PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
$1.1 Million in Revenue Improvement with EDIS, Professional Services
For years, emergency department (ED) doctors and nurses at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center used different patient documentation systems. Hospital leaders decided to find a new way to document that would create uniformity while improving patient care. The hospital needed a solution that would increase clinician productivity and, thus, revenue.
The Bellingham, Wash. ED implemented T SystemEV®, including the patient tracking, physician and nurse documentation modules and CPOE (non-interfaced), based on its popular support at another hospital in the PeaceHealth system. The facility also used T-System’s clinical workflow optimization service.
Staff members felt competent using T SystemEV in as little as three or four shifts, and they saw numerous improvements following implementation. They no longer had to waste time searching for charts and could document patient encounters at the bedside. Orders were legible and complete with all required information.
Additionally, based on T-System’s recommendations for clinical workflow, the hospital made several changes to improve ED throughput, including:
- Maximizing MLP (mid-level provider) effectiveness in its 8-bed fast-track area, open from 10 a.m.-3 a.m, and at triage from 3 p.m.-11 p.m.
- Increasing safety and communication for its behavioral health area that is staffed at all times by specially trained nurses and technicians
- Introducing an entire Rapid Process Improvement (RPI) program for decreasing door-to-provider times by treating patients from recliners placed in the front area near triage
As a result of these changes, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center reduced its door-to-doctor time from 82 to 52 minutes, a 36 percent decrease. The left-without-being-seen (LWBS) rate dropped from 3 to 1.8 percent, increasing revenue by $54,000 annually.
T-System’s assessment revealed that improved documentation increased reimbursement by $192,000 annually. As well, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center increased revenue by $666,855 annually as a result of decreasing the number of patient charts that were missing recorded IV start and stop times. Dictation costs were also eliminated, saving $226,230 annually.
“We have improved our throughput, processes, quality and both patient and staff satisfaction. I am looking forward to our future improvements that are possible because of the tools T-System provides,” said Laura Schlenker, RN, BSN, CEN, manager emergency services at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center.