Introduction
The problem of wasting time is due to filling in the necessary documentation, which can be automated. Difficulties arise even at the stage of making an appointment with a doctor and the registration process. In order to reduce paperwork, the most optimal solution is to install a CRM for medicine – a system for automating information about patients and interacting with them.
Purpose of Improvement Effort
The advent of modern technologies and tools in the field of healthcare has made everything easier than before. Various tools are currently being used to advance the computing and processing of large data. Healthcare automation has reduced paperwork, improved accuracy, and saved time and energy. Moreover, the technology significantly impacts the quality of services provided and thus increases patient satisfaction.
The volume of information processed by the hospital is very large. At the moment, all information about the treatment of patients in hospitals is stored in paper form in registries and archives. The creation of a software tool allows automation of the registration of hospital patients to store and process information. It will reduce the burden on doctors who are forced to fill out information again, especially if the patient is not visiting the clinic for the first time. In addition, the administration will work more efficiently, as the automation of filling in information and the distribution of meetings will take as little time as possible.
In the future, patients may be able to independently choose the dates of admission that suit them, subject to the availability of a free appointment. For example, they will be able to indicate which days or hours they will most likely be able to come to the clinic, and in this way, this will solve the problem of random assignment of patients. That will increase their satisfaction and the organization’s attendance, as the percentage of appointments canceled due to inappropriate meeting dates or times will decrease.
Required Knowledge and Team
For more successful informatization of health care, it is necessary to stimulate the commercial interest of private IT companies to attract additional investment. It is worth improving cooperation systems to attract the most highly qualified integrators. In addition, it is necessary to facilitate the interaction between healthcare managers at various levels and integrators by reducing the paperwork. Thus, a team of administrators, office nurses, and doctors must gain knowledge and skills in using the selected CRM system. In addition, the clinic will also need to hire an IT specialist to implement and support the system.
Causes of Problems
Below is a diagram describing the main causes of patient frustration. The total time for passing through all stages of the appointment with the doctor will be tracked to confirm the identified causes. After introducing the proposed solution, a CRM system, a comparison of the results will be made to determine how effective the implementation is in Clinic X.
Equipment
Doctors
no possibility to registration electronically
check-in often takes place only on the spot
waiting time on the line to make an appointment
time to complete paperwork
availability of schedule
there is a feeling of dissatisfaction because the patient is not getting enough attention
,
Patient dissatisfaction
increases customer waiting times
many paperwork
many tasks to be done at the same time
cancellation of appointments due to inconsistent schedule
spending more time in line due to the need to register on-site and complete paperwork
Administration
Patients Figure 1. Fishbone Diagram of Patients’ dissatisfaction
Process Improvement Methods
By automating primarily the patient registration system and communication with them, there will be a significant reduction in unnecessary duplication of information by both the administrator and the doctor. It will allow performing processes in parallel, for example, when one sees a doctor who will already receive the first necessary information. Thus, it will lead to efficient communication of information, which will reduce the registration time and bring the appointment with the doctor closer; that is, the waiting time of patients will be reduced (Spath & Kelly, 2022). The return visit will reduce the waiting time and the work of the administrator and the doctor even more, as it will become a standardized process. To avoid mistakes in the first stages of implementing the new system, the support of specialists in the field is necessary.
Changed Process and Monitoring
The first visit to the clinic creates an account, which is then replenished, representing the medical history. During the visit, the doctor no longer needs to write directions and prescriptions by hand. Patient feedback is essential to monitoring the performance of the process to ensure that the changes have been effective (Berger et al., 2020). CRM systems will also help maintain awareness of patient satisfaction with the services provided. In addition, this will directly demonstrate the level of organization to other potential customers who can read reviews.
arrival at the hospital
electronic appointment queue
processing
patient registration
patient feedback
meeting with the doctor
Figure 2. Changed Process of Work of Clinic X
Plan-Do-Check-Act
Once the background information has been reviewed, the main issues identified, and an improvement plan developed, a pilot study of the future of global change should be conducted. For example, introduce a system of electronic registration and self-selection of the appropriate date and time for a meeting with a doctor. After this implementation, a check should be made on the success and how this affects patient satisfaction (Spath & Kelly, 2022). In the case of positive dynamics, it is possible to carry out more global changes that will affect other groups besides the administration, for example, doctors and patients.
References
Berger, S., Saut, A. M., & Berssaneti, F. T. (2020). Using patient feedback to drive quality improvement in hospitals: A qualitative study. BMJ Open, 10(10). Web.
Spath, P., & Kelly, D. L. (2022). Applying quality management in Healthcare: A systems approach (5th ed.). Health Administration Press.