Technology

Real-time, automated data can help a practice run smoothly

Thinking about adopting an RTLS system? Here’s how this tool can change your patient flow.

BY DAN CHAMBERS, MBA, COE, DALLAS

Health care delivery and operational efficiency has become increasingly complex over the years. Thanks to higher patient demand with the surge in baby-boomers, more diagnostic testing options, more complex procedures, more federal regulation, coupled with electronic health record (EHR) integration, and new compliance requirements, it is imperative to focus on productivity and efficiency to help maintain current standards of care while maintaining appropriate organization health.

As a provider, executive, or manager it is necessary to remain cognizant of the allocation of all resources, technology integration, changes in regulation, effective cash flow budgeting targets and especially manpower resources (doctors, staff and patient flow). To do this, it is important to understand how time is allocated across the standard and nonstandard patient experience within the clinic.

Automated communication

The goal of a real-time location system (RTLS) is to provide in-the-moment information on patient flow, as well as objective and passive data collection, with minimal staff or patient participation.

The RTLS solution is a tool used to monitor patient flow and collect enormous amounts of objective data on metrics such as wait times, time with provider, overall lengths of stay and other cycle times. Specialized software transforms this raw data into useful information for making critical decisions to improve efficiency both in real time and through continual process improvement efforts. It is an example of applying data warehousing with extensive analytics to improve your own processes.

The RTLS can receive and share data with various existing systems, such as EHR and scheduling systems, and integrates quite nicely with traditional Windows-based environments.

The system is comprised of locator badges, worn by staff and patients, which communicate with wired or wireless, Radio-Frequency-Identification (RFID) and Infrared (IR) sensors, middleware, a reporting interface, and user interfaces. In short, the RTLS solution keeps track of the patient visit by passively capturing times and patient-staff interactions, equating those to identified processes such as patient time to provider, time with technicians, overall visit time, and so on.

These fundamental aspects are critical to understanding and measuring the time to provide patient care, evaluating workflow, and using the data for developing more comprehensive and strategic scheduling templates. Without the use of a more comprehensive solution, such as what RTLS provides, a practice is only able to glean partial data from existing systems, such as EHRs. Attempting to utilize an EHR for the basis of strategic analysis is a labor-intensive process that staff must engage in, which in turn increases processing time and makes for less accurate overall data capture of a patient visit.

At Key-Whitman, we find the use of the RTLS to be more accurate than attempting to pull this information from existing practice management or EHR software. The RTLS solution helps fill in the gaps and is more realistic because no manual data entry is necessary to capture data.

The RTLS data can be used to run simulations, perform “what if” analysis and mathematically “optimize” resource scheduling for doctors, staff and scheduling templates. This simulation exercise, based on reliable and continuous data for process times, is the real power behind this concept.

Using RTLS in new ways

Traditionally, RTLS has been implemented in health care facilities to help track assets, but Key-Whitman Eye Center, located in the Dallas ­— Ft. Worth Metroplex, is one of many clinics across the nation that demonstrate RTLS can contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to the bottom line through improved patient flow. By using data and real-time communication to improve processes, practices can compress their schedules, seeing more patients in the same amount of time.

Clinics that have complex patient flow issues regardless of size can benefit from an RTLS solution. The size of the clinic matters less in the grand scheme of things. Both mid-sized and larger clinics will see substantial return on investment as long as data is well analyzed to optimize capacity and improve workflows.

KoreNetics, a company that offers quantitative consulting and lean management services, also located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, has been instrumental in assisting Key-Whitman with data analysis and support of their RTLS system. KoreNetics analyzes and uses RTLS data to develop and evaluate workflows, technology integration decisions, resource management scenarios, and capacity planning with the goal of improving the patient experience with less wait time, a steady work pace, greater doctor utilization, and creating meaningful revenue opportunities for the clinic.

The ROI of data collection

The real-time communication mentioned previously translates directly into staff productivity. In quantifiable terms this might not sound like much, but if a team of staff members can save approximately 5-7 minutes per hour, this can easily translate to an additional five to seven patients throughout the day, conservatively speaking. From a capacity and revenue perspective, this can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Add to that the ability to use automatically captured data to optimize scheduling templates, and you have a tool that improves a practice’s bottom line. KoreNetics has helped Key-Whitman Eye Centers achieve an overall 15%-18% increase in patient capacity while accommodating a shorter workday, a better overall pace of work, and more appropriate staffing models necessary to satisfy current patient demand.

Generate efficiencies

Is RTLS for everyone? Not necessarily, but consider an RTLS solution if your goal is to improve operations and obtain the granularity necessary to make quantifiable strategic decisions based on empirical data.

As always, if a system is measured continuously, opportunity to improve it will likely occur. Using data to simulate better solutions can generate efficiencies.

By effectively implementing and using the RTLS solution for in-the-moment workflow optimization and historic data analysis, a clinic can expect more time spent on patient-centric care, increased staff awareness, as well as increased patient satisfaction. OP

Dan Chambers, MBA, COE, is the chief administrative officer at the Key-Whitman Eye Center in Dallas.