Swedish Medical Group Clinics Optimize Care Delivery with Automated Patient Flow System
Traverse City, Mich. and Dayton, Ohio (PRWEB) July 12, 2016 -- Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary care and specialty clinics throughout Washington’s greater Puget Sound area, is meeting increased demand while improving the patient experience, using technology designed to reduce wait times and expedite the patient visit.
“We’re expanding our primary care presence in key communities, where we expect patient volumes to test the limits of our capacity,” says Whitney Hull, RN, BSN, Clinic Administrator at Swedish Renton Primary Care. Indeed, population growth in Washington is booming, ranking fifth in the nation for the number of new residents. “We needed a system that would provide us with real-time data to optimize workflow, reduce wait times, and provide the best possible patient experience.”
In May, Hull’s clinic and the nearby Musculoskeletal Services facility replaced their manual “flags and tags” system with the Versus Advantages™ Clinic patient flow system.
“Now everything is automated,” Hull explains. “We don’t have to flip the flags outside each door, and we don’t have to peer down the hallway to see what’s going on. Electronic whiteboards in our off-stage work area show us everything that’s happening in the clinic.”
Patients, providers and staff wear lightweight locator badges that automatically update the Advantages software, keeping everyone in the know on where patients are, how long they’ve been waiting, who has seen them, and who needs to see them next.
Advantages alerts staff when patients have waited more than 10 minutes, indicates when the patient is ready to see the medical assistant (MA) or provider, and automatically tracks room status, including cuing staff when rooms need to be cleaned.
The third clinic to implement Versus, Swedish Richmond Beach Primary Care, went live on June 6. Sarah Pollard, Clinic Administrator, values the data that Advantages provides. “I truly think this system ultimately helps us deliver on our commitment to patient experience by engaging our care teams in a new way with data that is objective, transparent, consistent and actionable.”
While providing real-time data to assist with workflow in the moment, Advantages Clinic also collects an enormous amount of historical data. Using the Versus Reports Plus™ Analytics software, practice administrators now have previously unavailable analysis on wait times, room utilization, time patients spend with MAs and providers, and more. “I’m looking forward to digging into this data and seeing how we can use it to enhance our processes,” Pollard says.
A fourth Swedish clinic, Bellvue Primary Care in Bellevue, Wash., is currently installing the system. Five other facilities affiliated with Swedish also use Versus: three Pacific Medical Centers clinics and two Providence Health & Services clinics, all serving the Pacific Northwest. The clinics are serviced locally by ATS Facility Systems, a certified Versus System Integrator located in Spokane, Wash.
Attendees of the MGMA 2016 Annual Conference, Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in San Francisco, can learn more about the Versus Advantages Clinic patient flow system in session D03, “Eliminate the Waiting Room,” presented by Cheryl Becker of Aurora Medical Group. Versus will also offer live demonstrations of the system at booth #1013.
Midmark Corporation acquired Versus Technology, Inc. in May, 2016, creating a unique offering of clinical workflow solutions that encompass clinical workflow services, RTLS technology, medical equipment, diagnostic devices and design assistance for improved efficiency within health systems.
About Swedish Medical Group
Founded in 1910, Swedish is the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary-care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. In 2013, Swedish provided nearly $143 million in community benefit in Western Washington. For more information, visit http://www.swedish.org, http://www.facebook.com/swedishmedicalcenter, or http://www.twitter.com/swedish
About Versus Technology, Inc.
Versus Technology, Inc., a Midmark company, provides healthcare facilities with operational and clinical workflow intelligence using real-time locating system (RTLS) technology. Since its inception in 1988, more than 850 hospitals, clinics and senior care facilities have used Versus solutions to support healthcare’s ultimate goals: enhancing the patient experience while providing high-quality care at lower costs. With enterprise solutions for patient tracking, workflow automation, staff safety, hand hygiene and asset tracking, Versus improves patient flow, communication, and productivity to ultimately increase capacity. To learn more about Versus Technology, Inc., our technology and client successes, visit http://www.versustech.com.
About Midmark
Midmark Corporation, a privately held company founded in 1915, is committed to providing innovative products and workflow solutions to healthcare professionals around the world. Offering full lines of exam and procedures tables, as well as workstations, casework, instrument processing, digital diagnostics solutions, real-time locating system (RTLS) technology and more. Midmark is focused on continuously improving physician workflows and enhancing patient-caregiver interactions. Midmark’s more than 1,500 teammates worldwide are dedicated to redefining the future of the clinical space and making a positive difference in the practice of healthcare. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, Midmark maintains production and administrative offices in Versailles, Ohio, as well as six other locations in the United States and international locations in India, Italy and the United Kingdom. To learn more about Midmark, visit http://www.midmarkclinicalsolutions.com or http://www.midmark.com, and follow Midmark on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
Safe Harbor Provision
This release may include forward-looking statements which “bespeak caution,” and which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The statements are made only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Jeanne Ehinger, Versus Technology, Inc., http://www.versustech.com, +1 (231) 946-5868 Ext: 1208, [email protected]
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