Clínica Alemana Osorno, located in southern Chile, has introduced digital communication workflows that leverage connected care. Digital workflows are helping the clinic create a better patient experience, enhance workforce efficiency and increase access to care across its 46 medical specialties and four facilities.

With more than 300,000 outpatient appointments per year, Clínica Alemana Osorno is one of the largest healthcare providers in southern Chile. This private institution in the Los Lagos Region of northern Patagonia has been in operation for more than 50 years. Today, it has more than 200 medical specialists, 450 employees and a staff growth rate of 20% per year.

The clinic aims to provide high-quality healthcare by putting patients and their needs at the center of all healthcare activities.

The challenges: Competition in the healthcare sector and access to care

Private hospitals in Chile face intense competition for patients and qualified physicians, as patients are free to choose their hospital and doctors are free to choose where to work. Additionally, most healthcare providers are concentrated in the capital (Santiago), forcing patients in the south to travel long distance for specialized medical treatment.

To overcome these challenges and differentiate itself, Clínica Alemana Osorno aims to provide an exceptional experience that surpasses its regional competitors. The clinic prioritizes enhancing patient satisfaction and improving staff efficiency. It also seeks to address the geographic challenge by making southern Chile a more desirable place to live. This involves offering accessible and convenient high-quality care that meets the needs of the local community while ensuring workloads remain manageable for care teams and physicians.

The solution: Driving health information exchange and introducing connected-care applications

Clínica Alemana Osorno has responded to these issues with a comprehensive digital transformation strategy. It introduced solutions for care collaboration and patient engagement in 2022. This was preceded by a thorough preparatory phase, which began in 2021 and included migrating existing data, building an interoperability platform, integrating and aggregating data, and building digital pathways for patients and physicians on top of the platform.

The interoperability platform is crucial for a successful digital transformation. It is the foundation for all applications that drive collaboration between care teams and physicians, which allows them to engage with patients. It also enables applications to connect with and access data from all other systems in use at the clinic.

A highly efficient workforce

The interoperability platform and associated applications have streamlined administrative tasks for clinic physicians, reducing reliance on paper-based processes and the need to search for patient information across multiple systems. With a digital dashboard providing access to comprehensive patient data in one place, doctors can work more efficiently, prioritize patient needs and cultivate stronger patient relationships.

Scheduling was another issue that resulted in inefficiencies. Physicians often must manage multiple schedules for operations and consultations at different locations. Now that all their appointments and tasks are stored in one system, medical staff can plan their workdays much more efficiently and invest their time in high-value tasks.

“I work better now that I have the support of this system. It integrates all my tasks into my schedule, allowing me to better plan my days and be better prepared for all my activities. As a result, I feel I’m more productive and don’t waste any time on unnecessary organizational tasks.” Marko Gjuranovic, MD, Urologist, Clínica Alemana Osorno

Increased access to care

The new online system for appointment scheduling has significantly improved convenience and accessibility for the clinic’s patients. The ability to make, modify and cancel appointments at any time has reduced no-shows. This enables more efficient use of medical systems and treatment rooms, resulting in reduced waiting times and making it easier for the Osorno population to get the care they need.

The interoperability platform and applications have also improved access to care by centralizing healthcare data and enabling analysis through algorithms. This makes it possible to identify at-risk individuals and send automated invitations for checkups or preventive treatments, which contribute to improving overall community health.

“Managing patients’ health data in one system gives us the opportunity to really support patients to engage in their healthcare. This will have a positive impact on prevention, as patients can receive automated reminders for their medical checkup and other preventive offerings from the clinic.” Patricia Martinez, MD, Medical Director, Clínica Alemana Osorno

Furthermore, telehealth services significantly improve access to care by enabling virtual consultations, which eliminate or reduce the need for in-person appointments. Patients can receive healthcare at home through secure virtual connections, instead of traveling to and waiting in healthcare facilities. As a result, more people can benefit from more convenient healthcare services.

The impact of connected systems and a holistic patient view

Clínica Alemana Osorno has benefited greatly from introducing a health information exchange platform and patient engagement applications. The clinic has seen an increase in medical consultations, lab tests and imaging studies. It has become a more popular employer, attracting more physicians. Notably, patient experience has greatly improved, with a Net Promoter Score that is 3.7 times higher than before the transformation. Other achievements include a no-show rate of 9.2%, 39% reduction in waiting times, 15% increase in workforce efficiency and 84% patient satisfaction.

Outlook

The clinic will continue developing the platform and introducing new functionalities for the applications. CEO Leonidas Rosas also expects the clinic to meet its strategic goal of doubling the number of treatments offered by 2028, with the help of the platform and its applications. This is a long-term project that significantly impacts physicians, patients and the entire community. The clinic is well on its way to achieving its aim of making southern Chile a better place to live.

To learn more about successful connected-care projects visit here.