optimises patient capacity. 04

5 Key Improvements Improved Patient Experience Active Waiting Active Waiting for patients in waiting areas is a component of the solution that provides patients with waiting times, information on which number is being called and for what department, and how long the next patient s expected waiting time is. It can also be combined with entertainment, TV programmes, DVDs, local information, or information about the hospital. Active Waiting increases patient satisfaction, as patients are continually informed of their place in the queue and expected waiting time. Furthermore, with the addition of entertainment, waiting times seem shorter and the patient feels more content. Overall, patient satisfaction while waiting reduces the load on staff as patients are not interrupting their work with repeated queuing and wait time queries. Statistical Analysis isoft Queue Management can generate valuable statistical information that improves patient satisfaction, creates better working conditions for staff while achieving cost-effective planning. Feedback information is vital and enables management to see what progress they have made towards achieving their objectives. Management information on three levels Information can be provided on three levels: real-time, history and forecast. The real-time information can be obtained from management screens where managers can track and monitor patient flow activities to get instant notification when for instance waiting times are exceeded or fall below pre-set levels. Statistical reports use historical data to analyse and evaluate in order to forecast and plan for resources. Privacy and confidentiality the system maintains patient confidentiality. Patients can be called by number instead of name, to respect patient anonymity in a waiting area. In-process reassurance by guiding and updating patients with directional information and waiting times, they know they are part of an organised queue, not forgotten. Shorter waiting times and enhanced planning of patient s time resulting from appointment planning and better use of resources, which ensures patient throughput is quicker. Improved Staff Satisfaction Improvement in working conditions ensuring less stress, less handling, less paperwork and less interruptions. Doctors, nurses and administrative staff like the system they can reduce patient processing times and increase the number of patients treated. Control of patient flow improving communication with patients. Improved Efficiency Measuring, viewing and tracking patient processes providing rapid detection of bottlenecks and better service. Management can measure performance for example, against pre-set targets and objectives. Real time information and alarms allowing management and staff to be proactive. Web-enabled The Statistical Analysis component can be run as a standalone or in LAN and WAN environments. It includes a database and can accommodate third party integration with other software applications and/or external databases. All events are stored for later report retrieval or data evaluation. isoft Queue Management is aimed at improving the healthcare workflow for patients, doctors, nurses and administration personnel. 05

6 Patient Flow Management an example 1. Appointments Appointments can be made over the phone, via the internet or by hospital staff while patients are at the hospital. isoft Queue Management can provide calendar software in a standalone environment or alternatively it can integrate with your existing isoft Patient Management and Scheduling Solution. It can also integrate with other third party software depending on your healthcare organisation s requirements Arrival Check-in When patients arrive they can register using self-service kiosks equipped with barcode/magnetic card readers or hospital staff can manually register them. Patients can be identified by patient number, name or a barcode reference on their appointment letter. When they arrive for an appointment they receive a numbered ticket with direction information and at the same time the Patient Management System is automatically updated to confirm the patient s arrival. 3. Directions isoft Queue Management can assist your healthcare organisation with patient directions according to the process flow of their treatment, by editing the ticket texts, by fixed or moving signage (LED displays) or by TV monitors. Pre-recorded vocal messages can also be used to increase the impact of the visual message. 4. Active Waiting Patients feel waiting times are shorter if they are kept informed, this is called Active Waiting and ensures that patients know they are in-process. The solution can be tailored to automatically call patients so that the patient flow is constant. 5. Treatment Doctors or nurses can call the next patient for treatment by using the solution, which can be seamlessly linked to the existing Scheduling or Patient Management Solution at your healthcare organisation. When the doctor calls the next person, the previous patient is departed and the called patient is arrived automatically within the hospitals patient management system. In addition, data on the called patient can be shown automatically on screen for quicker administration and as a result patients don t need to explain their personal data and reason for attendance. 6. Administration Office Reports and statistics not only provide supervisors and managers with an instant view of the number of patients and staff in the clinic, they can be used to generate detailed information to reflect daily, weekly, monthly or annual service target levels a major benefit in analysing trends and resource planning. 06

7 Alarm Functions and Performance Indicators Different alarm functions can be tailored to support the specific requirements of individual healthcare organisations, for example when waiting times become longer than expected. Messages can be generated via or on-screen pop-ups, on LED displays, TV monitors or pagers. Additionally, performance indicators enable managers get a complete overview of patient flows so they can predict peak times, reschedule staff and increase productivity. A complete solution for the healthcare sector isoft Queue Management eases the complex problems associated with hospital service and administration, including patient flows, staff and resource planning, managing reception procedures, and managing data, all in one simple solution. 07

8 About isoft isoft designs, develops and implements advanced healthcare solutions which are focused on enabling all participants in the provision of care to connect, communicate and collaborate to improve the quality, timeliness and experience of care for providers and consumers. Today more than 13,000 provider organisations in about 40 countries, across five continents use isoft s solutions to manage patient information and drive improvements in their core processes. We provide flexible and interoperable solutions to the whole spectrum of providers, from single physician practices through to integrated national solutions supporting thousands of concurrent users. Customers can confidently invest with isoft as their strategic IT partner, secure in the knowledge that we understand both healthcare and technology. With a strong track record of delivering innovative, scalable products, isoft and its solutions act as a catalyst for change, improving processes and increasing efficiencies and humanizing the healthcare experience for all. Head Office isoft Group Limited Darling Park, Tower 2, Level Sussex Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia Tel: Fax: company_enquiry@isofthealth.com European Head Office Daventry Road Banbury Oxfordshire OX16 3JT, United Kingdom Tel: Southern Europe & Latin American Office Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía C/Severo Ochoa, Málaga, España Tel: Asian Head Office Level 25, Block 2B, Plaza Sentral Jalan Stesen Sentral 5 KL Sentral Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: North American Office 1 Central Street, Suite 203 Middleton, MA Ph: Middle East & African Office Building 15, Office , Dubai Internet City P.O. Box Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: Copyright 2010 isoft. All rights reserved.