The Royal Adelaide Hospital has reduced its hidden waitlist through the implementation of digital patient pathways in collaboration with Personify Care and Healthcare Logic. The automatic system notifies personnel of any cancellations or rescheduling as well as any patient preparation requirements. As a result, attendance rates have decreased by 56%. RAH is extending the program to South Australia and adding more clinical facilities. Also, over 20 specialty areas have implemented digital channels, lowering task demands and cancellation rates.
Hospitals face the challenge of long wait periods for outpatient appointments, also known as the “hidden waitlist.” Patients often have to wait months to see a specialist or undergo a medical procedure, which can cause physical and emotional distress. The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) has found a solution to address the “hidden waitlist” and improve patient care. In collaboration with Personify Care and Healthcare Logic, RAH implemented a digital patient pathway to communicate patient appointments and reduce the failure-to-attend (FTA) rate. The pilot of the digital pathway project at RAH resulted in a 56% decrease in FTA rates at the outpatient orthopedics unit.
Digital Patient Pathways
The digital patient pathway at RAH is a joint project with Personify Care and Healthcare Logic. The pathway is an automated process that communicates with patients before their clinic appointment. Three weeks before the appointment, patients from a list generated by Healthcare Logic’s SystemView are invited to a Personify Care pathway. The gateway reminds them of their approaching appointment and sends them their preparation requirements. Also, it notifies personnel in advance of any patients who need to cancel or reschedule appointments.
The success of the digital patient pathway at RAH was attributed to several factors. These factors include simple patient list generation via SystemView and automatic/bulk invitation, high patient response rates to the digital pathway, automated patient screening, and executive support for staff in the reallocation of appointment slots.
Expansion and Benefits
Based on the success of the pilot, RAH is expanding the project to other clinical units with relatively high FTA rates. Also, the reach of digital channels is increasing due to lower review rates brought on by patients who show up unprepared for their appointments.
The Central Adelaide Local Health Network, of which RAH is a part, started implementing Personify Care digital pathways in 2021 as a proof of concept. It was deployed in over 20 specialty areas and at RAH, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and SA Dental. The digital pathways enabled the delivery of personalized and accurate patient appointments and the ability to measure patient experience, among other noted benefits. RAH has also been using digital pathways to reduce cancellations in elective surgery as well as workload pressures.
Personify Care is extending its digital pathways across the entire state of South Australia over the next two years after winning a $5.6 million ($3.7 million) contract from SA Health.
