Children’s National Health System – Neuroscience Unit

Background
Children’s National Health System is the premier provider of pediatric care in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Children’s National ranks consistently among the best pediatric hospitals in America by US News & World Report, and has received “Magnet” designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

“We needed a way to trace back to see where patients were getting hung up or waiting too long.”

Children’s National Health System provides some of the best care in a diverse range of medical fields, and its Neuroscience Department is committed to the cutting-edge development and progression of research. This refinement and perfecting of medical techniques is one of Children’s National Health System’s foremost priorities, and the important work of the Neuroscience Department has led to breakthroughs in the treatment of several nervous system disorders for children with a variety of medical needs.

Challenges
Serving so many people with various demands and competing interests, the Neuroscience Department often experienced difficulties managing the patient experience, as well as important medical records and information about patients’ visits. The problem stemmed mainly from the department’s outdated, simplistic patient tracking software, which provided minimal functionality and did little to organize patient data or to deliver an overall high quality experience. “Our old patient tracker just didn’t offer enough features, such as reporting, and when we did yearly cycle time studies, it was all done on paper,” says Celeste Favor, Clinic Operations Manager at Children’s National Neuroscience Department.

“Our old patient tracker just didn’t offer enough features, such as reporting, and when we did yearly cycle time studies, it was all done on paper.”

Once patients were registered into the old software, they were grouped together in the same tracking pool yet located in different areas, making it difficult to identify patients from different departments. “We would see all of the patients for all of the departments in a single place, so sorting was difficult,” says Celeste. Without any reporting capabilities, [we] could not analyze the hospital’s performance, nor the amount of time each hand-off took from registration, vitals, blood work, consultation, to discharge. “We needed a way to trace back to see where patients were getting hung up or waiting too long,” Favor continues.

Solution
When the old software was up for renewal, the Neuroscience Department started looking for a turnkey system that they could implement quickly. They needed a solution that was mobile and tablet-based, could run from a desktop PC, and could provide data concerning department-wide patient flow and operations. Furthermore, the department wanted a more automated solution to perform time and lean studies more frequently to measure and refine their processes.

In response to their problems, Savance Health proposed a solution relying on its powerful Patient Tracking & Flow software. When a patient enters the facility, they are now immediately entered into the Savance Health software, and tracked throughout their visit. Patients are assigned and grouped to a specific department, and when handed off to another department, the status and location of the patient is automatically updated on the status board.

Celeste Favor explains: “With Savance Health, we can create Tabs for each department, and because we are a multi-specialty clinic, every clinic wants to just see patients in their department.” Timestamps are also taken at each location where the patient stops. With this information, the Neuroscience Department can generate custom reports and gather statistics on the amount of time spent on each step in the care process, then further refine those statistics per department, provider, or appointment type. “The great reporting feature is one of the main reasons we liked the Savance Health product,” says Favor.

Results
The department’s main goals with its new software were:

• to create lean and time studies
• to collect more robust research data on their hospital
• increased transparency and efficiency
• achieve better clinical outcomes

The solution from Savance Health was critical in this process, and provided the clinic with tools to execute time and lean studies, analyze the flow of patients from one room to the next, uncover bottlenecks on-demand, and identify areas for development. Children’s National now also has complete traceability from the time the patient enters their department all the way up until discharge.

With the tools provided from Savance Health, Children’s National can now demonstrate that they are using technology in a way that can positively impact the care of their patients. Children’s National will be able to consistently deliver the best quality care possible to children in need, and ensure that both patients and their families receive a better overall experience when they visit the Neuroscience Department.

Celeste Favor concludes: “We get more from Savance Health, with less costs. We get many more features, so much more support, and really like that you are a healthcare company that works with Healthcare solutions. You really seem to have your finger on the pulse.”

The same tools and solutions that Savance designed for the Children’s National Neuroscience Department are available to any hospital, clinic, or organization with similar needs. In fact, almost at the very same time, the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CBCD/Oncology) department at Children’s National also found Savance Health. Whether it’s keeping patients and their families comfortable and informed, or managing a busy flow of visitors and staff to and from a location, Savance Health’s software can provide the answer.