Rapid improvement event enhances visibility of program availability
08/10/22 10:40:amIn order to increase visibility to up-to-date information on the availability of spots within programs across Rogers, a recent rapid improvement team developed a number of solutions.
“We want patients to follow the continuum of care and, to better help Rogers facilitate that, we needed to create a single source of truth where everyone knows to go to obtain accurate and timely information on available slots,” says Admissions manager Amanda Puhl, who served as the rapid improvement event (RIE) team lead.
For instance, not everyone had access to the Program Wait Times document or knew where to find it. It was also not considered a source of truth, as there were not processes in place to ensure it was being updated on a regular basis, which led to a lot of back-and-forth email communication.
Additionally, there was a lack of awareness around our telehealth options. Although there are more than 90 100% virtual programs across the System, few people knew of those services or how to refer to them.
The solutions
First, a new Program Availability icon was installed on all desktops and is located on Rogers Connect. (Please restart your computer if you do not see the icon.)
Second, the icon links to one source of truth for program availability with clear visual management. Below are screenshots of the partial hospitalization (PHP) and intensive outpatient (IOP), residential, and inpatient boards. The documents have direct links to reach out to obtain program information and availability. There are also direct links of who to contact for the transfer criteria and referral forms.
PHP and IOP
Residential
Inpatient
The third solution was to create a standard that all locations and programs follow to ensure accuracy of estimated admission timeframe. The estimated wait times job aid can be downloaded here.
Just stop its
Effective July 6, bed board emails are no longer being sent. If you need information on any level of care or program within Rogers, please reference the Program Availability document.
The previous Program Wait Times document was also deleted to ensure that this is the one source of truth that is being updated every 24 hours for residential, PHP, and IOP and hourly for inpatient.
Next steps
“The new solutions have been going pretty smoothly,” Amanda says. “We’ve received positive feedback from employees who have used it, and people seem to be most excited about the inpatient tab. For residential and outpatient, one of the things we’re working on is making sure they’re updated at least once a day.”
Gregory Wisniewski, supervisor of patient transitions and a member of the RIE team, says the solutions have greatly improved his team’s daily work.
“It’s eliminated unnecessary communication and provides a great access point to know who to reach out to for any program,” Gregory says.
As for future enhancements, Amanda says the RIE team is working to integrate more data, including dashboards to show the average time it takes to admit a patient to a new program.
For any questions on the new processes, please contact Amanda.Puhl@rogersbh.org or Bryana.Martinson@rogersbh.org.
Posted in
Related articles
