CHALLENGE: Manual and paper-based processes trap information in silos
The Labor and Delivery department is a place where patient information is crucial to providing the best care to an expectant mother. There are numerous doctors’ offices where a patient can be seen prior to entering the hospital for delivery and many L&D departments do not have a streamlined process for getting the records to the right person at the right time.
Proficient Health conducted a workflow analysis for one L&D department. Our team learned that the process included orders being received via fax machine, manually retrieved, and filed in the filing cabinet.
A staff member would attempt to call and schedule patients and update statuses for the order in an Excel spreadsheet. If any additional information was needed, a phone call or fax was required. Updates to the order regarding outreach attempts, additional information requests, and scheduling were continuously made to the Excel spreadsheet.
SOLUTION: PH Capture brings in faxes electronically and provides document visibility
After a thorough review of the current manual processes, our team was able to determine a secure and efficient workflow with Proficient Health. The first step was for all orders to be received into PH Capture, a HIPAA-compliant fax and document management solution.
Incoming orders are now saved and indexed in PH Capture where staff members are able to include a status and assign to the appropriate department which will allow full visibility to all sites that need the patient information. PH Capture offers a seamless integration with any EHR making it simple to export directly into the patient chart.
RESULTS: Improved efficiency and increased patient satisfaction
“PH Capture has helped our team eliminate manual processes that we were using to manage patient information throughout our department. It is all centralized in PH Capture and easy to find. Our team is more efficient and organized with the electronic workflows”, says a manager of one patient access department.
Not only is the L&D department seeing improved efficiency, but patients are more satisfied. When their provider is able to provide the highest care because they have all the needed information, it makes them feel more confident and comfortable during their hospital stay.