Submitter
Steve Hess, Chief Information Officer
Company
University of Colorado Health
Industry
Healthcare
Business Challenge
University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) is a nationally recognized system of hospitals and clinics based in Colorado. One of the system’s locations, University of Colorado Hospital, has one of the busiest infusion centers in the region. Its growth has exceeded 14% over the past two years, resulting in high utilization, excessive wait times, patient dissatisfaction and staff overtime. A solution was needed to increase access and improve the patient experience without adding infusion beds and chairs.
Analytics Solution
UCHealth found that solution in a cloud-based, machine-learning, predictive analytics capability from LeanTaaS called iQueue. Taking scheduling data from the Electronic Health Record (EHR), iQueue uses lean principles and advanced data science to examine and optimize scheduling parameters, and the technology then builds predictive models to forecast usage patterns and allocate infusion time efficiently across the day of week and hour of day. The optimized scheduling templates are then built and hardwired back into the EHR.
Impact
In less than three months, the cancer center was already seeing impressive results:
- 33% reduction in patient wait time during busiest time of the day
- 20 hours per month reduction in overtime hours
- Increased patient satisfaction
- 7% increase in daily volume
This solution did in months what would have taken years using a traditional analytics and process-improvement initiative. The implementation proved so successful that it was scaled to five more infusion centers within UCHealth, encompassing 140 infusion beds and chairs.
More recently, UCHealth and LeanTaaS have partnered to apply the same lean and predictive analytics approach to the perioperative area with the goal of improving operating room block and room utilization by 5% in the coming year. These initiatives prove the power and potential of excellent clinicians and operational leaders combined with solid, consistent processes and next-generation tools.