The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, South Australia, has reduced how long patients have to wait for their endoscopy or colonoscopy procedures through digital patient pathways. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Since 2008, the 303-bed teaching hospital has provided care to endoscopy patients through its Direct Access Colonoscopy (DAC) programme. This programme seeks to give accelerated care access to eligible, lower-risk patients

Over the years, the DAC has seen a significant increase in demand. As a result, the workload involved with conducting risk assessments has gone up significantly while the volume of calls, coupled with triage time, has also swelled. The added pressure has led to longer waitlists and in some instances, underutilisation of theatres, the hospital noted.

To address these issues, TQEH worked with Personify Care in 2021 to deliver the programme via digital patient pathways. 

After being referred to the programme, patients are sent an invitation to their digital pathway where they can complete clinical risk assessments and access personalised health information. 

"This enabled suitable patients to self-serve, preserving staff time to coordinate care for those with more complex needs," Jane Andrews, a medicine professor and gastroenterologist at TQEH, shared.

According to a media release, since the introduction of digital patient pathways, wait times for patients have considerably "decreased by 71%" and booking surgeries could be done "three weeks in advance". Phone calls have also "decreased by 44%" with shortened call durations. 

"[W]e've been able to get patients booked within a few days of receiving their referrals. Before, it would take weeks, so it's made a real difference to us," Sharon Gillespie, a clinical nurse at TQEH, attested.

THE LARGER TREND

After rolling out the solution in the hospital's endoscopy unit, tailored patient pathways have been developed for each of TQEH's specialities. 

The implementation of digital pathways is part of a broader collaboration between Personify Care and the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, which TQEH is a part of. Last year, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, also part of the Network, reported seeing reduced elective surgery cancellations and workload pressures upon its adoption of Personify Care's platform.