If Given the Chance: Redesigning Access to Emergency Care Through SmartTriage & Patient Education
1. Problem Statement: countless patients often utilize emergency departmens for minor health concerns (like managing chronic conditions, UTIs, sore throats and medication refills) which lead to delayed care for patients with true emergencies, increased wait times, burnout among the clinical staff and inappropriate use of resources. (Berchet, 2015) Many of these patient needs could be met by going to urgent care. Also of note is the opposite, many patients with true emergencies seeking care at urgent care centers thinking these facilities can manage their condition.
1.1. If Given the Chance: for my capstone project, I created SmartTriage, a scalable SaaS platform the integrates clinical decision support, real time resource allocation and patient education. This helps to empower frontline clinical staff with intuitive tools while arising systems level insights for leadership. The SaaS will be delivered via a stand alone kiosk in urgent care center and emergency department wait rooms to help patients learn which facility will better serve their presenting complaint.
1.1.1. Intended Goal: to reduce the variability in triages, improve patient throughput and enhance patient equity by embedding systems thinking into a digital workflow.
1.1.1.1. Applied Systems Thinking Prinicples
1.1.1.1.1. Interconnectedness: Bridges patient data, clinical protocols and staffing levels across the departments to help inform clinical leadership with real time decisions
1.1.1.1.2. Organizational Learning: Employing feedback loops from triage outcomes to perpetually enhance staff training and algorithms
1.1.1.1.3. Self Organization: In empowering the frontline clinical staff to better adapt their workflows based on their ecosystem, supported by customized modules
1.1.1.1.4. Complextity leadership: Encourages collaborative, adaptive and distributed leadershup.
1.1.1.2. Application of Systems Principles
1.1.1.2.1. Interconnectedness: Sharing data across care systems
1.1.1.2.2. Self Organization: Patients become empowered to choose the right level of care for their complaint
1.1.1.2.3. Resilience: There are multiple options for care during surges
2. Innovation Solution: SmartTriage Ecosystem
2.1. A digital decision support tool plus a patient education program that is integrated with the EHR
2.2. Features Included
2.2.1. Real time wait times
2.2.2. Symptom checker which helps inform triage team of an emergent patient concern and patient education
2.2.3. Patient will learn if their presenting complaint can be handled at the urgent care or if they need a higher level of care that is found in the emergency department
2.2.4. Includes partnership with local community for access (schools, pharmacies and libraries)