From the November 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
For health system leaders, the digital twin is a powerful decision-making tool. As we staff up and build out for our new rehabilitation unit, we have a high level of confidence that it will benefit our patients, our staff and our organization overall.
We are now in the process of using our digital twin to answer several questions: What will happen to boarding rates if we alter our ED triage process? Can we reduce length of stay by creating additional step-down capabilities? What is the best way to serve our inpatient infusion patients in an outpatient setting?
The entire effort ties back to our initiatives in the Care Logistics Center. The digital twin allows us to understand how different patient transfer protocols impact patient flow and volume throughout our integrated network.
A patient-centered imaging strategy
A key goal of all these initiatives is to improve patient care by reducing wait times. This is especially important in the field of radiology, where digital imaging services are becoming increasingly complex.
On the process side, we are developing ways to use our Care Logistics Center to improve patient access to imaging services across our system. On the technology side, we are leveraging our systems to build a patient-centered imaging strategy. Our working principle is: When the patient moves, his or her images move, too.
Through our “ImageConnect” initiative, we developed a centralized PACS system linked to Epic. The system indexes all digital images generated within our health network. As a result, clinicians can access all images, not just reports, through Epic. This capability supports our Care Logistics Center strategy. Prior to any patient transfer, patient imaging is immediately available to any future caregivers, which informs the decision-making process about the goals of the transfer. Images are immediately available to caregivers and radiologists prior to the transfer, allowing a determination of the treatment plan before the patient arrives. In some cases, image availability leads to a decision to avoid transfer and treat in the local facility.
Solutions support sustainability
The main driver of all our logistics initiatives is to improve care quality and patient safety. But our analyses show that improving patient movement is also economically advantageous.
Improved efficiency leads to lower costs, which can benefit both individual health networks and the U.S. health care system as a whole. As our industry continues to evolve, making better use of resources will be the key to long-term sustainability. It will also help us provide the right care at the right time and in the right place to as many patients as possible.
About the author: Rocco Orlando III, M.D., is senior vice president and chief medical officer for Hartford HealthCare, which has more than 18,000 employees and $2.4 billion in net revenue.Back to HCB News
