Found: A Better Way to Schedule Patients at the Orthopaedic Institute

Thomas Edison, one of America’s greatest innovators and inventors, once said, “There’s a better way to do it – find it.”

And that’s exactly what the Digital Patient Experience (DPE) program and the Orthopaedic Institute at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) did.

For the past two years, the Orthopaedic Institute has partnered with UCSF’s Digital Patient Experience (DPE) program to help newly referred patients schedule their care faster. And with about 22,000 referrals, around 30% via fax, that we receive annually, this collaboration has found a better way to improve efficiency with the Patient Access Suite. Edison would have likely given his seal of approval.

The Patient Access Suite: Working Efficiently, Improving the Patient Experience

It is important for our staff at the Orthopaedic Institute to have the right tools to work smarter and more efficiently. The Patient Access Suite comprises three components that work in tandem to make scheduling easier for both patients and staff: Referrals Automation, Patient Connect, and Connect Care.

Referrals Automation pulls patient data from faxed referrals into the Electronic Health Record (EHR), eliminating manual data entry. It has been a game-changer for Ortho since its implementation two years ago. With about 7,000 referrals received by fax annually, you can imagine how much time is saved simply because call center staff no longer have to enter basic data points from referrals into the system — and that translates to providing more efficient patient care.

Scheduling new patients is now an easy process:

1. The referrals coordinator launches Referrals Automation from the EHR and organizes them by date, priority, and specialty for processing.

2. The coordinator uses Patient Connect to automatically inform the patient that their referral was received. If necessary, Patient Connect can also prompt the patient to upload any missing information (for example, their home address or insurance information).

3. The patient uses Connect Care, a secure, browser-based app, to upload this information right from their phone.

4. Once the information is received, another text message is sent from Patient Connect prompting the patient to schedule their appointment in Connect Care.

Using Patient Connect and Connect Care eliminates playing phone tag with patients, which means less wait time and frustration for both parties. Previously, it took an average of 1.5 to 2.5 calls to schedule a patient. Staff would have to call patients for the missing information and if the patient was unable to answer, a message would be left. Patients would have to return the call and get in the call queue to complete the information.

Now with these innovative tools, it’s a win-win situation. Patients are empowered to quickly share necessary details and schedule their appointment anytime and anywhere that is convenient to them all with the click of a button. Additionally, staff no longer have long queues of phone calls to make and follow up, again allowing them to focus more on helping patients who need more assistance.

Between January and June 2021, about 20% of referrals were self-scheduled by patients, and the average number of referrals processed per full-time equivalent per day has been increased by around 50%. We’ve also had a 40% decrease in referral processing time.

The Patient Access Suite has improved both the patient and staff experience. Overall feedback from patients and staff have been positive:

• “I can’t believe online scheduling is available. Thank you for the new technology!” – Patient at UCSF Orthopaedic Institute

• “Patient Access Suite has greatly improved the overall staff experience. It allows us to utilize technology to speed up productivity and efficiency. The Patient Access Suite has also automated workflows, saved time for staff, and improved the patient experience.”
  
  – Sharina Kelly, Call Center Supervisor, UCSF Orthopaedic Institute

The Patient Access Suite Today, and Where It’s Headed

Currently, the Patient Access Suite is also being used at the Adult Access Center, Pediatrics Access Center, and the Cancer Access Center.

The next version of Referrals Automation will use artificial intelligence (AI) to extract relevant information from faxes to reduce – and eventually nearly eliminate – staff time to read and process referral faxes and other documents like laboratory and clinical notes. Product launch is targeted for FY22.

Contact the DPE Program

If your group is part of UCSF, is an affiliate of UCSF, or is a hospital in the UC system, click here to contact the DPE program team for more information.

If your organization is external to UCSF or the UC system, please contact CDHI business development.