Even today, many hospitals still rely on manual methods such as pen and paper or Excel spreadsheets for daily rounding list creation. This can lead to imbalanced workloads, poor continuity of care, and extended patient stays. These common consequences of manual patient assignment processes really resonated with many of the Hospitalists our team spoke to at the Society of Hospital Medicine Converge 2023 conference last month.
When we introduced them to Assign, our intelligent patient assignment solution that automates, optimizes and balances patient assignment, their reactions were overwhelmingly positive. They could see how using an automated solution can significantly improve patient outcomes, physician satisfaction, and overall operational efficiency.
To shed some more light on the benefits of using a sophisticated solution like Assign, we gathered insights from members of the medaptus team.
Reduce length of stay and increase throughput
“If you’re currently using pen and paper, Excel spreadsheets, or making lots of manual moves in your EHR to create your daily rounding list, then it’s difficult to take into account things like:
- Evenly balancing physician workloads
- Ensuring no physicians are overloaded with New Admits or Discharges
- Evenly balancing geography while also preserving continuity of care
It’s virtually impossible to take all these different scenarios into account when you’re creating rounding lists manually. And that can significantly increase your patients’ length of stay, and decrease throughput.” – Jeff Cibotti, Senior Clinical Implementation Consultant & Project Manager
Even the most complex assignment processes can be automated
“One of the observations I’ve made from speaking with healthcare organizations of varying sizes across the United States is that almost all of them feel their patient assignment process is very unique and more complex than other organizations.
Once I walk them through the intelligent rules engine that is built into our Assign product and they can see that their own patient assignment criteria are covered in our rules (as well as all of the rules they could include) there’s an ah-ha moment where they realize that it could really work for them even though they have what they consider a complex process today.” – Scott Hopkins, Sales Executive, medaptus
Read more: Why Healthcare Organizations Believe Patient Assignment is so Complex – medaptus
Deliver better patient care by automating assignments
“Continuity of care and length of stay are the two big benefits of automating patient assignment.
As a patient, there’s nothing worse than lying in a hospital bed and seeing a familiar doctor who knows you and your condition walk by your room. Then, five minutes later a completely different doctor who knows nothing about you walks in.
Say Dr. Hollis is a new Doctor to me. Because she hasn’t seen me before, she doesn’t know that my Type 2 diabetes is regulated by oral meds only so she gives me insulin. Now I’m in the hospital an extra two days; two days that could have been avoided if I had been assigned to a doctor familiar with my medical presentation.
It’s small things like this that make a big impact on patient care.” – Rhonda Cook, Regional Sales Manager, medaptus
Read more: Times are Changing – What’s Fuelling the Move to Automate Patient Assignment? – medaptus
Embrace automation for positive outcomes
“The COVID crisis opened a lot of people’s eyes as to the role of a hospitalist. We are in nearly every hospital but have very little automation at our disposal. With Assign, optimal alignment of providers and patients happens based on intelligence and in line with set census limits. This is a win for patients, providers, and hospitals since making the best assignment at admission sets the stage for positive outcomes.” – Ryan Secan, Chief Medical Officer, medaptus and practicing Hospitalist
Read more: Improve Patient Assignment Process | Assign – medaptus
Lessons Learned from SHM Converge 2023
In conclusion, the importance of efficient and intelligent patient assignment cannot be overemphasized. The SHM Converge 2023 conference provided an opportunity for the medaptus team to share their insights on the benefits of automating patient assignment processes. From enabling optimal alignment of providers and patients to ensuring continuity of care and reducing patient length of stay, medaptus Assign is a game changer for healthcare organizations seeking to improve patient outcomes and streamline operations.
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, it is clear that automating patient assignment is an essential step towards delivering high-quality care while also enhancing the patient experience.
