How cardiology unit saves one hour with patients before cardioversion with Buddy Healthcare
CUSTOMER STORY
Buddy Healthcare platform saves nurses one hour per patient.
Buddy Healthcare partnered with the well-being services county of Kymenlaakso in February 2023. The cardiology unit within the county implemented Buddy Healthcare's care coordination platform to automate the preparation and follow-up processes for patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing the cardioversion procedure. With the implementation of streamlined digital care pathways and automated care coordination, the clinical team has observed significant time savings of nearly one hour with each digitally guided patient before the procedure.Replacing the old paper and phone-based preparation process with a digital solution
Working closely with the well-being services county of Kymenlaakso, Buddy Healthcare's customer success team and the county's multidisciplinary team tailored protocols and care pathway content on the platform to meet their specific needs. A new digital care coordination process was designed to replace the previous manual paper and phone-based system. Previously, with the manual non-digital process, booking a procedure time for a patient required approximately 10-15 minutes for each patient.The new digital process saves nurses one hour per patient.
The digitised process now allows the cardiology team to automate patient education and preparation for the cardioversion procedure. The platform and digital care coordination process eliminate phone calls while still collecting patients' pre-assessment forms and visualising the data in real-time for the clinical team.
"We are very pleased with the efficiency of Buddy Healthcare's platform. Our new care coordination process saves around sixty minutes of nurses' time per patient before cardioversion by providing automated guidance and capturing data such as pre-assessment forms through the care coordination platform. We have significantly reduced phone calls and eliminated the need to print and mail letters to patients who use the app.
With digitally supported patients, our team can skip pre-assessment data collection calls, resulting in average savings of 55-60 minutes per patient, depending on how many phone calls are needed. One phone call with a patient usually takes approximately 25 minutes.
Approximately 90% of our patients have opted for digital guidance through the app instead of the old paper and phone-based process. Our clinical team is content with the automated care coordination process, and our patients are happy with the mobile app."Nurse and project coordinator, Hanna Hovi
The collected data of the care process drives innovation.
The digitised process now allows the cardiology team to automate patient education and preparation for the cardioversion procedure. The platform and digital care coordination process eliminate phone calls while still collecting patients' pre-assessment forms and visualising the data in real-time for the clinical team.
The cardiology team in the well-being services county of Kymenlaakso has observed that while 64% of patients currently attend the cardioversion procedure, 36% of the scheduled times end up being cancelled. This information has prompted the team to consider scheduling the laboratory and EKG appointments earlier than before. They could identify which patients may not require the procedure by obtaining the EKG and laboratory results earlier.
By leveraging the recent data and ability to modify the existing care pathways, the well-being services county of Kymenlaakso's cardiology team aims to optimise their scheduling process, reduce empty procedure slots, and enhance the overall efficiency of their workflow. This proactive approach will not only benefit patients by minimising wait times but also maximise the utilisation of resources within the cardiology unit."If the laboratory and EKG appointments were scheduled earlier, we could receive information sooner regarding whether the patient needs to come in for the procedure or not.
Now, we find out quite late that patients have already returned to normal sinus rhythm before the scheduled cardioversion, rendering the procedure unnecessary. By identifying these patients earlier, we could potentially shorten our waitlists. Buddy Healthcare's digital platform could then assist us in efficiently and quickly preparing replacement patients.
We have recently tried out this new process and have successfully filled some cancelled procedure slots.”
- Nurse and project coordinator, Hanna Hovi