Clinical Optimisation
To derive the best results from an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) or other clinical system involves the ongoing optimisation of those systems to create standardised workflows that help both staff and improve outcomes for patients.
Without investing in this area, Trusts risk failing to meet the needs of clinical staff and benefits and efficiency gains being missed. You might also be failing to maintain or reach regulatory standards and not gaining financially from smarter working practices and models of care.
Using technology, such as an EPR, will magnify existing workflow issues, however, it also provides a platform to enable staff to redesign and replace time-consuming processes and provide greater options on how staff can be utilised to deliver high quality patient care.
Virtually all clinical services and pathways can benefit from optimisation and examples include:
- Accident and Emergency including AAUs
- Emergency admission pathways
- Elective admission pathways
- Admission and ward management
- Patient Flow
- Anaesthesia and Theatres
- Outpatients pathways
- Electronic Medication management and prescribing (ePMA)
- Community Services – nursing, physiotherapy and podiatry
Populo has an established a framework to create the right environment for Trusts to gain the most from optimising clinical systems and building a mindset of continual improvement and looking for the “art of the possible” from how digital health technology can improve care delivery and patient outcomes.
Driven by Staff
Having motivated and fully engaged staff is one of the main factors of success for optimising a system. A first step is to create a multi-level change management strategy which incorporates a stakeholder engagement model for all levels of staff from executive sponsorship, management and patient facing staff. This engagement model defines roles, responsibilities and sets expectations around accountability for delivering optimisation benefits.
Using technology, such as an EPR, will magnify existing workflow issues, however, it also provides a platform to enable staff to redesign and replace time-consuming processes.
Another important element is ensuring that there is engagement and support of the Trust leadership. The benefits of clinical optimisation will nearly always fall into strategic objectives for improving care standards and therefore need should have senior leadership on board to support and sponsor it.
Having change clinically led by front-line clinicians is the only way for it to be meaningful. Since they are hands on in delivering care to patients, they recognise the areas that are behaving poorly or are not fit for purpose. In many cases, they have already created workarounds, outside of governance, to enable them to be more efficient. That insight is invaluable in understanding, identifying and defining the desired outcome that is being sought.
Mindset is key. By feeling that they are not only listened to, but also involved and can see and experience tangible improvements, staff will start to drive change themselves.
Darren placed me with a Trust reporting to their CEO, within weeks of our first meeting, This proved to be a great match for both parties with the Trust engaging in extending my work. Darren is a fabulous, providing excellent – he’s always there – support for all concerned to ensure best value, delivery and a great experience all round.
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Building Successful Outcomes
Driving change is inevitably about using a range of different services that can be tailored to match the specific nature of both our client, their problem and the desired outcome.
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